Designed in London
Barnardo’s by The Clearing
Barnardo’s is the UK’s largest children’s charity, and it undoubtedly does much good in the world. However, its history up to this point is also littered with uncomfortable controversies. Certainly, the most outlandish transgressions are concentrated in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Founder Thomas John Barnardo was taken to court 88 times for kidnapping children (or ‘philanthropic abductions’, as old...
PAIST by Two Times Elliott
Toothpaste hasn’t historically needed to do a lot, design-wise: it’s a category based on functionality and efficacy, over trends and aesthetics – sensitive teeth, whitening processes, goth-adjacent charcoal formulas, weird little crystals, and so on and so forth. That function over form thing has meant that over the years, toothpaste packaging has become incredibly monotonous – usually a predominantly white,...
Gustini by Koto
Like many a geriatric millennial, a lot of my childhood was joyfully spent in front of the telly absorbing cultural pillars like Zig and Zag, Stoppit and Tidyup, and, of course, Wales’ finest export after Charlotte Church, Fireman Sam. Alongside the titular Sam, the show starred icons including ‘Naughty’ Norman Price (fun fact – my dad once mended the boiler...
Ventura Foreman by Studio Blackburn
Founded by Robert Ventura and Sophie Foreman, Ventura Foreman is a design and manufacturing studio based in Woolwich, south London, which specialises in quality workwear pieces for clients like Paul Smith, Matches, and much-hyped North London ‘liberal metropolitan elite’ take on the greasy spoon, Norman’s Cafe. Having been around for a while without a ‘brand’, there came a point in...
Kettle Kids by Two Times Elliott
The once laudable claim to have started a thriving business with ‘a small loan’ from a doting family member may have been muddied beyond recognition by the truth-stretching of serial tax-offender and part-time Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Despite this, turning ‘one thousand pounds from nan’ into a luxury watch and diamond dealership with a sparkling flagship store in Mayfair remains...
Black Bee Honey by OMSE
It was yesterday I made a run to the local supermarket to pick up some essentials. I had two choices, turn left to Waitrose or right to Morrisons. Despite being somewhat price conscious, I enjoy looking at the packaging at the higher-priced Waitrose, so went left–let’s say it’s the cost of being a designer. Anyway, honey was on the list....
Plume by Human After All
Plume is a Denver-based telehealth service (or ‘virtual-clinic’) tailored specifically to the needs of the trans community across the US, offering a range of services including prescriptions for oestrogen or testosterone. This is a hostile political landscape to step into, but Plume is doing it with bright and bold panache, courtesy of a fresh rebrand from London-based studio Human After...
Natural History Museum by Pentagram & Nomad
If you grew up in the UK, the Natural History Museum is likely synonymous with two things: the massive blue whale suspended from the ceiling, or the equally large diplodocus skeleton. For many British kids, the museum is a childhood staple – either from school trips, or days out with parents who, rather savvily, combine a widespread fascination among youngsters...
Florentia Village by DNCO
On first hearing, ‘Florentia Village’ is a ridiculous name for a warehouse complex in South Tottenham, as if Hyacinth Bouquet had somehow risen from the grave and gained a seat on the borough council in order to render floridly Italianate a grimy chunk of East London. However, the name does in fact arise from an organic nomenclatural etymology: indicating ‘flourishing’ or...
Future Observatory by SPIN Studio
SPIN Studio continues its working relationship with the Design Museum (after branding its Waste Age exhibition in 2021 and Wim Crouwel’s first UK retrospective in 2011) by putting its inimitable spin (this won’t happen again, I promise) on Future Observatory, the museum’s ‘national research programme for the green transition’. Perhaps more so than any other studio working today, SPIN has...
Curve Club by Wildish & Co.
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...
Cohere by Pentagram
From Wes Anderson to ‘accepting the job’ and distinctly dystopian new romantic relationship models; in recent years, it’s felt like you can’t move for chat about AI – its weirdest uses, its hilarious shortcomings, and a hell of a lot of scare-mongering about it stealing our jobs. The platform that’s dominated much of the conversation is ChatGPT, an AI chatbot...