Since we last checked in with Hinterland they’ve been busy creating more branding, print and editorial work from their studio in New York. To showcase their new projects they’ve had a little face lift and a short little stop motion piece advertising their new blog.

French fashion label and online retailer Kitsune have put together another episode to advertise their next seasons collection. A simple playful idea sees two models pitted against each other to see who can get dressed and undressed the quickest using the newest season’s clothing from Kitsune. Produced like a boxing match but without the sandwich board-touting-women, the first to get changed the quickest and select the next track gets a cheeky peck on the cheek from the loser.

Kitsune have produced a series of similar advertisements all in different locations to reflect the inspiration for each ready to wear collection. Both niche and main stream fashion brands have a symbiotic relationship with creativity and it’s pretty easy to real off a list of labels that are breaking ground when it comes to promotion. Though Kitsune aren’t breaking ground with these shorts, the idea which helps to promote both the latest fashion line and their pending CD release (mixed by a guest artist) which plays in the background works really well for this label. There’s a quintessential french feel to the whole thing be it the models french swagger or the air of contemporary Parisian music even though the on screen graphics do suck quite a bit. Despite that it’ll be interesting to see their next episode and accompanying CD release.

Now for the rest of the previous episodes.

It seems like there’s a lot of really great design for sporting brands lately like the Nike 78 project we posted last week or Nike’s recent collaboration with HelloVon at Selfridges in London. LOVE have added Umbro to that list with their most recent Teamwear brochure. Inspired by the attention to detail given to national level kit, Umbro wanted to demonstrate the same passion at a grass roots level making amateur players feel just as proud when they pull on their shirt.

Designed by LOVE’s Creative Director, Chris Myers commenting:

Amateur football teams are the essence of British football. The brochure we designed focuses on the fine tailoring traditions of Umbro. Through a combination of propped still life shots and styled player shots, including Michael Owen, Phil Jagielka and Joe Hart, the kits were shot on location in the Umbro brand space by photographer Tom van Schelven. The level of detail and craft that went into the brochure is reflective of the kits themselves which are tailored by Umbro to give the amateur players the same respect and attention to detail that the brand gives to professionals.

It looks to be a slick piece of print work with the kind of well shot, energetic art direction from another great sports brand. Look out for them soon.

Glitsh is the an alumni of Central St. Martins with a subversive and cryptic folio. His work takes a wide range of forms from gifts sent to the likes of Paris Hilton through to fake packets of Oreo-like biscuits replaced with dominos. Concept driven, Glitish likes to flip conventions on their head with wit and anonymity. He’s what you might call a visual prankster.

We caught up with Glitsh to chat about his work and what he’s planning next.

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Hi Glitsh. Is that your real name?

Hi FormFiftyFive. Nope, Glitsh is my pseudonym.

A lot of your work is mischievous.

Yes that’s true. That is why I take precautionary measures. I avoid the crowd. I usually operate at night or early in the morning when nobody’s around or I try to find isolated spots outside the city where I can work in broad daylight. In my projects, everything I buy is paid in cash, I register under a false identity. I always wear gloves, it makes me paranoid sometimes, but I like it.

Have you ever gotten into trouble for it or been spotted before creating installing the final work?

No I’ve never had any problem or been spotted. So far so good. Let’s keep it that way.

Do you ever stick around to see people’s reactions?

I don’t always have the opportunity. Anyway I have a get in/get out policy.

I may sometimes send my work by post to selected high profile individuals such as Charles Saatchi, Edward Dolman (CEO of Christie’s in New York), Sheena Wagstaff (Chief Curator of the Tate Modern in London) or more recently Jeffrey Deitch. It is almost impossible to see their reactions when they receive my work (if they do receive it). I always leave some clues behind so they can trace me back to my website and see the entire project. I invite those concerned to check out the project they are part of, because yes they are part of the final outcome. It is an invitation, it is playful and I would understand if they didn’t want to play the game.

There’s been a movement of Urban Art/Interventions over the last couple of years sprawling out of Graffiti street art. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

There is surely some great stuff and great talents in the street art world. Some of my work may appear in the street, but this fact only doesn’t make it street art. In fact I don’t consider myself a street artist. I am faithful to my roots and I have great respect for both the graffiti and the street art communities but my work is heading towards another direction.

I am inspired by people like John Draper aka ‘Captain Crunch’ or Kevin Mitnick to name a few. I really like the idea of trespassing, exploiting loopholes in a system for playful purposes. I am also interested in themes such as identity, impersonation, intellectual property, boundaries, attention tracking/seeking, hacking and deception.

So what’s your next subversive act going to be?

I am just about to complete a project entitled ‘Deitch angle’, about Jeffrey Deitch who was recently appointed Director of the MOCA in Los Angeles. A project which will be featured on my website shortly. Otherwise, I have Sotheby’s and Al Jazeera in mind right now.

There’s a definite European aesthetic to studio Neo Neo’s work showcasing plenty of print work with a keen eye for typography alongside quite a few poster treats including some obligatory two-handed poster holding. Based in Geneva the site is in French I’m afraid. However for all those who don’t speak the native language, here’s a translated version courtesy of Google. English version

We’re not usually huge fans of forced full screen websites but when the work is as stunning as Alex Telfer’s we’re happy to make exceptions. Brilliantly detailed and well shot photographs, Alex’s new site does a cracking job of demonstrating his creative talents. Looking at it here on 27″ wide screen it’s difficult not to be sucked into Alex’s photographs.

Blue River, the folks who created our behind-the-scenes header about 6 weeks ago have done a cracking job of designing this new site. We tip our hats to you good sir.

Self-confessed squirrel stalker Emily Tu has a folio full of editorial work much of which has been worked on whilst at Underline Studio. There’s some good examples of layout spreads and cover design with both copy and image working in harmony. She’s now ready to jump ship across the Atlantic from Toronto to move to London.

We’ve not checked in with Siggi Odds since 2008 and clearly he’s been very busy since then producing more and more excellent illustration work.

THIS IS Studio sent us through their submission for the Nike 78 project and we have to say it’s probably one of the best we’ve seen so far.

NIKE78 is an exciting new project created by Paul Jenkins and inspired by NIKE. Creatives involved will receive a brand new pair of NIKE shoes and will be asked to use sport as inspiration to challenge their function. The project will be documented on this website [Nike 78] and after the shoes have been collected, an exhibition showcase is planned for the London Design Festival 2010. This is a unique project featuring some of the most talented creative individuals, studios and other organisations.

Choosing to make life more difficult by knitting a brand new pair of these fine beauties rather than just using the ones provided. We thought we’d pick THIS IS Studio’s brains about the thinking behind the project and on producing self-initiated work.

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Good mornin’ THIS IS Studio?

Good day’ FormFiftyFive.

The Nike 78 is a really interesting project giving selected creatives a pair of Nike shoe and asking them to use sport as the inspiration to challenge their function? How would you say your entry challenge there function and what area of sport inspired them?

England is a spectacular nation of couch potatoes, there was a recent survey conducted by a outdoor equipment firm that says… “More than half of Britons have never taken part in outdoor activities, with 10 per cent saying they spend most of their time sitting on the sofa.” Its probably a bit of a Mickey Mouse survey but it rings true in a lot of Britain. So I’d say it wasn’t a sport as such that inspired us but more the culture of sports fans.

Knitting a new pair of trainers is one of the best solutions submitted and not necessarily the most masculine of solutions. So why knitting?

You could say it was a dig at the sissyness of the average sofa sports fan, but the truth is that we thought they’d look amazing.

Presumably the entire shoe was remade out of yarn, which is quite a time intensive process. How was the process from idea to final production working with a very intensive craft like knitting?

Well we had our good friend, and knitting aficionado Connie Wright on hand, so after we confirmed it was possible, the shoes were knitted from part Cashmere, part Merino wool – two of the best wools you can buy, therefore they’re extremely soft and comfortable. The process however was slow and time-consuming with lots of trial runs and cock-ups before we reached the final piece.

Nike 78 is more like a self-initiated brief than a a client-led one. How important do you think this sort of work is for you to do?

We constantly have self-initiated projects on the go in rotation. If you stopped doing these I couldn’t really see the point of being a graphic designer. It lets us have a bit more fun than the regular client work. I definitely excepted a longtime ago that graphic design is not a money job!

How much to get some made in a size 8 UK, please?

For you FormFiftyFive, we’ve got a special price…

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Manchester based creative agency Raw are not scared of self-initiated promo briefs with successes like their Pantone Christmas Cards under their belts. Their latest project Raw Type was created to promote both the studio, who has recently been nominated for a Chip Shop Award as well as promote some healthy type experimentation. Armed with a copy of Font Book, a projector and space at the Islington Mill in Salford, Raw set to work experimenting, creating some interesting results that remind me a lot of the classic bond title sequence Form Russia With Love.

Now a few months old, the whole project has taken on a life of it’s own into a dedicated Raw Type site with some of the projections available to buy as screened printed posters. To mimic their birthing ground, K2 have printed them on sexy-to-the-touch Plike using phosphorescent ink (yep glow-in the dark to you and me kids).

Finally the Form Russia With Love is such a great title sequence I couldn’t help but not share it with you. So Enjoy.