Nice coin action

Not one to be an avid collector of coins (but a pretty good spender of 'em), I've never really seen many coin or note designs that's impressed me much (aside from the Meta designed Dutch notes a few years back).

The new designs revealed by the Royal Mint however, are truly impressive: modern yet still a connection to the historical past. 

The new designs were chosen via an open competition which was widely publicised in the national media in August 2005 and attracted 4,000 entries. The winning designer is 26-year-old Matthew Dent, originally from Bangor who now lives and works in London as a graphic designer.

I do hope they're sorted that rather bloated portrait of the Queen however. Or used that portrait from the 60's, as she looked quite nice then...

We won a Webby!

Fantastics news, the www.tfl.gov.uk site which I Art Directed has won a People's Voice Webby Award! The whole project has had the input of some of the best designers, strategists and IA's, both within Detica and on the client side, and it is thanks to them that we've delivered such a successful web site (I'd like to think I had something to do with it too..)

This award comes on the back of the Design Week Commendation we got for Tfl, pipped to the post by something called the iPhone (any ideas??).

Here's an excerpt from the official Detica press release: 500,000 votes cast for international honour
The specialist business and technology consultancy, and Transport for London (TfL) have won the People's Choice award in the 2008 Webby Awards, the leading international award honouring excellence in interactive design, creativity, usability and functionality on the Internet.

The TfL website, redesigned by Detica and TfL's new media team, was one of 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries considered by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities.

"Nearly 500,000 votes were cast in the Webby People's Voice Awards and the people have spoken. This is a tremendous honour — your work truly represents the best of the Web," said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. "The Transport for London website is a testament to the skill, ingenuity and vision of its creators."

This award follows hot on the heels of a special commendation for the Detica and TfL team in the recent Design Week Awards, in which the innovative design of the TfL website came second only to Apple's iPhone.