Brendan Dawes
The Art of Form and Code

That Was The Week That Was — 21st July 2019

I started in earnest on a new client commission — creating four images using data, for a US based client.

As usual everything starts out ugly, and so on the Tuesday I talked them through the start of an idea. In that mix were things I knew weren't right but I like to show them anyway, as it helps clarify what the client is looking for. Sometimes they don't know what they don't like until they see it. The call went well and a few days later they gave more detailed and useful feedback. All of it chimed nicely with what I was thinking anyway, so it's great be in sync on our direction.

As well as working on that project I spoke at two Future Everything events in Manchester. I'm not really sure the theme weaved its way into all the talks as it should have done, and at times I was a bit bemused as to why certain speakers were talking about certain subjects. Anyway, it came and went and that was that. At least I didn't have to be in Manchester again for a while.

On the Thursday evening I had an email that I almost deleted, thinking it wasn't for me. It turned out my work — The Art of Cybersecurity — had been long listed for the prestigious Lumen Prize in the moving image category. I was extremely happy. I slept well that night.

Then on the Friday the parcel from Vitsoe arrived — my 606 shelving system. Over the next few hours I took my time to carefully measure out the wall and follow the instructions exactly. I even measured twice. The spirit level that comes with the system is genius as it has special pins that slot into the tracks so it's spaced correctly. A really lovely detail as is everything that comes with this system. After about four hours my system was up and it was straight too. It was perfect for my needs, to handle the PFU orders in a more efficient way. Of course now I've got my first 606, I have already started to think about replacing every single shelf in the studio.