Barnardo’s is the UK’s largest children’s charity, and it undoubtedly does much good in the world. However, its history up to this point is also littered with uncomfortable controversies. Certainly, the most outlandish transgressions are concentrated in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Founder Thomas John Barnardo was taken to court 88 times for kidnapping children (or ‘philanthropic abductions’, as old...
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...
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...
Recchiuti Confections is a San Francisco-based gourmet chocolatier that creates chocolates with unique flavour combinations. Using traditional European techniques, with locally sourced ingredients from Northern Californian farms and markets, Recchiuti’s chocolates have earned a loyal customer base and several accolades. After 25 years in business, Recchiuti sought the expertise of Manual – a local design studio – for a brand...
In case you’ve missed it, low and no-alcohol drinks are a thing. With over 20% of adults in the UK claiming to be teetotal, abstinence is cool: Brewdog is now Punk AF (that’s ‘alcohol free’), Thomson & Scott’s Noughty is (fairly) nice, and Seedlip is sexy. This sobriety revolution is driven, in part, by the mindfully sceptical Gen Z, turned...
Design-savvy duo and father and son team Dylan and Frank worked alongside Gary Todd Architecture and interior design team INDYK Architects to develop Ebb, a contemporary boutique hotel located at the heart of Dunedin, a city on the South Island of New Zealand. Ebb is uniquely situated at the edge of the reclaimed Otago Harbour–a place where Polynesian travellers would...
In 1775 Crane paper was used to print the first money for the American colonies, and by 1801 the company was the primary paper producer for local and regional banks. Later that century, equipped with an arsenal of innovative techniques from Europe, Crane won a contract with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and became the supplier for the US...