We asked everyone at the agency what pet peeves and phobias they would banish to Room 101. Whilst I usually see the good in most things, I managed to scrape together a few that literally turn my stomach and leave a bad taste in my mouth.
1. Campylobacteriosis…
Campylobacteriosis, or ‘Camp Barry’ as I nicknamed it, is a gastrointestinal infection caused by a genus of bacteria called Campylobactor (aptly meaning ‘twisted bacteria’). I encountered Camp Barry during a camping excursion on the edge of the Sahara desert and, like a camel fart in a compression chamber, I couldn’t get rid of it.
2. Squat toilets…
See Campylobacteriosis.
3. Plane food…
If a picture paints a thousand words, then the first one this conjures up is “rank”. Maybe it’s down to the miscellaneous meat that’s clocked up more airmiles than Branson before being nuked in a microwave and served with a sauce that resembles a regurgitated Chicken Korma. Pass the sick bag please – the smell alone makes me want to vom.
4. Comic Sans…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qefD5YHPeEM&feature=player_embedded#!QdFjA[/youtube]
Comic Sans is to a designer what clip art is to Gustav Klimt. The distain for this typographic eyesore stems from its all too common misuse – on shop signage, warning notices, résumés, and even legal documents. In this film clip, the designer of Comic Sans, Vincent Connare, talks about its history and how he feels about his legacy as the Comic Sans man. If you’re still unsure as to when it is okay to use Comic Sans, please refer to the following diagram:
5. Ludicrous baby names
Hello, I’m Heavenly Pineapple Princess Mist Cyan Cupcake but you can call me ‘Pineapple’ for short. Like buttock implants and diamante encrusted gold teeth, some trends are better left to the sensationalist world of celebrities. Naming your offspring after Disney fairies and colours of the rainbow is one of them.
As a creative person, I consider myself fairly open-minded to unusual and interesting names. Had I been a goth with a penchant for toe piercings and vampire dramas, I would have killed for a name like Sage Moonblood. And Lark Song would be the perfect title if I’d been a poet-by-day and singer/songwriter-by-night.
But what if Pineapple wasn’t born with a Grammy in her mouth and instead works in a tinned fruit factory in Kent? And what if she meets Petrol Triumph Warrior Hasselhoff and they populate the world with Nettle Fufallas and Diva Tizzywings? Is this really an admirable expression of individuality or has the world gone baby name mad?
All images via Google Images
Art director Kirsten Murray is a true design enthusiast. She screenprints, makes jewellery, and nothing is impossible when she deploys her Apple wireless mouse.
