Design for an Icon

Blue River has created the identity for The Lubetkin Theatre, the much anticipated 220 seat theatre within the new £36m East Durham College, Peterlee.

Named in honour of the Russian born Architect Berthhold Lubetkin, a leading influence in modernism and who established the highly regarded Tecton movement. From 1947 to 1949 Berthhold was chief architect for Peterlee New Town and the naming pays tribute to his pioneering vision for the town.

Sasha Lubetkin, daughter of Berthold will officially open the theatre on 5th October 2009.

Politics & Play

Design Event communications 2009, created by Blue River have just hit our streets! Check out the Apathy image (above) appearing on the front cover of the latest issue of The Drum. The North East’s fifth annual design festival celebrates design in the North East, with this year’s festival following the theme of politics and play. Design Event 2009 offers a series of exhibitions, talks, tours and events from 16th-26th October 2009. For further info see design-event.co.uk

An angelic award!

The Angel of the North’s 10th Birthday campaign, for which Blue River developed the creative, has won a major national award for Gateshead Council. The 10th Birthday campaign celebrated the making of the regional icon and how it has impacted on the local community since it’s launch in 1998. The ‘Good Communications Award’ recognises the campaign’s excellence in communicating with the public and in promoting public sector efforts towards effective communication.

Inhabit goes live!

This week has seen the finishing touches added to our recent work for Arts Council England, with the launch of their Inhabit website. The Inhabit project aims to enhance knowledge, promote best practice and ultimately contribute to increasing the availability of sustainable, creative workspaces across the UK. To view the work in action check out creativeworkspace.info/

Evolutionary Thinking

If you have a little spare time on your hands this Easter, why not take a trip to see our friends at Baltic? Their latest offer exploring evolutionary thinking and the Theory of Natural Selection is definitely one not to miss! A few of the Blue River team will certainly be heading along to check out the artists and their work. A Duck for Mr. Darwin is a group exhibition focusing on the legacy of Charles Darwin’s ideas and runs from 10th April – 20th September 2009 and admission is free. For further info see balticmill.com

Design Week

Blue River has been hitting the headlines this week, with work we produced for Baltic. Design Week asked us to submit some of our work for a section they have put together on effective design for collectible exhibition brochures. There are even a few words from our very own Mr Cantwell in there! Take a look at the full article here

Design Event Talk

The Blue River team is very excited about this month’s educational office outing. We will be heading to a Design Event talk to gain some wisdom from the self taught graphic designer and author of How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, Adrian Shaughnessy and Michael C Place of the Build graphic design studios in London.

The talk will take place here in Newcastle at DanceCity, Temple Street on 25th March, 6pm. If you would like to join us tickets are available from dancecity.co.uk or see design-event.co.uk for further info. See you there!

Who done it?

The team at Blue River is trying to solve the mystery behind the billboard, down our road at Forth Banks. Can you help us? We would like to find out the name behind the work. So if you have any information that could help us in our mission then please contact hello@blueriver.co.uk.

Chav Master!

Well we never thought it would happen but Chav mania has taken over the Blue River Office! Friend of Blue River, Simon Zimmerman, Arts Management supremo, sent us a copy of his new Chav Master game last month. Chav Master is a new kind of gaming experience built around classic party games that we all know and love. The idea is you get your mates together to fight it out to gain the most A.S.B.O’s and quite literally, the biggest loser wins! Everything you need is in the box. So what are you waiting for? Get yourself to chavmaster.com to secure your copy and see what it’s like to be a real Chav!

Business Collectors Network Exhibition

The first exhibition of the Business Collectors Network Collection hits Newcastle next month, showcasing contemporary art created by emerging artists living and working in the North East. The event is a great opportunity to both view and purchase works from regional artists and galleries. The exhibition is with us from 16th – 27th March 2009 and located at Coopers Building, Westgate Road.