Creative Futures Revisited: APFEL

For almost 30 years, Creative Review ran a scheme called Creative Futures, celebrating the best and brightest new talent entering the industry. Here, we talk to design studio A Practice For Everyday Life (APFEL) – which was featured in 2003

London-based design studio A Practice for Everyday Life (APFEL) works across identities, exhibition design, art direction, publications and more, and it has built up a reputation for creating meaningful projects often based in the world of art and culture.

The studio was founded by Kirsty Carter and Emma Thomas in 2003, just after graduating from the Royal College of Art, and that same year the studio was nominated to be featured in CR’s Creative Futures showcase by artist and designer Daniel Eatock.

“It was an absolute honour. As students, we put Creative Review on a bit of a pedestal,” say the designers. “We remember looking back at some of the past Creative Futures, and the year before it was focused on just women. There was a show in west London for it and we visited many times. We were halfway through our MA at that point, so that was really pivotal for us, as women studying graphic design.”

Top: The Hepworth Wakefield identity, 2009; Above: The Grey Blanket, 2003. The project was featured as part of the Creative Futures scheme, for which Carter and Thomas were nominated by artist Daniel Eatock