QR gift wrap

Some interesting ways of using various QR codes and creating seasonal themed imagery using them. The QR codes reveal hundreds of different gift ideas.  Designed by The Chase. 

Neon signs

Found images that I have taken inspiration for the app colour scheme.

Open publication - Free publishing - More brief 1

Pampered chef

The change of direction has got me looking at various host your own type of parties/social gatherings one of which, being well known for it is pampered chef. The aim of this company is to book a show online and the Pampered chef sends over a consultant to help you host the event where the host and the guest participate in cooking various things. During and after the event there is opportunities to purchase order the various equipment used in the show, which is all branded by pampered chef.

Cocktail making techniques

Build over ice: This is the simplest method of making a cocktail, it simply involves placing ice in the glass & pouring the ingredients over the top. It can also help create colourful effects.


Blender: The hardest thing to do well when blending cocktails is to correctly measure the ice. The beginners method to get the correct amount and limit wastage until you become confident with the amount of ice that should go into the blender is to fill your glass with ice, then pour the ice from the glass into the blender. When pouring ingredients from a blender gently tap the side of the blender continuously this firstly gives you consistency & a smooth transition into the glass. If pouring 2 drinks from the 1 blend only fill the glasses ½ way to ensure consistency.


Stir: Used most commonly in cocktails containing gin to avoid bruising the gin. This is my most elegant form of cocktail mixology. The reason for stirring a cocktail is to get an evenly balanced flavour. It is also used commonly as a way of mixing flavours when the drink contains a fizzy substance, example Champagne or soft drink. In cocktails such as the Old fashion the goal is to slowly infuse the aromatic flavour of bitters with Bourbon, water melted from ice & sugar. Normally stirred cocktails will be strained. Double straining is also recommended for martini style cocktails.


Shake and Strain: The goal of shaking a cocktail is similar to that of stirring a cocktail except is much more effective when using liqueurs. A Liqueur is much heavier in density than a spirit due to their high sugar content. Shaking a cocktail is also a groovy look for any stylish bar. The technique is simple, pour ingredients over ice into the mixing glass, put metal tin over the top and shake. Always shake with glass pointed up & hand firmly over the mixing glass.


Muddle Shake and Strain: Over the last 5 years cocktail muddling has become the most popular way of mixing cocktails by mixologists in all the world trendy bar scenes. The reason is that it extracts the full flavour of fresh fruit, herbs & spices. Allowing Cocktails to take on new culinary styles. To Muddle a cocktail ingredients is simply to crush the ingredients to extract their flavour. In many fruits such as limes there are huge amounts of flavour in the fruits skin that is essential to the flavour of drinks such as the Mojito & Caipiroska. Although most drinks & muddles with sugar it is not essential. The reason that we then shake & strain the cocktail is to remove all the excess pieces of fruit & herbs as it is their wonderful flavours that we aim to acquire. It is also very important when making martini style cocktails to double strain.


Throwing: This is the latest London bar trend. It is normally used with Martini’s to aerate the drink enhancing the flavour of the Gin. The technique simply involves long pouring the ingredients of a cocktail between two mixing glasses. The same technique used in India to make chai tea. To separate tap the top of the metal tin firmly on flat side, put hawthorn strainer on top of tin and strain into glass.


Text sourced from Earthbar.

Cocktail the film

Wall st. case

IPad Guardian app

Very relavent to my dissertation and can be linked to my cocktails guide brief. Primarily the app I am designing is for the IPhone but I can look at ways in which to implement it onto the IPad. This will is very useful for me in that for my dissertation I am examining the relationship between how people read and take in information on various printed and digital formats using the Guardian as an example.

T-Mobile Angry Birds

iOS App Guidelines

Useful information as I start to look at designing the Icon for the cocktail app. This resolves my previous query about whether or not I had to design the glass button affect for the app icon. It also gives me the dimensions that I can work at in order for my icon to work within the Iphone screen.

Above will allow me to select specific gestures for different animations within the app potentially. Information found on the iOS Developer Library. 

App Icon Typeface

IPhone Icon fridge magnets

Angry Birds

Angry Birds is one of the most popular IPhone apps to date selling over 12 million copies from the Apple app store since December 2009. Since then there have been multiple add-ons to the game and now various merchandise that has come from the game to create a franchise. With apps it is important that everything is encompassed in the identity of that particular app, so the icon relates to the style of what is in the content of the app and vice versa. 

Printed cocktail guide formats

Just some various different formats of cocktail guides and menus.

New Amsterdam Digital Cocktail

The New Amsterdam Gin is an interactive website which allows people that visit the site to send their email contacts or Facebook friends a cocktail. The user is asked a series of questions about the contact, when answered the site brings up various cocktail options for that person which the user can then choose to send them. The website plays a video on the site of a barman making the cocktail using the gin which is sent with a personalised not from the user via email. 

Small publication from Tobey Edwards an interesting format.

Icon Prints: Drinks Series

A series of icon prints with the theme of drink.

Cranky Pressman Coasters

Set of The Cranky Pressman's new line of coasters. The concept behind each coaster is that each one has an elderly seaside dwelling character that has his/her own recipe for a drink. On each coaster it includes a recipe, illustrations that have been letter pressed. I think as an alternative, or side by side promotional type of promotional material, coasters can be a great format which can be dropped into pubs, bars and at events to promote the app.

Cocktail app

Looking at whats out there for cocktails and cocktail apps. The Cocktail App from Konstantin Datz. This is a great start to looking at what is already out there, this app seems clean and well presented I just need now to find someone with an IPhone and test it out. It seems to me that the app is very much instructional, I want to add the element of sharing and fun enhancing the capabilities of the IPhone as much as possible. I think that the use of pictograms and simple visuals are something that I can explore and experiment with.

Content for cocktail supplement

Possible content for the cocktail supplement. I listed various cocktails the ingredients used, garnishes and glasses.

Open publication - Free publishing - More cocktails