Wednesday 19 December 2012

Season's Greetings

... from the Assembly Team! We currently have a design intern with us at the studio, and she is doing a great job! So this year's greetings carry Rosi's thumbprint...



Watch out for our portfolio updates in the new year, and you will certainly see some more design work she's done together with our artists and designers!

Have a lovely time, enjoy the Christmas break and see you next year!

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Making Faces



Recently, our UAE designer Dina Khorchid attended Studio 11's Making Faces Workshop - a one day Arabic type design workshop and lecture series, organized by grapheast type foundry and sponsored by Adobe. The workshop grouped together a number of speakers of different design disciplines who shared their knowledge in type design, Arabic calligraphy, dual language communication and software creation.

The day started with an inspiring talk by Mourad Boutros - co-founder of Boutros International. He presented a variety of case studies and shared his journey with design for the Arab world from the 1970's up to our present day.


Next, was a short hands-on experimental exercise in creating a single letter form from an unexpected starting point, instructed by Halim Choueiry - design educator and practitioner. Whoever thought leaves or fruit skin can inspire letters?! Everything is possible in the world of design. Here is a step by step of how Dina's letter 'noon' (N in Arabic) was originally a banana!


1. Black & white scan of organic objects (banana peel/leaf)




2. Extracting forms that resemble Arabic letters




3. Choosing 1 letter form and refining it using a grid



Later, an introductory session to a new font editor software 'Glyphs' - developed by type designers Georg Seifert and Rainer Erich Scheichelbauer, was introduced. Glyphs is an easy to use application which enables type designers to sculpt letter forms digitally and handles all the technical aspects of making a font work so that it can be published and used globally.



Sit back, relax and enjoy the show was a great way to end the day. With a film screening of 'Making Faces -  documentary screening of Metal Type in the 21st Century' A design documentary film by Richard Kegler, paying tribute to the late Canadian designer Jim Rimmer, and shedding light on his process and craftsmanship in creating metal and digital fonts.



One day is surely not enough to create a font, especially in Arabic where each letter needs 3 or 4 variations depending on where it sits in a word. However, being a part of this day was very inspiring, motivating and educational to say the least.

Friday 30 November 2012

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Moscow and home again in 4 days…



Have you ever been wondering what it is like to be a CEO? Our Matt has some stories to tell... read on and see!

I’ve been on my travels again in the quest to keep all the plates spinning across our middle-eastern, Russian and UK client bases and at this time of year it often means I have to try and cover hot and cold climates, plus carry demos and samples and other bits and pieces crammed into one piece of hand luggage.


My mission was to get to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Moscow and back again in 4 days.

The UAE leg of my trip saw me take in a last minute film pitch with the municipality of Abu Dhabi, a website for the ministry of foreign affairs that is looking at non-violent methods to counter violent extremism and to talk to an extremely well-heeled client about a possible promotional campaign in the automotive sector…Not your average Assembly spread of work but increasingly we are working in other areas other than the real estate industry which is good news for diversity.

After 2 hectic days of meetings and catching up with our UAE studio and packing the excellent media pack Dina created for Arab Film Studios (see it here!) into my already over filled luggage, it was time for the Russian homeward bound leg.

It’s only 4/5 hrs to Moscow from Abu Dhabi, but the temperature switch can be quite dramatic. Last year I left 32 degrees behind and walked into -19 deep freeze. Given I only packed a woolly hat as an after thought, I was lucky as it was a balmy 2 degrees when I landed.


My very good friend and client picked me up almost immediately after I arrived at my hotel and speeded expertly through what seemed to be otherwise stationary traffic, took a trolleybus on head to head and darted in at the last minute, scything across 6 lanes of traffic and turning right from the left hand lane…. He chuckled to himself as I inadvertently tried to brake from the passenger seat with my foot and said “You’ve missed this haven’t you?”…. er…. Not really…



Next I had 5 meetings, in 3 locations, and the only way to make the schedule was to use the metro as the traffic in Moscow is horrendous off peak. The metro is magnificent in places, and baffling at the same time if you don’t read Russian. I can read very slowly more or less, but the point is, unless you are deciphering an English word (ie for example the word supermarket) once you actually read the word, it really doesn’t help. 

Try reading Krasnopresnenskaya, in cyrillic, whilst it flashes past the window as you arrive at the station… Krasno…..Kras…….noo…… Krasno….. Kr…. Ah forget it. What you have to do is do what umpires do at the cricket and knock a finger off each time you go through a stop – limits you to 10 stops but I had the fortune not to have to go any further on any one line.
 

So a few tactics I have adopted – get the circle line and count the number of stops in both directions…. If when you get out you’re not where you’d hoped to be, retrace your steps and continue on by the difference? Simples.


Also, I have given up actually trying to exit from the right exit, (often ¼ of a mile difference!!) because just like when you try and take a short cut in IKEA it spits you out in another kitchen department in another country, or in my case, always the furthest exit from where I was headed to.

 

Dinner at an Azerbaijani restaurant was actually delicious – apparently it’s fine to drink high grade vodka, (in fact it’s mandatory) after each mouthful of food to have a shot down in one…. salad with “brown” meat, some interesting pancake things with more minced “brown” meat, tongue, asparagus wrapped in pig fat…. (ok that last one wasn’t so hot…) and delicious bbq’d lamb chops, I think.
 


To cut what is turning out to be a long story short, made the plane back home by the skin of my teeth, changed in Dusseldorf where my luggage nearly left me behind due to a ridiculous queue at passport control and then boarded the plane to London with a German version of Billy Jean’s not my lover was playing – refrained from the obvious and extremely tempting “walk in time” down the aisle, was mildly amused by the German pilot informing us that we needed a “slut” to get things going (think he meant slot) and then settled down to a well earned nap.







Wednesday 28 November 2012



Happy National Day UAE! Celebrating 41 years of the spirit of the union.
 
(The UAE's national day is on the 2nd of  December. It celebrates the union between the 7 emirates in the UAE and the union which was established in 1971.)

Monday 5 November 2012

We are looking for an Interface Designer


We’re looking for a talented designer to join our London-based design team. You should be passionate about all areas of design but with specific expertise in web and UI design. We anticipate a minimum of 5 years commercial experience.

Who are we?

Assembly Studios is a multi-disciplinary design agency providing creative solutions in identity & print, web & interactive, CG illustration & animation. Our award-winning design teams collaborate closely across these disciplines to create coherent output that is both engaging and appropriately informed for its target audience.

With studios in London, Plymouth, and the UAE, Assembly works on a range of projects from local independent design briefs to large-scale international campaigns. See what we do at www.assemblystudios.com

We’re looking for someone who:

• Lives and breathes design.
• Is passionate about web and UI design.
• Is creative & organized.
• Can turn design briefs into engaging customer journeys.
• Has the ability to work well under pressure in a fast paced environment.
• Enjoys working alongside other design professionals.
• Is able to work as part of a team with good communication skills.
• Has excellent experience in InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop (experience of delivering responsive layouts, html and css knowledge a huge bonus).
• Is not scared of foxes.
 
Salary and package to be discussed based on experience.

How do I apply?

We’d love to hear from you. So please drop us your CV with links to your best and most recent work, together with a concise covering letter explaining why Assembly is right for you. Successful applicants will be invited in for coffee and a chat, really successful applicants will be offered a job.

If you’d like further information about the position at Assembly Studios, please contact us on 020 7426 2080 or email ross@assemblystudios.com

Friday 2 November 2012

Disney buy out of Lucasfilm

Look at what our CG guys did...
What will the future of Star Wars look like?!



 Be careful what you want to be when you grow up!

Have a good weekend!

Monday 29 October 2012

Graphic Design Internship



We’re looking for a young talented Graphic Designer to join our London design team to get stuck into a variety of exciting live projects for a 3 month internship. If you’re the right fit, we’d love this opportunity to convert into a full time junior designer role. 

Who are we?

Assembly Studios is a multi-disciplinary design agency providing creative solutions in identity & print, web & interactive, CG illustration & animation. Our award-winning design teams collaborate closely across these disciplines to create coherent output that is both engaging and appropriately informed for its target audience.

With studios in London, Plymouth, and the UAE, Assembly works on a range of projects from local independent design briefs to large-scale international campaigns. See what we do at www.assemblystudios.com

We’re looking for someone who:

• Lives and breathes design
• Passionate about colour & typography
• Creative & Organised
• Can turn complicated and ugly into simple and beautiful
• Has the ability to work well under pressure in a fast paced environment
• Is able to work as part of a team with good communication skills
• Excellent experience in InDesign, Illustrator & Photoshop
• Any web design, coding and development experience a huge bonus
• Is not scared of foxes

The internship terms are:

• Minimum duration of 3 months
• Anticipated start date: mid/end of November 2012
• Monday – Friday 10:00am – 5.30pm (with 1 hour for lunch)
• £37.50 per week expenses allowance

How do I apply?

We’d love to hear from you. So please drop us CV together with a concise covering letter and a link or PDF attached of your best and most recent work. Successful applicants will be invited in for coffee and a quick chat, really successful applicants will be offered a placement.

If you’d like further information about the internship position at Assembly Studios, please contact us on 020 7426 2080 or email jobs@assemblystudios.co.uk

Wednesday 24 October 2012



As mecca glitters this night with pilgrims from all over the world, we wish you a radiant, blessed and prosperous EID AL ADHA here from our team at Assembly Studios MENA to you and your family!

Friday 19 October 2012

Biennale Architettura Venezia 2012



Yes, going on an adventure sometimes means getting up early in the morning.... very early!


Our CG Artist David traveled to Venice to see the 13th International Architecture Exhibition, titled Common Ground. This theme wants to reassert the existence of an architectural culture, made up not just of singular talents but a rich continuity of diverse ideas united in a common history and common ambitions. Common Ground is a moreover appropriate for this event as...

... everything ...

... begins with the ground in architecture! 
 
 
David was particularly impressed by the inventiveness of architects and artists in interpreting the theme - These pictures let you gain an impression of what he means:

 


A pavilion made of QR-Codes



Inspiration for our meeting room!
 

The Architectural Biennale is open from 29th August to 25th November 2012 so you still have a chance to go and see it! If you do, we would love to hear about it!


 Good night for now and have a good weekend!





Tuesday 25 September 2012



Assembly's Plymouth studio is looking for a middle weight developer to join it's interactive team.

You will be a confident PHP, MySQL developer, comfortable developing object oriented php applications and putting together CSS / responsive layouts. You will have experience of working on a range of commercial solutions including ecommerce and mobile applications and have a working knowledge of current protocols and methodologies for popular web API's and standards compliance.

Assembly's development team are looking for another solid programmer to further enable the creative potential of themselves and the wider team.

Personable and hygenic a plus ;)

For more information please email jobs@assemblystudios.co.uk

Friday 7 September 2012

New Adventures of Assembly Studios


This was our object of desire, fear and bravery - the Assembly team decided to rise to the challenge of climbing the UK's biggest crisp, which we had watched growing right outside our studio windows.


Our guest Assembler Luke was the first to try. His face speaks volumes: "... should I really do this?!?" And how he did it! An hour later he admitted: "I start feeling human again!"
Next comes Matt, see the look of anticipation!







... and there he goes, Matt conquering the crisp.


Shift changeover: While Ross is just a pullup away from the top, Charlotte is half way through.






We have made it - safe touchdown, great experience! A huge thanks to our photographer Calvin!
The Assembly team is always on the lookout for new adventures, whatsoever - if you would like to go on one with us, we would love to hear from you!

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Levitating Street Art!

Look what we have discovered in London's streets!

... can this be a doppelganger of our Managing Director Richard? It's not that we didn't already know he has superpowers, but this levitation surprised even us! Assembly Magic!

If you have seen any more examples of Google Streetview Street Art on your journeys, let us know!

Thursday 16 August 2012

Eid Mubarak!




As we say goodbye to a month of fasting, we welcome and celebrate the arrival of Eid Al-Fitr, the festivity of breaking the fast. We hope that Ramadan has illuminated lives through auspicious blessings, sharing, charity and warm Iftar gatherings.

On this occasion, best wishes from Assembly Studios!

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Now that the Olympic Games are over, are you curious to find out what will happen to the surrounding park?

What has been the Mecca of sports fans and the home to athletes from all over the globe will soon become a neigbourhood to live in and to stroll about. A whole new community area will be enlivened, creating up to 8000 new homes, schools, nurseries and playgrounds.
You can't imagine what that might look like? Our CGI artists have produced these series of images for the Olympic Park Legacy Masterplan some time ago, now they are an inspiring vision of the possible future atmosphere in Stratford. For those of you who have visited an Olympic event, do you recognise some of the landmarks? Let us know!




Download our Guide "Zero Risk Approach to CGI "