Richard Baird
ROM by Leo Burnett
Okay, let’s get it out of the way… yes, there are elements of Pentagram’s 2018 Library of Congress in Leo Burnett’s work for the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). In both projects, type is a frame for images of archive material. Is it BP&O’s responsibility to acknowledge similarities in all the work we publish, tracking a typology back to the start...
Saaristo by Bond
‘Saaristo’ is the generic term for ‘archipelago’ in Finnish, but – to the outside world – it’s sufficiently distinctive to refer to the entire region in Western Finland, which now makes up a new tourism brand. This brand intends to generate more interest in (and visitors to) the world’s largest archipelago: a collection of 40,000 islands. This scale makes it...
Ultraderp by Mucho
The name Ultraderp seeks to combine all things extreme (think ‘ultrafast’, or ‘ultra marathon’) with ‘derp’, which is, apparently, the face a dog makes when they don’t know what’s happening. The product that bears this name is an ultra-light, easily-packable dog leash that can be worn on the collar and deployed when needed, simply by pulling the tongue-like tab. This...
Spudos by Paul Belford Ltd
We live in chaotic and excessive times. Brands and politicians alike demand attention, clamouring for consideration and creating – quite frankly, for me at least – an unwelcome cacophony of competing voices and issues. All too often, the lines between competing interest are blurred, and even absurd. I crave clarity and simplicity, particularly when it comes to basic consumables. What’s...
BP&O Voices
Rich Baird on Design History:
CBC by Burton Kramer, 1974
The story of Burton Kramer’s logo for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation....
BP&O Voices
Rich Baird on Design History:
Esprit by John Casado, 1978
The story of John Casado’s 1978 logo for California fashion brand Esprit....
BP&O Voices
Rich Baird on Design History:
HSBC by Henry Steiner, 1983
The story of Henry Steiner’s 1983 logo for HSBC....
Antara 128 by Mucho
GT Alpina is described by type foundry and BP&O regular GrilliType as a workhorse serif that also delights in playing with the very meaning of concept, reaching into the ‘grab bag of typographic history to resurrect shapes some may falsely see as too expressive’. This feels an apt description for Antara 128, and the visual identity created by Mucho that...
BP&O Voices
Rich Baird on Design History:
Mazda by Rei Yoshimura & PAOS, 1975
The story of Rei Yoshimura & PAOS 1975 logo for Mazda....
PURLOM’s ¡A LA MESA! by Onmi Design
I’m reluctant to bring up the pandemic again, four years later. But I can’t help think back to that period when seeing images related to gatherings, which are employed to great effect in Onmi Design’s work for PURLOM, a family business with more than 40 years of experience producing and distributing a wide variety of meats. This kind of imagery...
BP&O Voices
Rich Baird on Design History:
Spar by Raymond Loewy, 1970
The story of Raymond Loewy’s 1970 logo for Spar....
BP&O Voices
Rich Baird on Design History:
Canadian National Railway by Allan Fleming, 1960
The story of Allan Fleming’s 1960 logo for Canadian National Railway....