As a Graphic Designer, Advertiser, Photographer, Curator and Artist, Erik Kessels is the modern day renaissance man.

His Amsterdam/London-based company, KesselsKramer, has produced some of the most refreshingly original work of the last decade. It’s also famous for not liking award shows (tough luck D&AD) and for its creative and non-commercial side projects.

Find out Erik's stories behind each of his pieces, his passion for cow photography and the branding of the World's Worst Hotel.

Date: Thursday 5 April
Time: Doors open 6.00pm. Lecture starts 7.00pm
Venue: Manchester Conference…

"My time at shape was lovely I have always admired the work they do, and I was very chuffed to find out that I had been offered a month placement with the boys! The commute to get to the studio was pretty simple as it was around the corner! I learnt so much with Shape about web design and the studio lifestyle, and I have come away with a great experience, some lovely memories and a mind full of web! Andy especially helped me in showing me how to create extremely slick and cool sites, something which I have…

So last night was the Salford Uni Carnival at Islington Mill. A great turn out which saw industry professionals and students mingling in a warm environment. Throughout the day portfolio surgeries took place where students could get feedback and crit on their portfolio's from the pro's. After a busy day, we rolled up around 6ish when the party was in full swing. It was good seeing confident students talking to Creative Directors and pushing their work. If you don't ask, you don't get. And some people may also say.... it's who you know, not what you know..... but I…

It's been a long time since we had a student in for some studio work experience. So we're opening up the opportunity again to look for some more talented creatives to come into our studio and sit opposite Jamie and his lovely face.

The placements will be for a minimum of 2 weeks over February / March.

We are currently looking for:

Developer / Designer
Ideally we would like someone with HTML / CSS & jQuery knowledge. That also has an understanding of digital design. You will work closely with the lead developer on…

As myself (Andy) and Jason teach Web Design to students at the University of Salford, it becomes apparent that many new students don't know basics of Web Design because they have never done it before, which gets us thinking what are the main 3 factors of starting in Web Design? What do you really have to understand well before you learn the rest?

Well from my experience at the University, I would probably say that it is the following:

Grid Structure
Understanding grid systems, margins, gutters and widths is very important within design. Of…

Andy represented Shape at the I Love UK Launch party at the Place Hotel in Manchester. Unfortunately we don't have any swarve pictures of him in a blazer so here is just one from the night of a few celebrities - provided by Jason Harry Photography. For more details about I Love UK go visit the media pack website

"Here at Shape we appreciate excellence in design, consistency in branding and well-executed projects. As we gear up for @ShapeChristmas (www.itsashapechristmas.co.uk) we can't help but notice that the retail world has gone Christmas crazy and through all of the tinsel and 'celebrity' light switch-ons we turned to something a little more sophisticated. Ladies and gentleman, here at Shape we love the new John Lewis tv ad. Not only did we fall head over heels for the technical expertise involved (take a look at the 'making of' video) but we also welled up as…

OK, so we feel bad for not doing movember in our new studio, so Andy shot a little something on set the other day in between shoots. The lovely Anabela was our model, and the sweet t-shirt just happened to be what she turned up to the shoot in! A lovely coincidence! We've seen a few other designers wearing the moustache this year, and let's just say that it suits some more than others! haha, so here's our little something to the wonderful world of creativity.

To find out more about movember follow the link here:

Steve jobs   //   R.I.P.

OK so we've not updated our online portfolio for quite a while so here is a little preview of what we've been working on recently which mainly involves Web Design and Development, Photography and general Graphic Design.

Individually we've been learning also, Jason has been reading up on and developing his skills in responsive websites which you will see in some of our latest projects that launch next month. Jamie has been battling with content management systems and now has the grasp of both designing and developing sites for user management. And me, Andy, have been improving my…

With Shape making changes this month, with regards to services we offer, the team, location and also a new website (coming soon!) We thought we'd brainstorm some ideas for the new team photos. After putting our heads together and pen to paper - these were the final results... Enjoy

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend the City of Manchester was given a chance to see Jenson Button and the Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes F1 car tearing through the central streets as part of the three day Vodaphone VIP event.

Our very own Shape’s Jason and Jamie went down on the Bank Holiday Monday to see Jenson Button racing through the streets and managed to get Jenson Button’s Autograph on the Shape business card.