Downey Gets Inspired at the Paul Smith Exhibition

A couple of weeks ago a few of us decided to go to the ‘Hello, my name is Paul Smith’ exhibition at the Design Museum. Events like these are great for getting the creative juices flowing and the fact this was an exhibition celebrating the world of Paul Smith made it even more of a reason to go. We’ve been working with the company for some time now and we love each original and exciting concept that they send our way.

There’s definitely a bit of a Paul Smith creative ethos of striving for originality that seems to apply to each project they work on. Be it the clothing range, the shops or the prints, each individual item has a focus and a drive and this exhibition provided a fantastic insight into how this forward thinking mentality has shaped the company and directed it to become the great success that is today.

In a way, walking around the exhibition felt a bit like walking around Paul Smith’s head. One area had an almost psychedelic stream of consciousness feel, with an audio of Paul casually talking about his creative process amongst a maze of mirrors and in another area a long and wide corridor filled with an eclectic mix of photographs and prints.

You also get to see his beginnings in a life sized construction of his tiny original shop in Nottingham and a look at his current office with desks filled with designs and artwork surrounding a linear formation of Apple Macintoshes.

In amongst all of this we were also surprised and very proud to find a cabinet displaying a great range of Downey’s luxury invitations.

No Paul Smith project is ever the same and each draws upon our extensive range of printing processes to deliver some quite fantastic finishes. We often have to try new things and think outside the box to accommodate their ideas but the end result always shows the fruits of the labour.

Even more than just giving a history of Paul Smith the exhibition also gave a brilliant perspective on his philosophy toward inventiveness. We work hard to produce prints for our clients that perfectly meet and often surpass their requirements which as a result means every job is different. We thought – as we’re sure many others who strolled around did – that there was a lot to be taken from the exhibition with regards to how one creatively approaches work.

These thoughts only came with a bit of contemplation, of course, and to be honest at the time the general reaction was “That was great!” Everyone will get something different out of the exhibition but if you’re a fan like we clearly are and you haven’t been go now and catch it whilst you still can!

Hello My Name is Paul Smith
Design Museum, London
15 November 2013 – 22 June 2014
http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2013/paul-smith

Monday, 2nd June, 2014