Norwich Castle by The Click
The competitive landscape for experiences has been significantly catalysed post-pandemic. Perhaps the sensory deprivation of stay-at-home orders created an intense need to make up for lost time, indulge in all manner of out-of-home activities and platform them. Times have changed. Old needs to feel new and fight on equal footing with what appears to be an endless stream of pop-up...
Urban Climb by Base Design
‘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...
Forskningsrådet by ANTI
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,...
Peerspace by Mother Design
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...
Eadem by Lotta Nieminen
The skincare industry is a varied visual landscape. At one end of the spectrum, brands like Glossier and Soft Services (reviewed July 2022) have found balance in softness and understated minimalism. At the other Dr.Jart+ (reviewed Jan. 2018) and Malin+Goetz bring pharmacy-chic with functional, type-led packaging. And then we have our classic, heritage brands – like Kiehl’s and Elizabeth Arden – which...
The Wool Pot by Seachange Studio
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...
HUB Residential by DNCO
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...
Still Waters by Makebardo
There’s a drink for all occassions. Could be with friends, out at a bar, in a restaurant, perhaps alone. There are also drinks that you might expect to take you away from the everyday, perhaps to a quieter more tranquil place, where torrent of ice water meets the churn of the sea. Still Waters, a New Zealand distilled gin and...
Skateyogi by Order
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...
Detour Beer Co. by Weave
Craft beer has become a hugely competitive market to enter. It seems a rather obvious thing to write, but it’s quite something to have been part of the generation that saw its rise. It’s also provided a lot of great imagery for design blogs, and moved freely between both brand building and just plain visual delight. To see large fridges within...
NN North Sea Jazz Festival by Studio Dumbar/DEPT
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...
Future Circular Collider by Bleed
After the scientific successes of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (and its blessed failure to create any world-destroying black holes), the research organisation has an even greater need for speed. The team of scientists over in Geneva has been illuminating the nature of our universe since 2009: accelerating and smashing particles together, then snatching glimpses of their tiny collisions. Their appetite...