After the success of last year’s campaign, Scottish Book Trust came to O Street to design the identity for Book Week Scotland 2021: their 10th Anniversary.

Scottish Book Trust have been bringing the joys of reading and writing to everyone in Scotland for 23 years, and transforming lives in the process. One of the ways they fuel Scottish arts and culture is through Book Week Scotland: a hefty programme of events and resources championing Scotland’s finest authors, poets, playwrights and storytellers.

Our goal was to parallel the creative enthusiasm and excitement of the week with playful designs and character illustrations packed with personality.

In line with Book Week Scotland’s 10th Anniversary, this year’s theme was ‘Celebration’. Think birthday cakes, confetti, and balloons galore. With a parade of illustrative character designs, an abundance of flags and banners, and joy all round, this direction captures the uplifting party atmosphere of the anniversary.

This route lends itself to lively motion and application on a range of assets. From social media posts to bookmarks to posters in shop windows, these cheerful characters can pop up all over Scotland. Have you spotted any of them?

Okay, it’s tough to have a BAD two weeks in Portugal, but Porto Design Summer School is a good way to get it right.

Photo: Porto Design Summer School

Student work. Photo: Porto Design Summer School

O Street’s Josh P took part in the course’s first run in 2013. Walking the streets of this majestic, brilliantly grungy and deathly hot city, he learned more about design and his physical capacity to sweat in two weeks than he had in years at university. It certainly didn’t hurt that the tutors were some of the best living graphic designers, including Jonathan Barnbrook and Jessica Helfand.

A quote by tutor Andrew Howard, illustrated by Josh P

The focus of the course was typographic. The students become completely immersed in the local visual vernacular; Oporto is an endlessly fascinating city chock full design inspiration.

The final project is to take a work of literature and interpret it through the lens of the city with a print publication. It‘s a crash-course in type, layout, and contextual design.

Student work. Photo: Porto Design Summer School

Photo: Porto Design Summer School

Photo: Porto Design Summer School

For this summer’s course, the programme has a shiny new responsive website and a suite of amazing new tutors, with Ronnie Fueglister and Sonya Dyakova joining staples Andrew Howard and Hamish Muir. Their work is amazing.

If you feeling a calling to do so, sign up here to enjoy design, exploring and mingling in Porto.

— Josh P
(This post was not paid or requested by the school.)

Plug things in your ears and learn about design. What a world! Here’s our must-listen list for design podcasts.

99% Invisible is a tiny radio show about design—everything from IKEA hacks to how sound waves work. Technically a radio show, this pod is polished, well-produced and a good call if the rough-and-ready nature of some podcasts puts you off.

Design Matters with Debbie Millman is an oldie but a goodie — she was uploading interviews onto Soundcloud before there were podcast apps. Millman has talked to pretty much all the greats over the past twelve years, so check out the archive for your favourite designers.

It’s Nice That is a podcast where you never know what you might find, but you’re glad you stopped by (kind of like their website). Let these lads take you someplace new.

The Observatory features two heavyweights of American design, Yale’s Jessica Helfand and Pentagram’s Michael Bierut. They discuss “what’s going on and what’s in the air.” This podcast is a must for anyone specifically looking for a graphic design slant on things.

Sprint is the only pod here focused on a specific practice — UX design. Unlike every other UX show on the web, it won’t put you to sleep. The hosts Cody, Kyle and Michael are insightful and genuinely hilarious.

What are your go-to design podcasts — are there any egregious omissions here? Let us know via email or Twitter!