The distinctive smaller format of LogoArchive–a zine on mid-century symbols that channels the independent spirit of niche publishing–has created a space for experimentation and collaboration with those who also share a similar interest in symbols and corporate identity programmes of the past. BankerWessel is one such studio. Their brand identity work brings the spirit of mid-century form language into the...
The MoMA logotype, set in Franklin Gothic No. 2 and designed by Ivan Chermayeff, is an icon, and has been part of the New York urban landscape and international museum graphic vernacular since its creation in 1964. With evolving communicative needs and channels, the MoMA logotype was made a central graphic device as part of a new visual identity launched in...
Exploratorium is a “public learning laboratory” and San Francisco based museum that enables visitors to question and make sense of the world around them through hands-on exhibits that touch upon science, art and human perception. Its summer 2019 exhibition, Self, Made, continues in the spirit of exploration but turns this inward, tackling the theme of human identity. It did this...
Freadman White is a Melbourne-based architectural practice, led by Ilana Freadman and Michael White, that seeks to embed a curiosity-driven and experientially charged tension into their architectural work, reveal beauty in simple and overlooked settings, and design contextually informed structures with a disciplined whimsy. Further, rather than responding literally to physical surroundings, the practice develops spaces that are visually intriguing,...
The technical limitations of the mid-century—the need for a steady hand and a precise mind for mechanical reproduction—demanded that an exceptional level of care and creativity be given over to shape and space, association and perception. These considerations created a rich corporate and consumer form language and range of graphic techniques. These have been partly marginalised, usurped by modern print...
Fashion Central Saint Martins documents and celebrates what has become one of the most influential fashion courses in the world. It is a collaboration between publisher Thames & Hudson and Central Saint Martins, and co-authored by Programme Director of Fashion Hywel Davies and Cally Blackman, lecturer in Fashion History and Theory. The Central Saint Martins Fashion Course has a legacy...
Supertrash is a family-run New Zealand-based refuse collection service that helps to divert waste from landfill by employing circular solutions; these are typically recycling, reusing or repurposing. Although small they have big ambitions and are innovative and disruptive in their approach and ideology. Since 2012 Supertrash has diverted almost 6m kg of waste away from landfill. It is a challenge posed...
Following its third release, LogoArchive mixed things up with an Extra Issue in collaboration with Canada Modern. Designed and edited by Blair Thomson, and documenting the forms and colour of Canada’s modernist symbols, this issue was distinguished from the series by its Colorplan Bright Red and full-colour gatefold Chrolomux insert dedicated to the work of Gottschalk+Ash for outdoor advertising company Claude Neon....
andSons is a second generation chocolatier and retailer run by Marc and Phil Covitz, two brothers who learned everything there is to know about fine chocolate from their mother. Seeking to offer something new to the world of artisanal chocolate, driven forward by Top 10 Pastry Chef Kriss Harvey who joins the brothers, andSons thrashes out a liminal space between...
Åhléns began in 1899 as a small mail-order business. Aside from it being one of the oldest it has also grown to become one of the largest retail chains in Sweden. By carefully collating a variety of items across brands and price categories, the retailer maintains its relevance today, understanding and responding to the many ways in which its customers...
StrangeLove is an Australian soft drinks brand that began with a four flavour range of energy drinks. Although mass-produced, each of these was created with the intention of evoking a taste of the homemade through carefully sourced and high-quality organic ingredients. The range was developed in response to energy drink brands who StrangeLove believed had failed to live up to their...
Tangent GC began as an organic garment and shoe care company developing products that intended to ensure longevity and entered the organic skincare market in 2016. Designed by Essen International TGC’s graphic identity, by way of a simple typographical expression, established a visual system of informational immediacy through the absence of superfluous stylistic detail and colour. This divided content and drew a...
Varnom Ross is a London-based specialist recruitment agency carefully pairing property professionals with private and public sector clients operating throughout the UK. Their specialism emerges from a single-minded focus on searching for and discovering the perfect synergy between individual character and collective corporate culture, professional skill set and task. This is achieved through personal conversation rather than the impersonal algorithmic governance...
NOR Specialities supports the development of plantation farmers and helps sustain local communities across Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Bolivia by way of its range of chocolate, cocoa nibs, roasted coffee beans and cold brew coffee products. NOR trades directly with family farms and producers of its raw ingredients, working with them to develop transparent and sustainable practices. Danish design studio Re-public worked with...
Espelma is a clean-burning natural wax candle company. They have an online store and have hosted pop-ups in London and New York. Each candle comes in a refillable glass vessel, designed by Espelma founders Clara and Claudia, and handmade on the Italian island of Murano. Espelma is distinguished by its mix of glass craft, distinctive colour and form, the clean-burning nature...
Swedish employee engagement consultancy Netsurvey and Bright, experts in customer surveys, have been merged and rebranded as Brilliant by The Studio. This merger and rebranding intended to create a new platform capable of encapsulating the skills and corporate cultures of both companies and develop a visual expression that people from each could identify with and stand behind. In the same spirit as The Studio’s...
Speculations on Anonymous Materials (2013), nature after nature (2014) and Inhuman (2015) is a trilogy of exhibitions, curated by Susanne Pfeffer, that took place at Fridericianum, Europe’s oldest public museum, located in the German city of Kessel. The exhibitions, which mark the institution’s turn towards post-humanist thinking, intended to demonstrate how current artistic practices shift the theoretical boundaries separating the...
New Architecture in South Tyrol—a travelling exhibition and catalogue—brings to light the unique architectural boom happening in Alto Adige, also known as South Tyrol, the predominantly German-speaking northern-most province of Italy. Selected by an international jury, the catalogue focuses on fifty-nine buildings from the region, realised between 2012–2018, and have gained local contemporary architects international recognition. These buildings are marked by...
Felt is a coffee shop in Seoul with their own brand of speciality coffee which has been sourced by way of direct trade and roasted in Gyeonggi-do, a populous (relevant later) province of South Korea. They opened their first store in September 2015 and a second in October 2018. The team at Felt see every part of the coffee experience;...
246 Queen has a long and storied history. Opened in 1964 on Auckland’s Queen Street, it heralded a new era of modern architectural vision, exclusive boutique-based experience and an urban post-war retail sophistication. The building played host to fashion shows, designer concessions, furniture showrooms and contemporary dining. However, the architectural ideas drawn up by the original architects Rigby Mullan (Alan...
MacGuffin is a biannual design, art and crafts magazine that commissions stories on, around or jumping off from ordinary things, uncovering personal and curious relationships with the objects that surround us. Issues 1 to 5 explored The Bed, The Window, The Robe, The Sink and The Cabinet. The Ball, MacGuffin Magazine No.6 Autumn/Winter 2018, the one BP&O has its hands-on,...
Each year KIAF plays host to and brings to the Korea domestic market the artworks of international artists and galleries. This year, the 17th Korea International Art Fair took place between the 4–7 October in the city of Seoul. With a desire to become the pre-eminent art platform of South Korea, serve as a conduit between the Asian and international art...
Rimowa is a Cologne-based manufacturer of luxury luggage. It has a significant history, beginning in 1898 as a travel and leather goods maker known for its innovative approach, and growing to become an international brand with a line of polycarbonate and aluminium products with a distincive ribbed relief. Commission worked with Chief Executive Alexandre Arnault and Chief Brand Officer Hector Muelas to create...
Innsbruck International, Biennial of the Arts is a 16-day event set over 10 locations presenting the work of over 20 international artists who are invited to make use of Innsbruck’s historical and contemporary venues. Together, these works reach across the wide spectrum of the visual arts; from painting and sculpture, film and sound to performances and installations. Although events of this kind...