Why letters on signs and buildings across the UK keep going missing

H_ve y_u been w_ndering where the letters in D_wning Street _nd W_terst_nes h_ve g_ne?

Partners and brands around the capital have dropped the letters A, O and B from their names today in support of National Blood Week. The new “Missing Type” campaign uses the three letters that make up the blood groups to raise awareness of the need for new donors.

New NHS research shows that new blood donors are in decline – there has been a drop of 40 per cent fewer new people signing up to donate in the last ten years, a trend blamed on the increasing popularity in exotic travel and tattoos, which temporarily bar people from donating.

Jon Latham, assistant director for Donor Services and Marketing at NHS Blood and Transplant, said in a statement:

While we can meet the needs of patients now, it’s important we strengthen the donor base for the future. If we don’t attract new people… to donate it will put more pressure on the ability to provide the right type of blood the NHS needs for patients in the future.

As well as retailers, people have been joining in on social media, losing letters from their names:

You can help fill in the gaps by finding your nearest blood drive here.

via Why letters on signs and buildings across the UK keep going missing.

Seven Brave and Powerful Magazine Covers

The D&AD Awards Magazine & Newspaper Design category celebrates the absolute pinnacle in digital magazines, magazine design, supplements, editorial design and magazine layouts. But sometimes it’s the simplest of magazine cover designs that win over a jury. The examples below show D&AD award winning, powerful front covers that revel in their own bravery.

Bloomberg Businessweek

Award: In Book / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Magazine Front Covers / 2012

For Bloomberg, the goal is to design original, surprising covers each week that make people pick up the magazine. They strive for something that looks a little removed from what people traditionally perceive an American business magazine to look like, yet something accessible to anyone passing a newsstand.

Bloomberg Businessweek – Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Award: Yellow Pencil / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Entire Magazines / 2012

Official word of Steve Jobs’ death reached ‘Bloomberg Businessweek’ as the staff of 40 was finishing a regular issue. The regular issue was scrapped and the staff spent all night finalising the special issue. The special issue provides an in-depth look at the man behind all the products that the world admires.

Granta 110: Sex

Award: In Book / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Magazine Front Covers / 2011

Granta magazine tackles numerous themes through literature and art. In this issue, they addressed the toughest topic of all – sex – from an array of angles. 110 provides an example of how Granta try to use cover art to initiate dialogue and as the catalyst for branding universal topics. The cover was printed on a tactile, velveteen stock, playing on our sense of touch.

The New York TImes Magazine Israel vs Iran

Award: In Book / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Magazine & Newspaper Front Covers / 2013

Agency: There Is

For the ‘Israel vs Iran’ cover, a war- torn approach was in order, creating the headline in the smouldering remains of the aftermath of conflict. The challenge was to express drama in a rough yet clean aesthetic using raw and evocative materials. Achieving clear legibility while retaining an organic feel to the type was key to creating a bold typographic piece that resonated strongly with the subject.

Wallpaper* Work Issue

Award: In Book / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Magazine Front Covers / 2009

Four covers were produced for Wallpaper* magazine’s first ever work-themed issue, using bold, striking type, with their own slogans: ‘Work is Play’; ‘Work More Live More’; ‘Work Hard and Be Nice to People’; and ‘Play and Work and Play’.

Typical of Anthony Burrill’s style, the covers were an apt continuation of his cult ‘Work Hard’ poster. The four collectable covers also used an experimental matt printing technique to further the tactility and individuality of each issue.

Time Magazine

Award: In Book / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Magazine Front Covers / 2009

Agency: Euro RSCG

Time Magazine approached Euro RSCG with an opportunity to create a cover for their special issue, ‘100 Most Influential People’. They decided to use all 100 influential people in the composite of this one face.

New York Magazine – The City and the Storm

Award: Nomination / Magazine & Newspaper Design / Magazine & Newspaper Front Covers / 2013

New York Magazine sent photographer Iwan Baan up in a helicopter as Hurricane Sandy lifted and produced the image that, for many New Yorkers, told its own story. Because most other air traffic was grounded, the controllers allowed the helicopter a much higher ceiling than usual, giving Baan a far better vantage point than he’d otherwise have. We see laid out before us the familiar silhouette of lower Manhattan, inked out; a visual sinkhole – and then, to the north, slicing across as if with a razor, the dividing line that demarcates a city blazing with light.

via Seven Brave and Powerful Magazine Covers | D&AD.