Occasionally a telegram will fly across our virtual press desk, enquiring about art and design for an up and coming editorial or blog feature. We’ll snap into gear and push as much awesomeness in their general direction in the hope that we can spread the love for more RB artists. Sometimes we see opportunities on the horizon; things we predict will be covered on blogs, in magazines and other media.

We’ve always been a little reluctant to post about press opportunities or the creation of more commercial work because this kind of thing can get people’s underpants in a twist. But the RB community is a diverse place. As part of this diversity, we’re home to a growing number of illustrators, photographers, designers and artists who do create works that reflect current trends in fashion, interior design and homewares or incorporate seasonal changes and current events. This does not mean they’re lacking in the soul or moral integrity departments. And of course these kinds of posts do not mean we want everyone to down tools and start producing only works based on the whim of seasonal trends. Keep doing what you do. If the style of your work, the way you promote yourself and the sources you draw inspiration from align with the information you find here, then that’s marvellous. If this sparks some great ideas, even better. And if it’s not for you, that’s also completely cool.

So with that out of the way, there are a couple of potential opportunities we’ve spotted on the horizon and a few themes that might just be appearing on editorial calendars in the coming months.
 

 

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
 

On the first weekend in June, the good people of the United Kingdom will be enjoying an extra bank holiday and a cubic shedload of bunting, street parties and cucumber sandwiches as Her Majesty marks 60 years on the throne. It’s called The Diamond Jubilee and already the blogosphere is going a bit mad for it. Queue nostalgia, a celebration of Britishness (in all its many and varied forms) and a whole lot of related art and design. As you can see in the fine print on the posts below, this is a theme that prompts a lot of bad design so cynical bloggers will be particularly impressed by unique takes on the subject matter and great, high quality art and design.

_{Recent Jubilee related features from the Creative Review blog and the Guardian House and Home blog.}
 

The Olympics
 

God save us from the Olympics. We’re sick of it already (all that running around and swimming and playing of basketball makes us tired) but there will be many, many people who will still want to dive in and roll around in the Olympic glory, even when they’re cleaning the stadium after the closing ceremony. It’s a subject that’s ripe for some tangental brainstorming.

Forget your Olympic rings – push some concepts a little further. A series of amazing time-lapse sports photography, a collection of retro found type on local sports centres, big pixel Olympic teams, a series of illustrations based around misplaced sports gear or long obsolete events. And these are just the ideas Mr Baxter came up with on morning tea. Editors and bloggers will be looking for tie-ins with an Olympic or sports theme come late July. If you’re looking for inspiration for that next project or series of works, now’s a great time to get all Olympic flavoured (eeew).

 

Summer and/or Winter
 

As with most years, both will be happening, simultaneously, at either end of the globe, for a number of weeks. For some of us it’ll be all about wrapping up in layers, toasting marshmallows by an open fire and making snow angels while the other half will be enjoying barbecues, festivals, camping and listening to DJ Jazzy Jeff’s ‘Summertime’ on repeat while cruising around with the windows down. Blog posts and editorials marking the beginning of new seasons are popular and it’s not unusual to see these kinds of posts appearing on art and design, lifestyle and interior design blogs. Only last week we sent off a collection of summer themed stickers for a potential feature.

 

All these examples have one thing in common. They use a current or seasonal event as a starting point for idea generation. What you do from that point and how you approach the subject matter is up to you.

If you’re looking for inspiration in the coming weeks, we hope these themes spark a few ideas. And don’t forget to tag your works appropriately so we can find them. If you’d like to hear about ideas for promoting your work more regularly, please let us know in the comments below. We’d be happy to share these more often.
 

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