Sendwave by DesignStudio
The concepts of ‘money transfer’ and ‘community’ don’t immediately seem to go hand in hand: the former feels cold, slightly dry, potentially confusing and rather literally transactional; the latter is all cuddly and feelings and people-y. But uniting these two seemingly disparate worlds is exactly what DesignStudio did recently in its rebranding of Sendwave, a digital platform offering money transfers...
The Dinner Ladies by Universal Favourite
‘Dinner ladies’ doesn’t have the most glamorous connotations in England – depending on your experience at school, it likely conjures up memories of scoops of greying, tepid mash-adjacent slop unceremoniously plopped onto a plate; something to do with turkey dinosaurs; a troop of formidable but visibly jaded people responsible for making every school smell like on-the-turn cottage pie from around...
West Loop by Landor
The official blurb that surrounds Chicago’s West Loop area is that it’s the city’s ‘hottest neighbourhood… a foodie mecca’, according to Choose Chicago, a ‘cultural powerhouse’, in the words of Landor, which recently created its new brand identity. Having never been to West Loop, or even Chicago, it’s hard to get a grasp of what this all really means. Such...
House of Reptile by Studio Gruhl
It’s not often that BP&O covers record label design. Unlike sectors such as fintech or FMCG, record labels naturally lend themselves to the more creative side of design and branding – they have far more niche audiences, and usually don’t have to work as hard as something aimed at the supermarket shelf to stand out or appeal to mass audiences....
Oatier by AllGood
Demand for dairy alternatives continues to surge. In the United States, plant-based milks and proteins are reportedly popular among a third of adults thanks to their perceived health benefits, as well as consumers’ increasing environmental awareness and plant-based lifestyles. Soy, of course, was the OG substitute, until almond milk came to dominate the market. But now, it’s all about oats....
Sense by Buck
Since the pandemic, sexual wellness offerings have carved out a space on the shelves of beauty and pharmaceutical retailers, from Sephora to CVS in the US, and even Boots in the UK (founded 1849). According to business insight platform Crunchbase, that’s thanks to ‘an increased cultural shift that embraced sexual pleasure as a crucial component of physical and mental health’....
Ashton by LG2
For the rest of the world, Canada is synonymous with a few things – maple syrup; Celine Dion; wholesome, generally nice people; Neil Young; and when it comes to the realm of food, poutine (fries with cheese curds and gravy, for the uninitiated). Having opened back in 1969, Ashton is the oldest poutine chain in Canada. With 23 branches in...
Public Pool by Perky Bros
Suburban pool party culture is rather alien to us in the UK, where only the exceptionally wealthy have pools, and we muddle along in a climate that defaults to ‘grey, fair to middling’ most of the year. But we’re becoming a little more attuned to the joys of an open air funsplash: over the past few years we’ve seen the...
Tigre by Triboro
LES Tigre – not to be confused with seminal electroclash/riot grrrl combo Le Tigre – is a cocktail lounge in Manhattan’s Lower East Side area, which opened at the end of last year and apparently combines ‘sophistication and refinement in drink, sound and ambiance’ with an entrance that boasts ‘an original graffiti-worn door’. So far, so hip, amirite? It all...
Dirty Vegan by Jens Nilsson
Having been a vegan for almost 20 years now, various tropes have come and gone. In the early days, for the health conscious it was pretty much all about brown paper packaged Holland and Barrett goods, and references to the Young Ones cooking lentils. For the not so health conscious (hello!) it was ketchup sandwiches. Gradually the Quorn contingent came...
Drumroll by Gander
Donuts are one of life’s simplest pleasures, but they haven’t historically been the healthiest choice. Vegan – sorry ‘plant based’ – donuts are nothing new (Krispy Kreme’s been selling some non-dairy alternatives for a while now, and very nice they are too), but until now, we weren’t aware of donuts that also boast high-protein, low-sugar, gluten-free credentials. That is, until...
Reveri by Mother
There’s no denying the proliferation of all things that the more curmudgeonly crowds might deem ‘woowoo’ over recent years. Crystals, gong baths, singing bowls, silent retreats, tarot et al were once firmly languishing on the fringes of society, and are now de rigeur among the Stoke Newington set and TikTok classes alike. This rise in self-help-led esotericism has run concurrently...