From an early age, my local library was a sanctuary for me. It was more about looking than reading. During visits in my teens, I acquired the guilty pleasure of 'liberating' book jackets from their hardcovers. In 1963, age nineteen, I was thumbing through some new arrivals on the shelves and pulled out this book. I was overwhelmed by the stark simplicity of its cover, just two colour line and an idea. What it taught me was that being limited expands the imagination. Styles fade, ideas endure. The cover was designed by Keith Cunningham (1929-2014). Fifty-eight years on, this little gem still gives me a thrill.
Frahm is a small, family run business dedicated to making beautiful, technical and detailed jackets. Directly opposed to fast fashion, they operate a pre-order only model, avoiding waste and lowering the environmental impact of their products and processes. Supple Studio was invited to design packaging for these robust, weather-ready jackets. The studio's solution was to fully embrace Frahm's 'Tough Beautiful' mantra, designing a gorgeous range of outer boxes, each featuring a naturally resilient British insect, photographed at macro scale. Supple also designed a full icon set, as well as detailed inner packaging elements and a bespoke outer tape, playfully referencing Frahm's commitment to support mental health charity Mind.
Think Packaging are a design-led structural packaging agency based in New Zealand. Fellow Kiwis Seachange have given them a new identity that takes the humble cardboard box and elevates it to hero status. It’s artfully done, both playful and slick – with pitch perfect art direction and photography that’s beautifully simple. Topped with great copy and endless details; such as a cutting matt inspired backdrop to website menu and typography that’s as sharp as a Swann Morton. Top marks (and folds).
This is such a simple, elegant idea, crafted to perfection. The juxtaposition in the name is beautifully dramatised by the colour blocks – forming, of course, an L shape. The way it shrinks and grows – from little to more and little again – is so pleasing to watch. Chic, smart, unfussy but distinctive. Gorgeous.
In 2020 D&AD decided not to do a printed annual, a yearly book of some of the best advertising and design that year, adored and collected by many. Rhys Hughes and Barret Helander took this opportunity to create a bootleg annual, manually sourcing all the content themselves and giving the people what they wanted.
‘Our Type of Food’ is an own label range of food and drink by department store, Jarrold. With 250 years of history, the Jarrold family business was once an established printing and publishing firm. The Click have created a name, identity and packaging solution that references this rich printing heritage. Artworks have been created using their very own collection of letterpress type and Jarrold’s historic printing presses. A gift of a solution and one that tells a truly unique back story.
A symbol to rally around designed by Ateljé Altmann promoting people stay home and support the health care system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beautifully alternative and charming work from The New Company for Airshop by Nike manages to feel both retro and progressive in its art direction. Airshop is a new initiative by Nike to feature and celebrate all of its air products into one place. The New Company were responsible for creating a flexible graphic language and art direction that ties together a wide variety of products into a cohesive environment.
