Nordoff & Robbins by Pentagram
For decades, Pentagram has been one of the most famous and renowned design consultancies in the world; but when it comes to the charity sphere, music therapy organisation Nordoff & Robbins is far less starry – it’s not, say an Oxfam, or an RSPCA, or Médecins Sans Frontières. Arguably that’s all the more reason for it to bring in the...
Time by For The People
‘The story of the internet is the story of life’. Understood in this way, rebranding Malaysia’s challenger internet service provider Time presented the appropriately existentially titled For the People with a daunting task. As legislation in Malaysia shifted, requiring companies like Time to share their infrastructure with other ISPs, competition has grown. As such, Time needed to evolve its brand. What is...
Ortto by Christopher Doyle & Co.
All systems grow. What a fun line. Setting up and positioning Ortto, formerly Autopilot, as the leading marketing automation solution for business. The name is great, a wonderful move forward for the company, and sufficiently taking something technical and inhuman-sounding and giving it a somewhat anthropomorphised quality, easy to remember and providing room for growth into other technologies and services....
LCBA by Studio Bergini
Not a new project, but a lovely one nonetheless; it seems there couldn’t have been a more perfect fit for London Centre for Book Arts than Studio Bergini when it was looking for a design team to task with creating its new visual identity. Formed by two Central Saint Martins grads – Norwegian Kristian Hjorth Berge and Italian Francesco Corsini (hence...
Tugg by Kurppa Hosk
The hamburger is an American icon. It conjures associations with all-American diners and drive-thrus, backyard cookouts and family gatherings; American values, such as entrepreneurship, as well as less positive attributes of Western countries, like obesity. The burger’s visual identity is inseparable from its history and has been solidified time and time again as the big fast food franchises conquered the...
Mode by Gretel
How to make a data business approachable yet hold gravitas? Can it be engaging yet authoritative, sage yet cool? These are the implicit tensions NY-based Gretel has grappled with in its branding of Mode, a data intelligence and technology business seeking to widen its appeal. Gretel has established a brand identity which is triumphant and clean. It balances the contradictions that so...
Eurostar by Design Studio
Train related rebrands are often some of the most divisive when it comes to the design community Twittering classes. That’s perhaps unsurprising when you consider the ubiquity of Standards Manual books on design studio coffee tables – and the fact that they’re among the rare graphics projects that get broadsheet attention (for better or worse, as the swathes of National...
Urban Climb by Base Design
‘The weaker the brand character, the greater the need for distinctive visuals’. Said someone, at some stage. And of course, the principle works in reverse. It’s an important point: if the core is strong, the exterior can – and often should – be more malleable, softer, less obviously an exercise in ‘branding’. Countries, cities, communities; we all have a sense...
Forskningsrådet by ANTI
2022 was, let’s say, an interesting year for Forskningsrådet (The Norwegian Research Council). The public institution, which provides public funding for research and innovation across a wide range of fields, usually operates without controversy or intense public scrutiny. This changed in September 2021 when Norway held its national elections and got itself a change of government. And along with that,...
Fork & Good by Mother Design
There’s nothing more human than food says Nyati Gupta, CEO and Co-founder Fork & Good. However, the first place people in more temperate regions will feel the effect of climate change will be on their plate. ‘To be able to eat your favourite dishes without the environmental impact, that would be the dream’. Although vegetarianism and veganism have made it to...
Peerspace by Mother Design
Straight up, I’ll admit that I struggle to resist a condensed sans typeface set in uppercase. I’ll also confess that I’ve spent the last hour (no lie), trying to identify this one… Helvetica? Hell no. Railroad Gothic? The wrong track. Söhne? Sö not. Must be Knockout? Another blow. For Druk’s sake is it Druk? Well, whatever it is, it’s neatly...
Tembo by Perky Bros
When I first caught Perky Bros’ latest project I misread it as ‘Tempo’, the speed at which music is played. Timing is everything, or so it is said. For real estate company Tembo this notion takes the form of patience; the time to grow gently and judiciously. Property development, momentarily paused during the pandemic, seems to have recovered and is again...