For a type-nerd (hello!) there are few things more seductive than a beautiful, beguiling letterform. But what makes such shapes even more siren-like is when they leap off the page and come to life, not just in motion, digitally; but in a physical environment. The branding for new private members club Curve Club, then, certainly ticks a lot of boxes...
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...
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...
‘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...
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,...
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...
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...
More plants, less plastic. A noble mission. Over the last decade, revelation has followed revelation with regards to the environmental impact of what seemed like the most innocuous of objects. Now it’s the turn of the humble flower pot. Yep, that. Stacked and sitting empty in the shed, or at the bottom of the garden. It turns out that these...
Self-care is nothing new, but our understanding and appreciation of it as a society has grown enormously in the last half century, and especially recently when it became a trending topic during the isolation periods of coronavirus in 2020 and 2021 (70 million hashtags on Instagram, and counting). In the dawn of this enlightened thinking, products in this space have...
Property development continues to boom in London. It’s difficult to see how any of this is really benefitting those most in need, or whether housing is even being designed to be resided in at this point, acting as a ‘store of value’ for those much wealthier individuals. Recently developed areas appear like ghost towns at night. Having just moved, and...
The skateboarding learning curve is really defined by the individual. There are lessons (passed down or shared online), but much of it is practice (and patience). Further, and perhaps more importantly, skateboarding is expressive, it’s fused with personal style. Timeless tricks are given an individual twist that keep it evolving and competitive. Iconic skateboarding brands have grown out of the...
After seeing Collins’ work for the San Francisco Symphony – a pioneering typographic and digital experiment with Swiss foundry Dinamo – I thought it would be some time before I’d be surprised by another visual identity in the music space. Sure, there’s an abundance of styles and artists to be inspired by within an art that has evolved in tandem...