The Photography Annual 2019 is out now
In this year’s Photography Annual, we’re celebrating image-making across personal, editorial, advertising, stock and student projects, along with six exciting photographers who enjoyed a breakthrough year
MagCulture’s Christmas cards are raising money for the homeless
Richard Turley, Veronica Ditting and Alice Bowsher, amongst others, have all contributed to MagCulture’s set of Christmas cards, donating their time so that the sales can go straight to homeless charity Shelter from the Storm
Ads of the year 2019
From Spotify delving into the past decade of our eclectic streaming habits to Mothercare’s powerful images of post-partum bodies, here’s our top ten campaigns from the last 12 months
Drawings of People with Signs: a zine that does exactly what it says
In Erlend Peder Kvam’s zine, his hand-drawn characters use simple signs to express their opinions about themselves and the world
The best games of 2019
Both indie studios and big game developers did well this year, which saw Apple Arcade launch as well as Google’s much-anticipated Stadia streaming service. Here’s ten of CR’s favourites
Nike celebrates Mbappé’s childhood dreams in new campaign
In the latest Nike Football campaign, Kylian Mbappé remembers his footie-mad youth, and discovers that not much has changed since – despite reaching superstar status
Trends of 2019: Social Media and Creativity
This year saw increased analysis and reflection over the impact that social media has had on creativity, from the dangerous lure of the likes to the way that social channels could be designed for the better. Here are the key points to catch up on
A tasty new look for edible insect brand Crunchy Critters
Created by Sherlock Studio, the new branding comes amid shifting public attitudes towards insects as a high-protein and, crucially, appetising snack alternative
Grand Bassin captures the colourful characters seen around the pool
The animation, created by four graduates, is an invitation to observe the day-to-day goings on at a public swimming bath and also features a runaway toupee
Thinh Nguyen explores loneliness and rejection in his kooky animation
In Tom Has a Plant, Thinh Nguyen’s graduation film, the title character tries to give plants away to those he cares about but things don’t go quite to plan
Trends of the Year: Creativity and Activism
It was a turbulent year in politics and activism this year, as we saw mass protests around climate change, and also increased discussion around diversity and equal pay. Here’s a round-up of the key points for the creative industries
The best record sleeves of 2019
Our favourite album covers from the past 12 months include powerful portraits, surreal collage and experiments with screen printing – spanning genres from grime to rock and pop
Martin Andersen captures the energy of Spurs fans on match day
Andersen’s new photo book Can’t Smile Without You documents the crowds, conflicts and camaraderie during Spurs’ final few seasons at White Hart Lane
Trends of the Year: Creativity and Tech
It’s been a jittery year in tech. As we discovered more about the insidious ways that technologies track us, questions of ethics abounded. But there was the odd fun moment too in amongst the gloom
Book covers of the year 2019
Mark Sinclair, Senior Editor at Unit Editions, takes us through the year in book covers, spotting trends for 2019 plus highlighting his picks for the ten best covers of the year
Movie posters of the year 2019
It’s been another glorious year for movie posters, which has seen illustration in particular rise to the fore. Here, CR’s design correspondent Daniel Benneworth-Gray picks his ten favourites of 2019
Aubrey Powell and Johnson Banks team up for bumper Pink Floyd box set
There’s 18 discs in the new collection, entitled The Later Years, which brings together the last three decades of the band – including albums, unreleased tracks and live recordings
The legacy of Life magazine’s images celebrated in new show
The first magazine to pioneer the concept of photography-led stories, a new exhibition showcases some of Life’s most iconic photographs from its archive
Classic Blue is Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2020
After a tumultuous end to the decade, Pantone is hoping to usher in the new year with an air of calm, carrying the theme across all five senses for the first time
Anthony White’s new show flips consumerism on its head
The Seattle-based artist uses common plastics to form his meticulously woven creations, which tell colourful tales of gluttony and excess
Magazine covers of the year 2019
While the last few years have seen magazines launch a tirade against the world’s power brokers, 2019 has been about chipping beneath the surface. We look back at our ten favourites covers of the year
Another whopper on a bus… but this time, it’s from Burger King
In a new piece of surprisingly political advertising, the fast food chain has taken aim at the “We send the EU £350 million a week” claim
The tampon is Ordinary magazine’s latest object of interest
We speak to co-founder Max Siedentopf about the new issue of the Amsterdam-based fine art mag, which enlists the help of an array of artists to transform a perfectly ordinary item into something extraordinary
The best music videos of 2019
From screaming potatoes to a dog in space, 2019 was a great year for music videos. Check out ten of CR’s favourites