'Speak your mind'. 'Feel your feelings'. ‘Run your own race’.

These are but a handful of the 30 messages being shared by one Devon based designer.

As memories of a summer lockdown have been swept away by the cold chill of winter, Plymouth-based illustrator Pete Clayton’s 30-day passion project aims to spread positivity in these bleak winter times we find ourselves in. Each of his posts combines brightly coloured, hand-drawn illustrations and cheerful typographic messages sharing small nuggets of wisdom or positive vibes that can help boost anyone's mood.

Browsing through Pete's illustrations, these warm, positive messages are partnered with bold, charming visuals to brighten up anyones insta feed. It’s easy to fall into patterns of negativity in the uncertain times we find ourselves in, but simple visual snapshots such as these can go a long way to lift you up for a brief second. "I am by no means a self-help guru," Says Pete, "but I have a passion for visual storytelling and like to dispense advice from my point of view and if it can help other people along the way then that would be the main goal."

Drawing on his expertise as a freelance designer Petes work is a welcome addition to instagram feeds on any gloomy weekday social media binge.

Accumulate Book of Homelessness

As one of the most vulnerable groups to the coronavirus, the lives of homeless people have become a battleground for activists and politicians alike over the past year. But what if they could tell their own stories?

London-based charity Accumulate has worked with people affected by homeleness to create a graphic novel that shares their experiences of sleeping rough. Using illustration and graphic design, the book is a way for people impacted by homelessness to regain authorship, agency and control over their own narratives. The organisation invited people living in hostels, shelters and temporary accommodation to participate in writing, illustration and drawing workshops to inform the contents of the graphic novel. Called The Book of Homelessness, the publication includes powerful and beautifully designed representations of homelessness, featuring a separate section for each author to document their life experiences.

This is the latest in a series of creative projects run by Accumulate in collaboration with those experiencing homelessness; the charity has long supported the community through creative education and workshops covering areas including photography, sculpture and graphic design. Accumulate has helped channel 20 students into creative education positions, while also launching Second Judgement - the UK’s first radio station written, produced and run by people affected by homelessness.

Man-Made Mountains

Copenhill is a fascinating waste to energy plant which turns the city of Copenhagen’s rubbish into heat and power. To any other european city this is a feat in itself however this isn’t the most remarkable thing, it’s the fact that the roof itself doubles up as a dry ski slope! The plant was designed by future thinking Danish architects, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) with the intention of creating a dual use for the building and to make one of the least desirable places in the city into a place where people actually want to visit.

Powerplants by all accounts don’t seem the natural match for outdoor sport experiences however what’s unique about Copenhill is that it’s the cleanest waste to energy power plant in the world. This innovation in producing ‘clean’ waste’ meant that the design around the plant could be completely reimagined, redefining the way buildings like this are understood and interacted with.

Copenhill is a great example of Bjarke Ingels hedonistic sustainability, the idea that just because something is rooted in sustainability doesn’t mean that it can’t also be fun and inspiring. You can now see the park in all it’s glory in new aerial photographs from Hufton+Crow which capture the rooftop complex through a blanket of fog.

Gaming Gets an Edge

In the world of video gaming, the monitor is a crucial aspect of a gamer’s set-up and this week a newly designed gaming monitor from a perhaps surprising source has entered the space. To the delight of gamers who also love their sports cars, Porsche Design have partnered with established monitor provider AOC to introduce the latest gaming monitor product based upon Porsche’s iconic 911 car.

Inspired by the 911’s motor, it has a silver stand supposedly mimicking a race car’s roll cage whilst the monitor itself features a multi-light projector used to shine the Porsche Design logo from the back of the display onto your table.

Porsche Design and AOC’s collaboration on this product has already seen them receive a 2020 Red Dot design award exemplifying its design brilliance and high quality finish, with further striking features on the monitor including a wireless keypad that looks like a Porsche’s centre console.