Sponsored video: Do You Have A Hidden Talent?

Channel 4 have just launched an intriguing new program called 'Hidden Talents', inspired by American Express.

The program is hosted by Richard Bacon, and sets out to discover the many hidden talents the public have, but may not even realise it yet themselves. The first of 6 programs aired at 9pm on 24th April, so you'll have to catch the first one on 4OD.

You can take a the tests featured on the show on Channel 4's website, to see how you fare, currently there are two tests to take from the first program, one to see if you have what it takes to become an expert climber and conquer mountains, the other aims to discover if you are as good as a polygraph machine at correctly identifying if a person is lying. I decided to take the lie detection test. There are a set of 6 videos of a single person talking about their views on euthanasia. The test is simple, just guess if they are lying or not!

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that I'm cut out to be a spy!

If you could have any hidden talent what would you want it to be? Secretly a ninja? Didn't know you were the next Piccasso? I think I would like to have the hidden talent of spoon bending so I can be the next Uri Geller!

American Express have taken the concept of Hidden Talents even further than just the TV show, and have spread the idea into social media. American Express have set up a Facebook page that lets the public get involved, discussing their hidden talents and taking the tests from within Facebook too. So there's no excuse to not discover your hidden talent.


This post has been sponsored by American Express

Pantone Swatch Album Artwork by David Marsh

I'm really loving these 'swatch' artworks by David Marsh, such a good idea! Here's what Marsh has to say about them in conversation with DesignBoom

'The purpose of this series is my own exploration and development along with the satisfaction I have when I complete an image I like to experiment with image creation and will stumble onto a technique and develop that and then archive it and resurrect it when I have a purpose for it. I will develop this idea into various new directions, the next being actually painting some of the covers that work best, hopefully on a very large scale or using collage to create the image. the options are endless and that excites me'. 

Pink Floyd: 'Dark side of the moon' (1973)

left: Grace Jones: 'Island life' (1985)
right: Bob Dylan: 'The free wheelin' (1963)

Johnny Cash: 'At Folsom Prison' (1968)

Roxy Music: 'Country Life' (1974)

Left: Pink Floyd: 'Atom heart mother' (1970)
Right: Primal Scream: 'Screamadelica' (1991)

The Beatles: 'With the Beatles' (1963)

Left: New Order: 'True faith' (1987)
right: The Smiths: 'Shakespeare's sister' (1985)

David Bowie: 'Hunky Dory' (1971)

Patti Smith: 'Horses' (1975)

Nirvana: 'Nevermind' (1991)

Frank Zappa and the mothers of invention: 'Weasels ripped my flesh' (1970)

Black & White Photography : Pierre Pellegrini

Pierre Pellegrini is a minimalistic photographer who was born on September 7, 1968, in Sorengo, Switzerland. I love the minimalistic style of these images, so still and silent, but very powerful.

Black and white photography doesn't allow pictures to hide behind flashes of colour. The stark black and white tones of Pierre Pellegrini's work are key to making it so powerful, these striking, polished images somehow feel right on black and white prints.

Black and white photography is a great way to produce bold images, you can now get the best of your digital black and white images using giclee prints - a high end ink jet process.

Non-Latin Versions Of Famous Logos

These non-Latin versions of global brands are great! It's interesting to see how each brand's style translates into the different languages and still retaining instant recognition. I love the way the arrow in the FedEx logo has been worked into the Arabic typeface, reading from right to left and therefore pointing the wrong way to Western eyes!

Envelope Drawings by Mark Powell

These lovely 'envelope drawings' are by Mark Powell, a London based artist from Leeds. Each image is drawn simply using a Biro pen. Take a look at Mark Powell's website to see more examples of his work. You can also buy the work here.