GUT by &Walsh
Guts aren’t exactly glamorous. And the connotations of the word ‘gut’ are multifarious: there’s the gory (‘blood and guts’); the Germanic ‘good’; the straightforwardly corporeal; or for those with an interest in newer psychological findings, it’s a wondrous ‘second brain’. Ad agency folk, however, have long taken the word ‘guts’ far outside of the bodily. For many of them, ‘guts’...
Miles by Buddy Buddy
Deodorant isn’t traditionally a hotbed of innovation: for the most part, ‘women’s’ products don an unremarkable raft of white packaging (freshness!); blue, pragmatic type; and vague, rarely-kept promises about lasting for 72-hours. For the men, packs are sombre shades of black, dark blue, or grey (manly!) and just as drearily practical as the women’s. Deodorant, for the most part, has...
Paws Off! by Seachange
Anyone who’s ever had a dog, or just interacted with one, has likely spotted that over and above pretty much anything, food is the centre of their universe. Unfortunately for us, though, it’s not just dog-safe food that they’ll do whatever it takes to get their paws on: human food, it seems, often has the most appeal. But just as...
Marshmallow by Ragged Edge
A marshmallow is sweet, soft, pliable. Yet they are also resilient and surprisingly strong – who among us hasn’t enjoyed watching them perform surprisingly well under a hydraulic press compared to substances that much more obviously scream ‘structural integrity’? Perhaps this soft-yet-strong dynamic is why the name works for an insurance company. Or perhaps, more simply, the name works because...
Vineyard Theatre by NB Studio
Much like identity work for art galleries and publishing houses, master brand design for theatre is often neutral, leaving plenty of space for a programme of diverse productions and eclectic marketing images to ‘take the stage’. When everything is in constant flux, there are typically some constants: a straightforward, recognisable wordmark, a distinctive typographic personality, and a consistently tight grid...
Mill by Manual
There’s a lot to be said for the Instagram-worthiness of, say, a faux-futuristic beauty brand identity that’s all gloopy, metallic, kinetic typography, ‘terminal green’, and unabashedly Gen Z-baiting ‘y2k’ art direction. It’s easy to assume that projects that allow designers the creative freedom for unabashed experimentation – playing fast and loose with legibility and lofty conceptual thinking – are the...
Going by Design Studio
If you’ve heard of Scott’s Cheap Flights, it’s more than likely through word of mouth – it’s the sort of thing shared by a helpful colleague or cousin when you discuss trying to make holiday plans, much like the sage advice to use a private browser when looking at flight prices. And from these fairly humble beginnings, the service –...
Top of the Mornin’ Coffee by Earthling
Anyone over about 25 would likely feel that of all people, big-time YouTubers aren’t exactly in need of a coffee fix: high-octane, breathless excitement and endless, pause free chitchat don’t exactly scream ‘3pm slump’. However, Irish YouTuber Seán McLoughlin, aka Jacksepticeye – who boasts more than 52 million social media followers, and nearly 16 billion views on YouTube alone –...
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...
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...