Politicians, developers and the pandemic are driving food stalls, markets and other small businesses to the brink. We look at how creatives are protecting and uplifting them...
Introducing the winners of the World Illustration Awards 2022
There has arguably never been a more challenging time to make it in the world of illustration. With fierce competition among the constant stream of fresh talent, industry accolades can go a long way in helping illustrators stand out from the crowd and make a living out of their practice. Celebrating great talent is exactly what the Association of Illustrators...
How London’s Asian food scene is using design to stand out
After living in the UK for more than 20 years, Filipino-born, CPB London head of design June Frangue has observed how ESEA London restaurants have embraced mouth-watering designs in recent years. Here he picks eight of his favourites...
The poetry of Palace’s product copy
Product copy and ecommerce texts aren’t known for being particularly sexy, but from time to time, amongst the rubble, real gems can be found. Take online record store Boomkat, which has editorialised its product pages, transforming space often used for cut-and-paste artist bios and album summaries into insightful reviews. Or there’s Palace, the irreverent skateboarding brand… Source...
Vintage billheads inspired Mucca’s bevelled branding for the Tin Building
The Tin Building in New York is home to an impressive set of businesses, including 12 restaurants, four bars and three markets, all located in what was once the Fulton Fish Market. Mucca recalls the area’s history in brilliant detail, describing it as “a bustling commercial hub full of salty characters, wise guys, and chefs looking for the freshest catch”....
PepsiCo’s Mauro Porcini: “The world needs design thinking”
As he releases his new book, PepsiCo’s chief design officer discusses how his career has evolved hand in hand with his human-centred philosophy – and why people shouldn’t dismiss design thinking as a buzzword...
A psychedelic identity for Jamie Oliver’s pasta brand
Otherway was enlisted to create the design identity for Pasta Dreams – a partnership between TV chef Jamie Oliver and Taster, a company comprised of food sub-brands which are all focused entirely on home delivery. According to Otherway, the aim was to step away from what people might traditionally associate with Italian food, with an emphasis on retro design details....
Pharrell and Little Simz win big at the UK Music Video Awards
In total, Pharrell’s video (which also features 21 Savage and Tyler the Creator) took home four awards at the event held in London last week, including the top gong. Directed by François Rousselet, and created during the pandemic, the video is a feast for lovers of craft, featuring an ode to the zoetrope, with a rotating set starring CGI versions...
TK Maxx kicks off Christmas with quirky ad
The Christmas campaign season is playing out differently this year. Ads are arriving earlier to avoid media clashes with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which starts late November. And of course, there’s the small matter of a cost-of-living crisis to contend with. Retail company TK Maxx has burst out of the starting blocks on both counts, with the first...
Is Gen Z turning away from booze, and what can brands do?
With younger generations taking a different approach to drinking, brands are having to rethink what they’re selling, and how they’re selling it...
The lesser-seen side of 1960s psychedelia’s creative culture
The history of psychedelic design is largely focused on graphics: record sleeves by Hipgnosis, for instance, or that ubiquitous Bob Dylan poster by Milton Glaser. And of course, psychedelic is a sprawling term; encompassing everything from drugs to certain sounds, colours, patterns, clubs, fashion and more. But one aspect of psychedelic counterculture that’s far less visible today is light shows…...
Why horror is experiencing a new golden age
A new exhibition at London’s Somerset House uses horror to tell a subversive tale of British history. Curator Claire Catterall discusses why horror is resonating in the mainstream...