The Enough Project

The Enough project is a new theatre project produced by Dep Arts with writers Emma Adams and Cathy Crabb in response to one simple question – What does it mean to have enough? 

To provide an image for the project and illustrate its themes, we created a "cultural slop" – a mess of consumer goods, money, food, drink, political rhetoric, luxury goods, relationships, media messages, natural resources and religious messages which we all consume, either by choice or otherwise, throughout our daily lives – all servered up for the viewer in Goldilock's porridge bowl.  

The question is – how much is enough? 

In a world battered by a financial crisis, and with natural resources at breaking point, the double bill of work uses this question as a jumping off point to discuss everything from consumer capitalism and the world's dwindling resources to what it means to have enough in relationships and as a society at large.

You can find out more about the Enough Project on the Dep Arts website and on Twitter @Enough_Project

And in case you were curious – here's the colossal mess we made in the studio for the shoot with Sara Teresa.

Red Ladder website

Earlier this month we launched the new fully responsive website for Red Ladder Theatre Company – Britain's leading radical touring company and our neighbours here on Quarry Hill.

For over 40 years, Red Ladder has been dedicated to producing thought-provoking, engaging and highly entertaining theatre. Since their very first shows in 1968 (one, part of the anti-Vietnam war protest at Grosvenor Square which Tariq Ali & Vanessa Redgrave led; another, The Cake Play, a piece about capitalists gobbling up the largest slice of wealth) Red Ladder has never been shy of taking a stance, making a political point or standing up for those whose voice might not be heard. 

Red Ladder wanted a site that reflected their down to earth values, provided an online platform to showcase their upcoming work and also gave a home to their impressive archive. 

With more and more users accessing websites on mobile devices, the site is fully responsive across four break points to ensure the content works well on any screen size from desktop to mobile. To read more about the benefits of a responsive site, see our post on the Hydrant website design.

The large high-impact feature area on the home page currently displays the photography of Amy Brammall (whose arresting image for The Thing About Psychopaths is shown above) alongside a range of other production images from recent shows. 

At the core of the site is a complex archiving tool, and whilst the content currently only covers the past few years, over the coming months the Red Ladder team will be populating the online archive with 40+ years of past shows documented through cast lists, images, videos and programmes.

The 'about us' page also features the quirky illustrations of Ellen McAuslan, who starred in Red Ladder's last production The Promised Land (for which we designed the promotional material).

To see the site in action and to find out more about Red Ladder's work visit: www.redladder.co.uk

Keswick Film Festival 2013

This last weekend was a great weekend for film. Not only did a handful of better-than-usual films receive recognition in the Oscars last night, but far more importantly (for me at least) it was the 14th Keswick Film festival.

I first worked with the festival whilst still at college in Carlisle over 6 years ago, which in a way makes the festival one of Split's very first clients. I've been lucky enough to be exposed to some fantastic films since then thanks to the excellent programming of the festival's all-volunteer committee, some of whom travel the world in search of the best films on offer.

And it's no accident that veteran British actor John Hurt returned as patron to the festival the second year running this year. This little UK festival is quietly getting on with its business and modestly, but very successfully, growing its reputation based on a very simple aim – To create an event that gives both locals and visitors in this picturesque town, a taste of the very best cinema the world has to offer... And the best was good this year!

So sod the Oscars and their multi-million pound blockbusters, red carpet champagne receptions and over the top ceremony antics* – here's just 3 films picked form this weekend's selection that you might want to check out:

GOOD VIBRATIONS: I've seen a good few music films, but this has to be one of the best. Creatively made, funny and with a good dose of grit it tells the story of lesser-known record label owner Terrie Hooley – founder of the Good Vibrations label that discovered some of punk's great and good at the height of "The Troubles" in Belfast.

THE WAVE: Wenger, a rebellious but gifted teacher, is tasked with teaching his students about autocracy. Faced with a belief in his students that a dictatorship could never again be established in Germany, he begins an experiment to demonstrate how easily a group can be manipulated. Echoing themes of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment (depicted in Das Experiment), this film is skillfully executed and acted, powerful, yet down to earth – I can't recommend this highly enough.

CHASING ICE: Tells the story of natural photographer James Balog's aptly named Extreme Ice Survey – a project of unprecedented scale and ambition to capture several-year long time lapse footage of a number of the world's biggest shrinking glaciers. Stunning imagery, interesting subjects (and an unusual nomination for the Oscar's best song) are completely trumped by the scientific significance this project has and the achievements of the EIS team in providing something that has never been shown before.

To check out more of the festival's programme with a wide range of films you might want to look out for, download the brochure here.

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* I should say – I saw Argo at Leeds International Film Festival at the opening gala and it was excellent so it's probably worth checking that out too.

And I think I have some sort of man-crush on Christoph Waltz... But that's just beside the point!

Leeds College of Music – Annual Report

The final project Split completed for Leeds College of Music in 2012 was their Alumni Annual Report. As an alumnus of the college myself this job took on particular interest for me, in wanting to help showcase some of the great work LCoM has been doing.

Infographics within the report illustrate a range of facts and figures, including current alumni members (8,450), alumni winners at the 2012 Jazz Yorkshire Awards (7), hits on the LCoM website (156,000), number of Steinway pianos recently acquire (52) and the number of public concerts (132).

The Annual Report displayed some pretty epic jumpers, hair-dos and moustaches in a selection of photos dating back to the late 1960s – recently uploaded on Facebook in the LCoM Photo Archive.

The piece also includes details of the Drumming Up Support campaign, aiming to raise enough funds in 2013 to purchase a set of five concert-standard Yamaha Symphonic Timpani. You can find out more and help support the campaign here.

This is our very last piece of print done for Leeds College of Music using their old brand. Keep an eye out for the new branding featured on the newly released Concert Season Programme...

New Split Business Cards

The new Split business cards have arrived! The concept builds on our previous 'shattered glass' cards with each shard a different shape, cut from a single piece of 3mm perspex (courtesy of the #motherfrickenlaser over at Duke Studios).

The idea behind our design was to try and make each business card exchange a unique and memorable experience. Each card is delivered in its own miniature craft paper envelope at standard 85x55mm business card size hand stamped with the Split logo.

Want to get your hands on one? Feel free to drop by the Split studio.

Photography by Sara Teresa

Rose and the Howling North - Cuckoo

The debut album from Leeds-based rockabilly band Rose and the Howling North, 'Cuckoo', to be released on Cuckoo Records on the 18th March 2013 with a single release on 4th March. Cover design by Split.

Inspired by the filmic, expansive qualities of Rose and the Howling North's music, our design pays homage to Tarantino-esque film noir and 1970s retro film posters with Rose taking centre stage as the femme fatale. The back cover of  'Cuckoo' reveals what Rose is hiding behind her back and gives a hint of the album's themes and character.

Rose and the Howling North is comprised of some familiar names to the Leeds indie music scene, and fronted by the well-beloved former solo artist Rosie Doonan. We were on hand for the album's release at Leeds' Brudenell Social Club where Rose and her Howling North were on fine form indeed.

 

Richard Petch - Creatures of Habit EP

The 'Creatures of Habit' debut EP from Leeds-based solo artist Richard Petch has now been released (with a generous "name your price" scheme) on Bandcamp. 

Created using the original illustration elements of artist Natalie Kyrkos, Split's design concept for the album artwork was to reflect the great passing of time, illustrated by the endless cycle of the migration of birds and the spiral shape of the album packaging itself.

'Creatures of Habit' has been described by Petch as a concept album; each track is written to describe things that humans consider to be big or important or great. These include more common issues such as religion and politics but also extend to themes of pyromania, jealousy and narcissism.

To find out more about Richard Petch, visit his website, his facebook page or follow him on twitter.