As part of the London Design Festival, Designersblock were delighted to host ‘The Secret Life of the Pencil’ – a collaborative project by industrial designer Alex Hammond, and photographer Mike Tinney.
The humble pencil is found where most of mankind’s greatest achievements begin. But will the touch-screen generation ever feel the pleasure of a freshly sharpened pencil or the frustration of a shattered lead?
This photographic project seeks to savour the use of pencils – documenting them in stunning detail, and thereby showing the secrets of their use and revealing an insight into their users: professionals who have defined themselves and their craft with the help of the modest stylus.
Unassuming, unsung and 0.02% the cost of an ipad, our faithful friend continues to lead its many secret lives alongside much more complex technology but at the heart of our most decisive and moving creators.
This collection of pencil images is a direct link back to some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ greatest illustrations, buildings, artworks, photographs, products, make-up designs, graphics, novels, poems, fashion, cartoons and even films.
Contributors Include
David Adjaye, William Alsop, David Bailey, Edward Barber, Celia Birtwell,Sir Peter Blake, Sir Quentin Blake, William Boyd, Michele Burke,Ian Callum, Louis de Bernieres, Tom Dixon, James Dyson, Dave Eggers, Anne Fine, Lord Norman Foster, Stephen Fry, Andrew Gallimore, Sir Kenneth Grange, Charlie Green, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw,Thomas Heatherwick, Pam Hogg, Henry Holland, Peter Jensen, Nadav Kander, Anish Kapoor, Asif Khan, Mike Leigh, Sargy Mann, Alexander McCall-Smith, David Montgomery, Jay Osgerby, Nick Park, Nigel Parkinson, John Pawson, Julia Quenzler, Kate Rhodes, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Christopher Reid, David Rock, Peter Saville, Posy Simmonds, Gerard Scarfe, Sir Peter Scott, David Shilling, David Shrigley, Sir Paul Smith, Philippe Starck, Tom Stuart-Smith, Tim Walker, Stephen Wiltshire.