November banner designers Eleven Design

Put your virtual knitting needles together for Claire, John and Chris at Eleven Design in Sheffield who’ve been crafting November’s banner. Tucked away in Kelham Island’s gloriously creaky and timbered ex-cutlery factory, Globe Works, these guys may already be known to some of us for their alternative guide to Sheffield, Our Favourite Places.

Tells us about this month’s new banner
We’ve taken inspiration for November’s banner from the increasingly cold days. We wanted it to look like a cosy winter knit.

What have you been up to lately?

We’ve just finished work on a Gay Icons Project for the University of Sheffield which explores and celebrates gay iconography and culture. We created a custom font that echoes iconic neon signage and used that as the main graphic element in the website and events brochure. It’s been a really interesting job, I can’t wait for the talks on Joe Orton and Alexander McQueen.

We’ve also been working on some great projects for the Barnsley Civic. Recently we’ve designed exhibition and promotional materials for shows including the Design Museum’s A Century of Chairs and a personal Vivienne Westwood shoe collection. We’ve just finished redesigning their website too.

Having designed a funky new brochure for the Barnsley Civic as well, what should we go and see?

If you can, try and see the Small World Animation show which ends on Nov 5th, showcasing the work of Oliver Postgate, it’s wonderful. The next exhibition is another Design Museum show, Brit Insurance Designs of the Yearwhich got great reviews in London so it’s brilliant that it’s coming to the Civic. Showing at the same time is 32 Domestic Objects which is actually a show of one of our designers, Glenn, he’s a collector and hoarder! This is Glenn’s collection of Braun products from the Dieter Rams era. Our photographer friend, Nigel Barker, took this fantastic shot for the exhibition poster.

If a bezzy mate came for a day trip to Sheffield, where would be your top three favourite places to take them and why?

Well….. we designed and published a book earlier this year all about our favourite places in Sheffield, called, funnily enough. Our Favourite Places. It focuses on the best of Sheffield’s independent cafes, bars, restaurants, shops, galleries, and walks. It’s tough to choose just three places, but I’d start with a walk from Endcliffe Park to Forge Dam and back, then lunch atFusion Organic Cafe and a film and vino at the Showroom cinema and cafe-bar.

If you could design anything for anyone what would it be?
Ooh…. a quick ask around our studio came up with identity and branding projects for everything from racing bikes, political parties and the Olympics.

Anything in the pipeline you care to mention?
Projects this week include a book about architecture, graphics for the new show at the Barnsley Civic and a fundraising campaign for the local hospice. We really enjoyed working on Our Favourite Places too so we’re planing more of those for other cities and towns that we love. And we’re doing a pitch early November for someone we’d REALLY like to work with…. so fingers crossed please!