The Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia are not technically mountains at all. They are, rather, a complex labyrinth of dissected plateaus, gorges and valleys of sandstone, formed over 50 million years ago. So far, so deceptive. Fortunately, however, the Blue Mountains are most definitely blue. When the atmospheric temperature of the region rises, a superfine mist of fragrant...
It must be something of a dream project when an agency gets commissioned to work on those big-name cultural clients – museums, art galleries, orchestras, theatre companies, et al. You’d expect such projects to be a departure from the constraints and stakeholder-limitations of corporate clients; and perhaps a chance to be more creative than usual, thanks to the nature of...
Estepona is a Spanish resort town on the Costa del Sol. It surveys the azure waves of the Mediterranean from the apex of a bight that traces a gentle South-Westerly arc from Marbella to Gibraltar. Strewn as it is on this notoriously idyllic coastline, Estepona largely conforms to the stereotypically cheerful charm of the Spanish resort town, pandering to the...
We’ve all, at some point in life, encountered a few “But Actuallys”: the kind of people who always know a little bit more than you, constantly correct you, diligently fact check in social situations. They’re perennially just that smidgen More Right than you: a heady combination of The Simpsons’ Comic Book Guy; the classic pedant (or pendant if you want...
There are many kinds of rebrand. There are rebrands that tread lightly, reverently refining and polishing what is already there, like archaeologists delicately exhuming sunken lucre so that it can once again gleam (National Portrait Gallery). Then there are rebrands that are a little more decisive in their handling of the raw materials—imagine our similetic Time Team creatively re-assembling the...
Sometimes a project comes along that doesn’t just make you think about how nice its typography is, or ponder if millennial pink is making a comeback (or indeed,, if it ever went away), or why suddenly a branded bucket hat seems to be a key facet of any company/product/concept’s ‘swag’. Sometimes, it makes you think about what ‘branding’ even means,...
It’s been years since millennials were first accused of buying too many avocado toasts and expensive coffees. The stereotype of young people loving handmade, refined and artisanal products holds true in their spending patterns, and today, that generation has matured into business leaders, reshaping the world’s mindset to align with these priorities. As consumers, Gen Z seem to be picking...
Based in what’s been optimistically named London’s ‘Design District’, New Genre is a pretty youthful studio that’s racked up an impressively broad range of projects and clients in its short life. Just shy of two years old, the studio has thus far worked across fintech, a non-profit art organisation, a pub, a beauty brand, and a campaign for Jamie Oliver...
We’re undeniably in an age of pet care 2.0: the post-fur-baby era, where people are finally beginning to see their animals’ needs and wants as independent to their own (i.e. dried pigs ears over vegan dog treats, eschewing leads for cats, and so on). These shifts in how we think about what it means to have and look after animals...
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....
Cute, bright, and striking; there’s very little not to love about this identity for Parkette. Based in Hamilton, Canada, Parkette is billed as a boutique shop ‘dedicated to kids and the kids at heart’, selling crafts kits, clothes, accessories, books, homeware, toys, and ‘other treasures’. The name is taken from a term many locals in Hamilton use to describe a...
Les Francos de Montréal is Canada’s premier festival of French language music and culture. Held annually in downtown Montréal, it is a fixture in both the social calendar and cultural life of the city, and the wider francophone world. This year’s edition of the festival has been given a sophisticated new look, courtesy of LG2, Canada’s largest independent creative agency...