North v South

Hello. Welcome to our first episode of 2023! We're the Didi and Gogo of podcasting. So while we wait for Godot come and rummage with us through the dustbin of design and pop culture detritus.

Rob has written to his MP and Ministers about AI art and the rights of illustrators. Jon remains wracked with self doubt and incertitude. Yes, it's another cheery episode of the podcast that is and isn't about design!

I'm sure that there have been more Prime Ministers this year than North v South episodes and it's all Rob's fault. But here we are again; talking about the state of Twitter and what the alternatives are, as well as the usual design news and things on our desks.

In which we bid farewell to a truly great illustrator Kim Jung Gi. We talk about how much daily graft do we put into our creative lives and are we satisfied by the output? Other news includes LEGO and D&D, Lucian Freud at the National, Bonnier Books logo, GDPR nightmare, Andy Budd's world of wisdom, followed by the ying and yang of pies.

In which Rob drinks beer and gets rather angry about tech boys. Jon, meanwhile, is worried about his dog.

After a brief (for us) hiatus of 84 days we return to blether on about, in no particular order: Branston pickle, vertical cities, AI art generators, Jessica Hische, Rings of Power, Design Principals, Awesome Merchandise, Tattly, LEGO Atari, and Fungus the Bogeyman.

This week in episode 108 Rob's been to Birmingham to find enlightenment. Jon's been ripping up carpets trying to find inspiration and comes to the conclusion that he left it in London about 10 years ago.

This week in the podcast with its fingers in the pies, we talk iconic film soundtracks while paying our respects to the genius of Vangelis. Also hello Elizabeth line and hopefully goodbye to boring branding (don't hold your breath).

Rob's just got back from iceland. He didn't bring a prawn ring back mind you. Just lots of pictures. Also he ate horse. Like a dirty dragon. We talk about his trip of a lifetime. We also geek out about notebooks, the ZX Spectrum, Etherington Brothers, PJ Harvey & Space Dwarfs.

Our two brave soldiers have clawed their way out of their fetid sickbeds to bring you the very latest in random stuff they've found on the internet. And design news. They peer into Jodrell Bank's new identity, wonder at Twitter's continued interference, peruse some new fonts and mull over designer labels?

This week Rob's been preparing for his first ever exhibition while droning on about his new toy. Jon's been avoiding any work by trimming hedges in the snow. Catch up with the latest brouhaha over Rob's controversial Cornish pasty made by Swiss bakers.

Too old to code. Hands up who thinks this should be on a t-shirt? Hands down who's too old to wear t-shirts? No one left? Oh well; on with the show…

Is it ever a good idea to tunnel under avolcano? In a world where this sounds like a good idea to many of our leaders, we discuss following narrative and finding truth. Rob's been watching pottery porn. Jon's been up a volcano taking photos of pin badges. Why, oh why do we need Client Day? Why do we need another version of The Ipcress File? Why do we need free microfibre cloths with everything? Why do we eat so many pies? Answers inside. Possibly.

Yes, it's that thing that nobody wanted in the first place. No, not NFTs. Not the Metaverse. Yes, It's us! NORTH V SOUTH IS BACK! And this time it's not only DISRUPTIVE and TRANSFORMATIVE. It literally MAKES NO SENSE!

If you can't polish a turd then can you polish a saveloy? Here at North V South we give it a bloody good attempt. This week in the podcast that is, but isn't, recorded very often we discuss (among other things): Black Library novels; applying immediacy filters and other unwanted tips; a new boardgame magazine Senet ; War of the Worlds; The creator of Minifigs; Darth Maul and Fighting Fantasy, Ellie Sampson paper art, notable bookcover designs of 2019, and, to cap it off, pies. Although pies with lids are just stews with hats on.

Episode 98 is piping hot and cooling on the window sill. We take a peek under the crisp pastry lid of the zeitgeist and find cyber trucks, Chris Ware comics, lovely stationery shops, board games a go-go, cartoon nihilism, and the inner gubbins of pies. With just under a month until Christmas and a Tory junta, join North V South in a societal meltdown as we dance naked through the streets, waving our willies at our clients as we go.

North v South – less regular than a bran-intolerate heroin addict. We ask the questions that the Conservative and Labour parties are too afraid to ask: How are your biorhythms this morning? Will there be baby woodpeckers in Rob's garden this winter? What is a brand guru and is it strictly legal? And, finally, what kind of casserole would Darth Vader eat?

Get ready to shed 96 tears. We're back. We talk Wim Crouwel, Somerset House, Nokia, rival podcasts, paper aeroplanes, Lego adverts, ketchup and the imminent end of civilisation.

You want eclectic. We deliver. Our Deeply Unintelligent™ AI units have digested the internet and spend an hour talking about a whole load of utter nonsense: Camping, depression, 3D resin printers, Blender, Bocage, Lemmie, Mindhunter, Creative constipation, Inktober, District 9, Alan Moore, Vanta black cars, Boots, John Harris, Dieter Rams, London Design Festival. And pies.

A ruined building stands alone, wreathed in vines, wrapped in mystery. Its cracked portico reveals a dark and brooding entrance, occasionally brightened by a pulsing red dot of light. Inside lurks Episode 94 of the podcast that is, and isn't, about design. Lost in time. Forgotten by civilisation. Waiting. Just for you… In this episode we look at a new Akira, online criticism, linocuts, LEGO Space, single line typefaces, meander maps and Apollo XI in realtime.