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The Best of BP&O — December 2015

Opinion by Richard Baird Posted 22 December 2015

The Best of BP&O – December 2015

December’s highlights included Natasha Jen’s brand identity for tea subscription service Teabox, BVD’s packaging work for Swiss furniture business Vitra and Robot Food’s festive collaboration with Vocation Brewery. However, there were five projects that stood out, and have made it into BP&O’s Best Of Series. This feature brings together the most interesting, unexpected or unusual projects published on the site each month for another opportunity to be seen and shared. These typically balance a strong concept with a compelling aesthetic that appropriately plays with colour, texture, layout, form, type and print finish.

Brand identity and letterpress stationery for Pia Ulin Photography by The Studio, Sweden

Pia Ulin Photography by The Studio, Sweden

Pia Ulin is a Swedish photographer, working between New York and Stockholm, who has built a considerable reputation from her daylight-only approach. This is said to infuse her images, which cover interior, lifestyle and still life, with a warm and natural quality.

As well as producing editorial photography for publications such as Dwell, Martha Stewart and Elle Decoration, Pia has also contributed images to the books Monochrome Home, Colourful with Lotta Agaton and Kinfolk Home, and has worked for high profile brands such as H&M Home, Ikea, Williams Sonoma and Anthropologie.

Following a recent move to New York, Pia worked with Scandinavian graphic design company The Studio to develop a new brand identity and website that would compliment and reflect her aesthetic, and function as a clean backdrop for presenting work. This went on to also include letterpress business cards, stationery set, portfolio postcards and box.

See more of this project here

Logotype for Malmö restaurant Bord 13 by Swedish graphic design studio Snask

Bord 13 by Snask, Sweden

Bord 13 is a restaurant, located on Malmö’s Engelbrektsgatan, with a menu that steers clear of the overfished, the modified and unnatural. It is a collaboration between chefs Robert Jacobson and Besnik Gashi, a former Souschef and a Head Sommelier from world-renowned Noma, and features a brand identity and interior design by Scandinavian studio Snask. This extended to material, lighting and furniture choices, and included menu and coaster design, branded chef whites and signage.

See more of this project here

Brand identity for Toronto Carpet Factory by Bruce Mau Design

The Carpet Factory by Bruce Mau Design, Canada

Toronto Carpet Factory is a seven building complex, constructed between 1899 and 1912, that takes up a full city block in Toronto’s Liberty Village. It is described as a mix of historical architecture, converted factories and as an iconic landmark of the city’s booming manufacturing era. Following extensive restoration and interior renovation, the factory is now a centre of creativity, and home to over 120 companies.

Working with York Heritage and Hullmark, and following interviews with partners, tenants and real estate agents, graphic design studio Bruce Mau Design developed a brand identity and visual language for the site that would unite and better define the unique character of the buildings, and those who work within them.

The result is a flexible system of serif and sans-serif type, bright modular silhouettes and a website of contemporary functionality and historic insight. This extends across brochure, stationery, business cards, signage and wayfinding.

See more of this project here

Branding, stationery and business cards for UK all black theatre company Talawa by Spy

Talawa by Spy, United Kingdom

Talawa, Jamaican patois for “small but feisty”, is an all black theatre company that looked to address the lack of opportunities for minorities and their marginalisation at the time of its founding in 1986. Since then it has established itself as one of the most successful theatres of its type in the United Kingdom.

“Our work is informed by the wealth and diversity of the Black British experience, and through that we create outstanding work by cultivating the best in emerging and established Black artists. We invest in talent, develop audiences and inspire dialogue with and within communities across the UK and internationally. By doing so we enrich the cultural life of all.” – Talawa

Talawa has a diverse portfolio of productions, from Shakespeare to African classics, Oscar Wilde to new Black British, and from Nobel-prize winning playwrights to musicals. Some of these have gone on to win awards, tour internationally, and have provided many of its staff and performers with the skills necessary to go on to develop successful careers in radio, film and television.

London based Graphic design studio Spy worked with the theatre to develop a new brand identity and visual language that would help convey the theatre’s powerful spirit. This went on to include an animated logo, stationery, business cards, posters and website.

Read more of this article here

Brand identity and still life photography for The Practical Man by Garbett

The Practical Man by Garbett, Australia

The Practical Man is an online retail destination for men’s sports style and fitness, activewear and equipment, but also editorial content that covers reviews, fitness-focused travel guides and in-depth insight into new brands. It curates a catalogue of world-leading products that exist at the intersection of fashion and sports performance, designed by innovative and passionate brands with progressive approaches.

Australian graphic design studio Garbett worked with The Practical Man to develop a brand identity and visual language that would expresses their unique perspective on men’s performance style. This extended to tags, business cards, packaging, a series of still life images and website developed by Sons & Co.

Read more of this article here