The Beams is ‘an expansive new venue and event space on the Royal Docks in the heart of East London’ (that’s as long as you prefer your cartography loosely impressionist). Manchester-based Only Studio was tasked with branding the former Tate & Lyle sugar factory. The award-winning agency has previous form in the field of London industrial-eyesores-turned-cultural-juggernauts: it was also responsible...
Where have all the simple playful ideas gone? You know the ones, a bit of wit, spun into a multitude of playful expressions across a number of different touch-points? Design craft has gotten so good over the last few years, but I miss the smile-in-the-mind stuff. Paul Belford’s New Chapter, Seachange’s Think Packaging and Mucho’s Art Walk. They’re not strategic...
From Wes Anderson to ‘accepting the job’ and distinctly dystopian new romantic relationship models; in recent years, it’s felt like you can’t move for chat about AI – its weirdest uses, its hilarious shortcomings, and a hell of a lot of scare-mongering about it stealing our jobs. The platform that’s dominated much of the conversation is ChatGPT, an AI chatbot...
When I first caught Perky Bros’ latest project I misread it as ‘Tempo’, the speed at which music is played. Timing is everything, or so it is said. For real estate company Tembo this notion takes the form of patience; the time to grow gently and judiciously. Property development, momentarily paused during the pandemic, seems to have recovered and is again...
Triboro worked on its first restaurant branding project over a decade ago, at a time when the folklore was that if you were a restaurant serving traditional food the visual language should evoke the region and time period of the cuisine. This was intuitive and, as Triboro founder David Heasty recounts, led to some well-crafted and beautiful results but often leaned...
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...
Tacos are a Mexican staple, consisting of a small hand-sized corn or wheat-based tortilla topped with a range of fillings. They make for perfect on-the-go food, packed full of flavour. This combination of convenience (quick to make or eat) and tastiness has seen the traditional dish rise in popularity as an ideal product to package and sell in many markets....
In 1984, the death of the wrestler Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta – commonly known as El Santo – sent shockwaves through Mexico. Over the course of five decades and 15,000 matches, the legendary fighter had captivated audiences, helping to fuel the growth of Lucha Libre around the world. Through his appearances in film, comic books and cartoons, he established himself as...
The Hyundai is one of the three major department stores in South Korea, with its 15 branches across the regions of Seoul, Yeongnam and Hoseo accruing more than $6 billion in annual sales. Petit Planet is the Hyundai’s new specialised children’s division, presenting premium brands in an environment designed to stimulate young imaginations. This post includes Extended Insights for BP&O...
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...
The New Victory Theatre, located on New York’s 42nd Street, is described as the city’s first and only not for profit performing arts venue for kids and families. It has a programme that covers a multitude of artistic disciplines and draws on traditions from a variety of cultures. Alongside performances and family workshops the theatre also seeks to offer performing arts...
Shakespeare In The Park is an annual event and duo of free performances presented by New York’s The Public that takes place at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in May and June. 2019 saw performances of Much Ado About Nothing and Coriolanus under the theme “Rumours and Rebels”. The event was promoted through a city-wide campaign developed by Pentagram’s...