Welcome to the Liv Design blog, an eclectic mix of great design and quirky finds

If you thought that engines were works of art already then you'll hate these images of beautiful artistic creations. These are a series of painted engines in the Malaga Automotive Museum (Museo Automovilístico de Málaga) taken by EVO magazines' Adam Shorrock. Stunning. The museum opened in Autumn 2010 and features a variety of themed exhibits covering everything from Art Deco cars, British cars and supercars. For more images taken by Adam visit  EVO .

Love it or hate it, if you're in business you really should be using online media as part of your marketing strategy. We know lots of businesses, particularly SMEs, who feel completely 'out of it'. It can be daunting. There's a huge amount of online options and tools available and it's hard to tell what's right for your business and whether it's cost effective or not. Things are changing and updating so fast that it's hard to keep track. We recently attended the 2011 Online Marketing Conference in Nottingham and we discovered some rather startling facts* (from 2009): • 77% of SMEs use computers in business (23% don't have computers) • 72% of businesses use the internet for business • 96% use broadband (4% still use dial-up) • 56% have a website • 65% of users use computers for online trading Does that surprise you? Does that make you feel better? Whatever type of company you have, whatever stage the business is at, it's vital to it's...

We came across these boots recently, designed and made by new avantgarde French company  Vitesse . It's not just the products that caught our eye, but their philosophy too. They don't see their products as 'just doing a job'. They go beyond that. They get in to the mind of the buyer. As they say "You should expect motorcycle boots to protect you when you ride. You should also expect them to be comfortable and beautiful, on and off the bike." And having put together experienced people with a clear brief and focussed goal, they started from scratch. "We started from a blank sheet of paper with a single purpose in mind: design performance motorcycle boots that you will want to wear everyday when you are riding and after you step off. Because our single most important goal is to get more riders to wear boots." What more could you want from a product? Style, performance AND quality. If only more manufacturers had such a complete brand philosophy ra...

At the Geneva Motorshow Skoda launches a new brand identity and sets the scene for it's future design direction with it's latest concept car. New (left) v Old (right) The new logo retains the classic 'flying arrow' motif but manages to create a simpler, more refined and confident look. It loses the black outer ring (introduced in 1994 to celebrate their 100th anniversary) and also loses the text (new Starbucks logo anyone?). It echoes the classic logo which ran from 1926 to 1990. The modern streamlined logo gives an element of technological simplicity, greater quality and more direct design appeal to match the company's rise from cheap car maker to serious luxury manufacturer.  The new identity is to be used across all of their communication material and dealer network as part of the major 2011 rebranding. The new Skoda concept car, called the VisionD, looks very much like an Audi which presents the danger of the Volkswagon Audi Group's brands becoming p...

PepsiCo UK have relaunched their soft drink brand 7UP in the UK and non-US countries (the brand is owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group in the US). Ironically though it's designed by a US brand and marketing agency TracyLocke . Gone are the complicated patterns and 3D embellishes of the previous incarnation, instead replaced with a simple, clear flat logo. The look suggests a move towards a more grown up market than their current younger based brand focus. Presumably the association with the funky teen character 'Fido Dido' will not continue either. The character has long been associated with 7UP but is actually a separate entity created in New York by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose in 1985. Fido Dido has his own merchandise range, MySpace site and You Tube channel. The new packaging design reflects the 'back to basics' ethos focusing on "lemons, limes, bubbles and refreshment". What do you think? At Liv Design we can't decide if it looks like a zi...