Design agency DNCO discusses the role of place, design, brand, and community in the metaverse – and crucially, tries to define what it actually is...
&Walsh uses AI to create an identity for nuclear energy influencer Isodope
The rise of the social media influencer has seen the phenomenon branch into previously unimaginable areas in recent years, and we’ve slowly but surely grown accustomed to it. It’s unlikely many of us would have predicted the emergence of a nuclear energy influencer, yet that’s exactly what Isabelle Boemeke, AKA Isodope, is. As well as working as a model and...
Why customers are the best marketers
Jeph Burton and Hunter Hampton, group creative directors at Johannes Leonardo, discuss the agency’s strategy to capitalise on audiences’ social spheres...
Topshop and Topman reveal a joint new look
It’s been almost two years since the collapse of Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire saw the demise of one of the British high street’s most iconic brands. Once a fashion mecca for teens and 20-somethings, when Topshop eventually went into administration in 2020 it couldn’t have been further from its heyday of Kate Moss collabs and London Fashion Week catwalks....
Opening Up the Outdoors is making nature more inclusive
There has been a huge cultural shift in the way we view the great outdoors in recent years, particularly in the wake of the pandemic and our increased desire to spend time in nature for both our physical and mental health. Couple that with technical outdoor retailers’ newfound appeal to style-conscious consumers (see the North Face x Gucci collab that...
Creativity Sucks! looks at the role of design in politics
It goes without saying that we are living through complex political times. With division rife across the political spectrum, and voters often turned off by infighting and game-playing, the role of communication and design for politicians is more important than ever. So for the latest episode of Creativity Sucks!, CR’s new podcast which looks at some of the challenges facing...
Joel Holland’s book of NYC stores is a visual homage to the city
Like many a great project, NYC Storefronts was born from the creative limitations that lockdown presented. Authored by New York-based illustrator Joel Holland, and recently published as a book by Prestel, the series of over 200 drawings features the façades of shops all over the Big Apple. From record stores and bookshops to florists and salons, the city’s dizzying array...
Kavi Pujara’s photos retrace his steps back to Leicester
Kavi Pujara’s newly released body of work sees him rediscover a pocket of Leicester near to where he grew up – a multicultural stretch of the city known as the Golden Mile. It’s an area he describes as “the last mile of a long journey to Britain”, but it’s the surrounding neighbourhoods feeding into it which have Pujara’s attention. The...
Anna Johannes on why good design is design for everyone
Interbrand strategist and Paralympian Anna Johannes discusses how disability has to stop being an afterthought in the design process, and why creatives need to spend more time talking to disabled people...
Remembering Dan Wieden
“I’m an old hippie, a wayward child. We never expected to be this successful.” This was Dan Wieden in 2012, reflecting on 30 years of Wieden + Kennedy, the agency network that he co-founded with David Kennedy in 1982, on April Fool’s Day. The irreverent, slightly cheeky choice of April 1 as a founding day set a precedent for the...
John Nolan on the enduring appeal of animatronics
The director and animatronics designer behind Harry Potter and the latest Jurassic World film discusses how he found his creative niche, plus why he loves making ads...
Why ad agencies need to up their game on the climate crisis
Well-intentioned ads featuring scenes of disaster are not enough to change people’s minds. The industry needs to do a better job on climate change, says Ben Kay...