Change of blog address

We have moved the blog from wordpress to our own server – although still running wordpress. The new address is:

http://www.f7creative.co.uk/blog/

See you over there!

Karl

Don Foster (Lib Dem) on DEBILL

Thankfully there are MPs who listen and respond!!

Thanks for writing to Don Foster MP about the Digital Economy Bill. Don has asked me to respond on his behalf, explain the Liberal Democrat position on the Bill, and give the reasons why our MPs voted against it.

Don made clear in the chamber that the government had handled this Bill very badly, and that they could have found ample time to debate it properly if they had tried, stating: “It is totally inappropriate for a Bill as important as this to be given so little time for debate in this House.” (http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2010-04-06b.853.0)

Liberal Democrats have long accepted that measures are needed to address peer to peer file sharing. But any moves to do so must be transparent with full parliamentary and public scrutiny. Our aim was to ensure that safeguards were in place, so that no controversial moves could be taken without opportunity for parliament to block them. We tabled an amendment that would have made it much more difficult for the government to introduce technical measures (such as disconnection). The proposal was accepted, so any decision to cut people off from the internet will now require two months of consideration by Parliament, and MPs will be able to reject the move if they do not think it is justified.

Having earlier deleted the undemocratic Clause 17, which would have given the government powers to rewrite copyright law at will, the Liberal Democrats also attempted to remove powers to block websites. This measure, in Clause 18, had only recently been added to the Bill. Despite efforts to improve the wording of Clause 18, it was clear that it was too flawed to stay. Don gave his reasons in a speech which can be found here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2010-04-07a.1135.4.

The government rejected our efforts to remove this clause. For this reason, Don Foster and many other Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the Digital Economy Bill on Wednesday night. You can find a list of who voted here: http://www.libdemvoice.org/?p=18757&utm_source=tweet&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=twitter.  Liberal Democrat peers also voted against site blocking in the Lords this afternoon.

Please rest assured that the issues in the Bill will be considered in Parliament again – we fought very hard for safeguards to make sure this would have to happen, and the government gave in to most of our demands. The Lib Dems will do everything we can to ensure any future regulations created as a result of the Bill are properly considered, fair and workable.

Many thanks again for writing to Don about the Bill, and I hope this answers your query.

Kind regards,

Oliver

Lib Dem response re: Digital Economy Bill

I emailed Don Foster, my local MP, the following earlier today:

Hi

I was wondering if you could clarify for me the position you are taking on the DE Bill? I’ve seen that there are elements that you support and others that you do not but it would be helpful to have a bit more info. As a creative myself I would hate to think that the Digital Economy Bill was being voted though on my behalf when it is blatantly obvious that this bill will not support the creative industries in any way, shape of form. It is a poorly structured bill with serious repercussions for us all, and many worrying legal features that could easily be exploited by the next government, whoever they may be.

I look forward to your replay and hope that Don Foster will be voting against the DE Bill today

Kind regards

Karl

Just got the reply:

Thank you for writing to Don Foster MP about the Digital Economy Bill. Don has asked me to respond on his behalf.

The Liberal Democrats will not accept anything in this bill that has not received adequate consideration, nor any parts that do not come with much greater opportunity for consideration later on.

The government has handled its legislative timetable extremely badly, and this Bill should have been debated much more. Don Foster MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for this issue, recently argued in the Commons that government handling of the bill has been “totally inappropriate”.

File sharing, however, is a serious issue that should have been addressed a long time ago. The Bill remains our best opportunity to start the process of handling it. But we have demanded that in every part of the bill relating to file sharing there must be plenty of opportunity for further deliberation later, to take account of the limited debate there has been in this parliament.

The Liberal Democrats have fought very hard to ensure that the Bill’s controversial elements can only be brought into effect after plenty of time has passed, followed by consultation, further scrutiny, and the opportunity for Parliament to debate, amend, or even vote against the plans. Liberal Democrats will not accept these sections of the Bill without this rigorous and thorough process.

Measures to enable site blocking, however, should not be in the Digital Economy Bill as it is simply too new an addition. We will not support any such measures. If the power to block websites is not removed from the Bill, then our MPs will vote against it in the Commons.

Yours sincerely,

Oliver Campion-Awwad

Office of Don Foster MP

Liberal Democrat MP for Bath

Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport

Which sounds like they’ll vote for it and hope to have another crack at reforming it next Parliament…not sure that will work, but it looks like it’s all we’ll be getting.

Fin Surf

 

The Fin Surf logotype

Heading in towards the end of 09 we’ve been busy pulling together a large project for a new surf brand – Fin Surf. From the logo, branding and marketing to the products themselves it’s been a huge undertaking that’s not finished yet. But the initial marketing is set to kick off in the New Year with products following at retail in the UK and Ireland.

The logo itself was designed as a shark, surfboard and wave incorporating the name fin which gives a fluid, dynamic feel which the type element backs up with a blend of sans serif and decorative typefaces used. We’ve had some great feedback so far and are now looking forward to seeing this start up hit the retail market next year.

3 designs in the Fin Surf T shirt range

 

At present the products set to launch are wetsuits, T shirts and accessories with additional products including surfboards in the pipeline. The site is set to go live in the first few months of 2010 with a holding page up at the moment.

3 designs in the Fin Surf female T range

There are some initial promo T shirts out and about now to start generating some interest over in Ireland in preparation for the product launch next year and we are hoping to have some give aways in Spring 2010. Marketing starts in full in 2 weeks time so Fin Surf will make another appearance here once that’s in full swing!

Urban Cocktails

Silver metallic printed cover photo with silver foil blocked title

I spent some time a few months ago designing and editing a new book about cocktails – Urban Cocktails - written by Georgios Andritsos. The concept was to produce a book that was small and compact, modern, stylish, elegant and informative. Phew, quite a list and a small size to fit it all into. Most of the photography had already been shot by Anne Ogundipe in Norway, leaving me to source a couple of additional images and then get on and edit the text down and design the whole thing. It was a great project which I really enjoyed, and working with Georgios was wonderful.

We  ended up with a compact book of great recipes, silver metallic printed cover with silver foil blocked title, great page layouts with beautiful images and all-in-all a book that’s a great object in its own right as well as a great reference for mixing drinks. It’s now selling on amazon.co.uk here…

Urban Cocktails

… and I’m determined to try a few of the recipes out over Christmas and the New Year. The book design was a great challenge on this project and fun to do as it’s very different to what usually comes my way. It’s something I hope to get the chance to do again. especially as the publisher decided to go with a fully printed packing box for retailers to purchase – nothing a designer likes more than final details!

 

"it was great fun working with beautiful images and creative free rein"

These just added to the feeling that the book is really something special

 

 

Posted by Karl : 20:11:2009

kick off

Welcome to the new F7 Creative blog. Here we will attempt to keep you up-to-date with all things new in the design world, not just our own new work! As it’s early doors at the moment there’s not too much to see, but keep checking back and we should have lots of great info to feast upon soon!