Andrew Bellamy Design
Andrew Bellamy graduated with a degree in Graphic Design in 03 and worked in London at Live & Breathe. His book Colour Selection was published by AVA in 2004 and was distributed in Europe and North America, and a Japanese edition soon followed. After two years in London it was time to do something new so he moved to Oslo, Norway in search of new challenges. There he worked at Uniform for 18 months before heading to Berlin for a month long photographic research project. After another year freelancing in London, Andrew is now based in Miami having set up a US branch of his brother's successful UK based design company Bellamy Studio.
What would be a dream project for you? Anything with a healthy budget and complete creative control, and plenty of time to do it. So the same as everyone else I guess. Other than that I'd like to work with clients in the arts; theatres or galleries, architects or fashion designers, from the brand up. It was great working with fashion designer Daniel Sørensen as we started everything from scratch, and it was good to be responsible for all aspects of the brand design and art direction.
How did your time in Norway inspire you? Norway, like the other Scandinavian countries has definitely got it right when it comes to design and quality of life and their capitals should be shining examples for all modern cities to follow. They understand and appreciate the value and importance of design. In Oslo, Danish architects have just finished building a hospital filled with bespoke furniture and art on the principle that 'good design makes you feel better.' Something I don't think would ever happen in the UK. There are plenty of museums for the arts, architecture and industrial design, all of which are free entry, and the new opera house is a spectacle. There are bicycles supplied by the government that you can pick up and drop off at stands all over the city and the trams are very efficient. Scandinavia in general is an inspirational place, if you think of the small populations but the huge global output, whether it be IKEA or Volvo. They are industrious but value and make time to appreciate the finer things in life, something we can all learn from when we get too stressed from working too much. But then there isn't as much going on as there is in London, and it's cold and dark for half of the year, so I guess it's all about finding the right balance.
Tell us about Colour Selection? If you understand the psychological effects of colour, cultural connotations and how colour combinations and relationships affect our eyes it is one of the most important tools a designer can use. I wrote Colour Selection as a basic foundation for how to mix colour in graphics applications and how to select colour combinations and what effect they will have. I have since developed my own colour wheel and been working on a new study, Colour Vibrations, investigating formulas for the strongest optical effects but it is on the back burner for now while I work on establishing Bellamy Studio International in Miami.
Favorite cultural hot spots? Berlin and Tokyo are really exciting cities in general but I guess that's obvious. Versailles on Calle Ocho, Miami; great for some picadillo, a tres leches and cortadito. Underwater Pub, Oslo; they have free opera on Tuesday and Thursday nights and Mack on tap. Sam Smith's pubs in Soho, London; the cheapest pints I can think of and a nice crowd.
