With the world moving faster and faster, it is perhaps only natural that businesses want their teams to be speedier than ever too. But for creatives, this can often make the work worse...
Gradwatch 2026: Lily Truelove & Lucy Whiskens, Manchester School of Art
At this year’s New Designers showcase in London, Manchester School of Art graduates Lily Truelove and Lucy Whiskens shared the Creative Review Award for their markedly different interpretations of a 2026 FIFA World Cup brief set by Studio Blackburn. Both of their projects are rooted in research, experimentation and a willingness to look beyond the obvious. For Truelove… Source...
Gradwatch 2026: Bea Dalley, London College of Fashion
For photographer Bea Dalley, making images allows her to “freeze moments” and turn them into something more tangible, and is a way to explore ideas that feel true to her. “I’m able to show the viewer the world the way I see things. I have always lived in my imagination and romanticised things I see as if they were in...
The return of the compact disc
The death of the CD has been exaggerated – like some stubborn, insistent earworm, it refuses to go away. Could its mini resurgence herald a new wave of creative design for music?...
Bankwest creates limited edition cufflinks for its brokers
Bankwest is the latest brand to see the value in creating limited edition merch for its customers or staff – a trend that seems to have emerged in response to digital fatigue and a renewed love of real objects in the age of AI. In this case, the brand has honed in on its network of brokers, creating a bespoke...
Exposure: Harlan Bozeman
The artist and educator’s six-year documentation of Elaine, Arkansas, confronts a history of racial violence and decades of neglect, while proposing a more reciprocal model for documentary photography...
Gradwatch 2026: Mac Brown, the Northern School of Art
“Design as an outlet for creativity wasn’t always the creative sector I was drawn to,” says graphic designer Mac Brown. “I always wanted to be a very traditional artist, but during my time at school I had classes in both fine art and graphic design. The way design was able to integrate art into creating products, brands and emotion caught...
Gradwatch 2026: Maddie McCoubrie, Arts University Bournemouth
It was in the run up to Maddie McCoubrie’s final year on the illustration course at Arts University Bournemouth that she discovered the 3D software Blender, which allowed her work to open up into wider illustration and animation techniques and “worlds that felt unique to me”, she explains. “These often centred around vibrant colours, quirky shape language and perhaps slightly...
Why have design books gotten so boring?
While other sectors such as food and sport have flexed outside of their typical settings, and reached new audiences in turn, design books have remained static. It’s time for a shake-up...
Micro-home installation in Sweden highlights youth housing crisis
In Sweden, as in many countries around the world, young people are currently facing a major uphill battle to buy their first homes, owing to extremely high prices in cities and strict down-payment rules. This issue has been widely debated in recent years, with articles and news reports delving into the situation; what is less common however, are visualisations that...
New Uber campaign encourages Germans to change their habits
The new ads employ a documentary format, and a tongue-in-cheek tone, while revealing the many maddening trips we make in life that could be avoided if we are willing to be adaptable, change our plans and break old habits. Crucially, each of the films ends with the same simple suggestion: Oder aber Uber? (Or order Uber?). Serviceplan developed four short...
Gradwatch 2026: George Cook, University for the Creative Arts
Despite being a highly technical creative medium, stop motion has long been celebrated for its simple charm. From children’s film and television to meticulously crafted commercials, it is most commonly associated with warmth and tactility. None of that is lacking in the work of George Cook, yet the University for the Creative Arts animation graduate is interested in exploring what...