Builds Blog

CLOSE campaign—

Michael — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:05:03 +0000

• CLOSE — Beam Me Up (Single).
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• CLOSE — Getting Closer (Album).
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• CLOSE — My Way (Single).
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It’s been a real journey, and a long time since Will Saul contacted us about a new musical project that he wanted us to create a visual identity for. What started off as anonymous music project called CLOSE, Will sent us a few tracks, then eventually the album titled ‘Getting Closer’. Will eventually ‘outed’ himself as the man behind the project with an amazing line-up of collaborators including Fink, Scuba, Joe Dukie & Appleblim.
The project finally got signed to the brilliant !K7 Records label and so far we have produced the artwork for the singles Beam Me Up, My Way and the album Getting Closer with another as yet titled single.
It’s been really hard to sit on the album which we’ve had at various stages of completion for over a year and a half! It’s an amazing album, and one we hope will get the recognition it deserves!

The CLOSE visual identity can be see on our site here.
A review of the CLOSE Fabric live show can be found on our blog here.
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Beam Me Up (feat. Charlene Soraia and Scuba) is out now, read a review here.
The album ‘Getting Closer’ is out on the 3rd of June.
My Way (feat. Joe Dukie) is out on the 10th of June, read a review/stream the track here.
Will also recently recorded a Radio 1 Essential Mix which can be downloaded here.
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CLOSE campaign.
Art direction, typography and design by Build.
Photography by Benjamin Grillon.

Work at Play—

Michael — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:33:46 +0000

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We are very pleased to announce that we are to be part of an exhibition called ‘Work at Play’ at The Chicago Design Museum.
Michael is one of four exhibitors that will form the exhibition, the other esteemed artists/designers are Marian Bantjes, John Massey & Wolfgang Weingart. To be included in such a great line-up is very humbling, we are very much looking forward to seeing pictures of the show which we’ll post on the blog as soon as we get them.

From the Chicago Design Museum website:
For many, the compulsion to create is constant. It’s unstoppable. Beyond the hours at the office, we create, we make–we play. In an attempt to find our own voice, we may stumble upon a visual language that can speak for and, perhaps, inspire others. This year, we celebrate the blurred line between work and play.

Block Thirty Seven
108 North State Street
3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60602

Hours
M–F 12pm–08pm
S–Su 12pm–06pm

Calendar of Events
Museum Opens — June 01, 12pm–08pm
CLA First Thursdays gallery walk — June 06, 05pm–08pm
Design Talk: Marian Bantjes — June 08, 02pm–04pm
Design Week Opening Reception — June 10 07pm–11pm
Adobe: Create Now — June 18
Museum Closes — June 30, 12pm–08pm

Pop-up Shop—

Sophie — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:38:28 +0000

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Pop-Up Shop has been cancelled.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
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***Due to unforeseen circumstances (we’ve been burgled) we have had to cancel the Pop-Up Shop that was due to be held tonight. Apologies***

Come to our POP-UP SHOP!
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To celebrate the reprint of Build—Works (01), we will be hosting a pop-up shop in the studio on Thursday 9th May from 5pm-9pm.
You will be able to buy selected prints and order print-on-demand posters, custom built acrylic frames, as well as Build—Works (01) and there will be complimentary drinks for customers (’til stocks last, as they say!).

If you have already received your copy of Build—Works (01), please feel free to bring along and Michael will be available to sign copies.

Our studio address is:
Unit 15 Hiltongrove
12–15 Hatherley Mews
Walthamstow
E17 4QP
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(download a map with directions here).
Hope to see you there!
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If you can’t make it to the pop-up shop you can still buy from our online shop by clicking here)!
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FS Emeric tells you who I am—

Michael — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:16:38 +0000

• FS Emeric (official poster) by Believe In.
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FS Emeric by Fontsmith.
FS Emeric is about what is happening right now. A sharper aesthetic that cuts across design disciplines — graphic, fashion, product, automotive. A reflection of the present that is accepting and open to whatever shape the future might take.
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To celebrate the launch of FS Emeric, Fontsmith asked 11 leading design studios from around the globe to create a limited edition poster. The studios are: Believe In, Bibliotheque, Lundgren-Lindqvist, Manual, Non-Format, Dixon Baxi, Pentagram, Studio Dumbar, Build, Hey, Atelier Bernd Kuchenbeiser & NB.
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• Def Jam tells you who I am by Build.
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Each studio was given a weight and asked to produce a poster using that weight. We were given Semi-Bold to play with and the poster above is the end result.
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Thought process: Words + Music.
I wanted to produce a print that shows off the type (obviously).
Hip Hop is the music I love, it’s the music I grew up with in my youth.
Hip Hop is all about beats & rhyming.
One of my all time favourite Hip Hop albums is Public Enemy’s ‘It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back’.
Sampling is a staple of Hip Hop, I researched the samples used on the album and this forms the basis for the design. This was then coupled with a big statement sample lyric from ‘Rebel Without A Pause’ from the album to counter the smaller text that forms the backbone of the poster.
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Screen printed by Dan Mather A1 onto 175gsm Colorplan stock and hand numbered, each poster has a limited run of 50. Fontsmith are giving away one randomly selected poster when two or more weights of the FS Emeric typeface are purchased (while stocks last).
Big thanks to Phil Garnham & Blair Thomson for inviting us to contribute to the project.
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View the microsite (including all the posters) here.
Purchase FS Emeric here.

New!—

Michael — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:04:34 +0000

• Build—Works (01) reprint.
By popular demand!
The elusive Build—Works (01) book previously only available to prospective clients is now available for pre-order.
Buy now and you will receive your copy the day the book arrives in our Shop, after which it will be available to buy for £25. Printed on an enticing mixture of papers, the book is a collection of our work both old and new, with a selection of arresting images of the Build sphynx cats Brockmann & Betty exquisitely photographed by Jason Tozer interleaved throughout. Beautifully printed by Generation Press.
The book is available at a special pre-order price of £20 (normal price £25).
–> Invest HERE.
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• Build—Works (01) & 11 Years show catalogue bundle.
The elusive Build—Works (01) book & our Blood, Sweat & 11 Years catalogue.
The bundle is available at a special pre-order price of £40 (normal price £45).
–> Invest HERE.
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• YES.
Word-Power series YES print-on-demand. Pick from either A2, A1 or A0 sizes.
Hi-quality digital print on Hahnemuhle Matt Fine Art Smooth Photo Rag Bright White 310gsm stock.
A2 — £30, A1 — £60 + A0 — £120.
–> Invest HERE.
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Print-On-Demand—

Sophie — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:48:56 +0000

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We have launched the (by)Build Shop print-on-demand service, and the first print in the series is Michael’s Sunrise Over Manchester poster.
Originally designed for the excellent Print & Paste initiative, info on the project can be found here, and here.
All of the print-on-demand pieces are exclusive to our shop!

Choose from three sizes:
A2 — £30 / A1 — £60 / A0 — £120.

Buy ‘Sunrise’ HERE.

Look out for further designs added to the range in the very near future!
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Follow (by)Build Shop on Twitter and Tumblr.

Close at Fabric—

Sophie — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:35:21 +0000

Some pictures from Saturday night, when Close made its live debut at Fabric.
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The hour-long live set from Aus and Simple boss Will Saul also featured Al Tourettes on drums (visuals by Silent Studios).
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Close’s first single ‘Beam Me Up’ will be released by !K7 very soon — with the full album ‘Getting Closer’ released in May. Take a look at the Close identity we designed for them on our site here. Also a video of Beam Me Up on Youtube.

Shop competition—

Sophie — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:09:23 +0000

***The competition has now closed***
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To celebrate the opening of (by)Build Shop we are offering you the chance to win a truly limited edition original Build print. All you have to do to be in with the chance of winning is to sign up to our Shop newsletter. Seriously, that’s all you have to do!
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• Smiley (click on image for larger view).
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• 01/01 by MCP (click on image for larger view).
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• LOVE (click on image for larger view).
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The winner will be given the choice of three designs; Smiley, 01/01 by MCP or Love, printed on Hahnemühle fine art paper (420(w)x594(h)mm). The print will be personalised with the winner’s name and signed by Michael.
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You have from now until Thursday 28th February to sign-up when the winner will be chosen at random and announced in the first newsletter (out on Monday 4th March).
Everyone who has already subscribed is also in with a chance to win.
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Thanks to everyone who has invested in (by)Build Shop so far.

(by)Build Shop—

Sophie — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:24:25 +0000

• (by)Build Shop branding.
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***UPDATE: (by)Build Shop is now live: www.bybuildshop.com ***
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Our brand new store — (by)Build Shop — is coming very soon, this week in fact!
We have worked hard on our new Shop for several months, listening to feedback from customers and establishing the Shop on its own. (by)Build Shop is built from the ground up, overhauled with plenty of new features to help give a better shopping experience for you (and us!). Users can create accounts to manage orders and address information, register interest in reprints of sold out products and share items on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
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• 11 Years Show Catalogue.
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• Walt print by MCP.
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• Dick print by MCP.
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• Harvey print by MCP.
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The Shop will stock original products, designed and produced by the studio, available exclusively on the store.
Occasionally we will sell brilliant and interesting products by other people and these will be in the not(by)Build section.
It’s also the only place to buy selected archive prints by Michael, and for UK-only customers, the frames as seen in our 11 Years show last September.
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• Tote & Catalogue bundle.
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To celebrate (by)Build Shop’s launch we are selling a Blood, Sweat & 11 Years bundle — catalogue and tote bag — for £40.00 (for a limited time only) and we are also giving one lucky subscriber the chance to win an original Build print, even we won’t have one! Details to be revealed on Thursday.
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Please follow @Build_Shop for details of the launch.

Bringing a little sunshine into January—

Michael — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:10:51 +0000

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Back at work? Feeling a little blue?
Bring a little sunshine into January with our Sun Scale series print.
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Hi-quality 2 colour (triple-hit fluorescent Yellow + Black) screen print.
Screen-printed by K2, on heavy weight Cyclus Offset uncoated stock.
This is a limited edition second run (edition one sold out in two weeks) of the original 2007 print.
Each print is hand-numbered and signed by designer Michael C Place.
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Get your little ray of sunshine here.