Frank Penny is a consultancy specialising in AML – anti-money laundering. Knowing next to nothing about financial matters, I had no idea such companies existed. But like pretty much any other business, to succeed and stand out against their competitors, at some point or another anti-AML consultants need to think about their brand identity. Stockholm studio Bedow was recently tasked...
Now that the likes of ed-tech (education technology) and fin-tech (financial technology) have become a natural part of everyday parlance, it was surely only a matter of time before prop-tech (property technology) entered the equation, too. Proptech largely refers to platforms and services that use tech to help people buy, sell, research, market, and manage a property – ranging from...
The hamburger is an American icon. It conjures associations with all-American diners and drive-thrus, backyard cookouts and family gatherings; American values, such as entrepreneurship, as well as less positive attributes of Western countries, like obesity. The burger’s visual identity is inseparable from its history and has been solidified time and time again as the big fast food franchises conquered the...
Although its recent rise to popularity has been rapid, running a quick search on ‘kombucha’ reveals that until the 21st century it had seen little category growth since its creation, more than 2000 years ago. For the uninitiated, kombucha is a fermented, non-alcoholic sweetened tea containing vitamins, amino acids and nutrients. This mix of familiarity (as a tea), its sweetness...
According to Sweden’s travel and tourism website, craft beer enthusiasts will discover a ‘smorgasbord’ of artisanal, eco-friendly and organic things to drink there, with more microbreweries per capita than any other country (apart from the UK). Omaka joined the scene in September 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and with a slogan to match its fearless attitude: ‘taste before...
Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas) is one of Helsinki’s most famous buildings, originally designed by the Finnish industrial architect Wäinö Gustaf Palmqvist in 1939. For many decades it was the largest building in Finland with a footprint of 56,000 m², and it remains one of the most iconic. In 1991 the site was redeveloped to become the country’s biggest cultural centre, housing...
Tangent GC began as a Scandinavian organic garment and shoe care company developing products that intended to increase the life of clothing and footwear, and entered the organic skincare market in 2016. The concern given to the longevity of skin becomes an understandable extension of that original intention. Carl Nas Associates, who have been working with Tangent GC on their packaging treatments for...
Erik Berglin is Stockholm-based contemporary artist. His work is flows from his understanding that some people find the art gallery uninviting and uncomfortable, and the artworks displayed as requiring insight to really appreciate. He himself has said that he dislikes 90% of the exhibitions he visits but adores the 10%. This clearly informs his work, which often brings the unexpected into...
Tangent GC began as a Scandinavian organic garment and shoe care company developing products that intended to increase the life of clothing and footwear, and entered the organic skincare market in 2016. The longevity of skin being an understandable extension of that original intention. The company’s graphic identity, a typographical system designed by Essen International under the creative direction of Carl Nas, established...
If you consider all the tangible expressions of a country’s brand, money, with its essential function as a measure of value, could easily be considered one of the most important touchpoints. In this sense a country’s banknote is often the first point of physical contact with that place prior to travel. The shape, feel, colour, language, security features, artwork and heritage of...
Daniel Jensen is a Swedish artist whose work moves between paintings, sculptures and drawings and explores themes such as society and pop-culture, film, literature and nature. His latest book, designed by Bedow, features artworks that are figurative and abstract, unrelated and absent a narrative. With such compelling and intense imagery of colour and dynamic shape, Bedow developed a format that...
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...