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From Brick to Berlingske: Graphic designers on creating a great masthead

Laura Snoad explores the art of masthead design in this extract from issue two of Fontsmith magazine Type Notes

By Laura Snoad 08/12/2017 11:30 am

A masthead — or title piece as it’s technically called (it’s only a masthead when it sits above the contributors list) — is a difficult brief. For new launches there’s one hell of newsstand jostle and if you’re redesigning, you’re expected to modernise, respect the heritage, make an impact and be invisible — all while avoiding the wrath of readers.

Creative Insight

How behavioural science could make branding better

Mark Hauser, applied behavioural scientist at branding agency The Team, discusses how psychology could create more effective, human-centred creative work

Creative Inspiration

A new exhibition celebrates Push Pin’s gloriously anti-minimalist aesthetic

Hosted at New York’s Poster House, the Push Pin Legacy brings together over 200 posters by the likes of Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast, Reynold Ruffins and Edward Sorel

Creative Insight

Does the design of everyday materials deserve more credit?

Logos, exhibition design and book covers can often seem like the zenith of graphic design. Do reports, documents and catalogues get overlooked by comparison?

Creative Insight

Inside the fantastical world of Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X is ripping up the music rulebook with his rap-country-pop sound, gender-bending style and eye-catching creative output. As he releases his debut album, we look at how the artist brings his unique vision to life

Creative Process

How I Work: Max Siedentopf

The artist, photographer, designer and director talks to CR about working at speed, the joy of not being confined by one discipline, how he balances the commercial with the personal, and why his spirit animal is a cross between a chameleon and a dung beetle

Creative Inspiration

A history of London as told by its shopfronts

New book London Shopfronts, published by Hoxton Mini Press, offers a photographic guide to some of the capital’s most striking independent retailers, old and new, and reveals how style and uniqueness remain crucial for attracting customers

Creative Insight

The power of persuasion

We speak to the creatives behind successful political campaigns for the UK’s Conservative party and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez about the role of design and creativity in the battle for voters

Creative Insight

Is there room for ethics in design?

The devil on the ad industry’s shoulder might still say that fast fashion and oil companies aren’t so bad, but some design studios are taking an ethical stand. But can ‘good’ clients and big business can ever live in harmony?

Creative Insight

Are brands the new religion?

Brands with big or cult-like followings have both power and community. Creative Review speaks to three brand experts about how they cultivate followers and maintain their flock

Creative Leadership

The battle for self-belief

Working in the creative industries inevitably involves rejection and doubt. But those are also the elements that can lead to greatness, writes Richard Holman

Creative Inspiration

Scouts introduces new programme Squirrels, with branding by Supple Studio

Aimed at four-five year-olds and focused on areas of the UK that have been particularly affected by the pandemic, Squirrels is the first new Scouts programme for 35 years

Creative Insight

Creativity for change!

In the fight to gain attention for charities and grassroots causes, design and creative thinking is more important than ever. Here, we look at how creativity can engage people in causes and galvanise wider audiences

Creative Insight

Why we need to design for all ages

As a new book by Jeremy Myerson celebrates the inclusive design work of the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Patrick Burgoyne talks to him about what has changed in the past three decades

Creative Inspiration

New book Summer After captures the fragility of a post-9/11 New York

In 2002, photographer Lucas Foglia moved to Manhattan, and spent his spare time taking portraits in a city still recovering from the after effects of 9/11. A new book brings the images together for the first time

Creative Insight

Prarthna Singh on photography as a force for change

The photographer speaks to CR about how she aligns her photography with her values, which sees her explore themes of female identity, social injustice and power

Creative Insight

What happens when you fall out of love with your studio?

Following a recent rebrand and change of focus for her design business, Laura Jane Boast discusses how she lost and then re-discovered the connection with her own studio

Creative Insight

How to handle a PR disaster

Persuasion Communications founder Jane Austin discusses what it takes to recover from a PR crisis – and how brands can avoid bumbling into one in the first place

Creative Inspiration

Quirky McDonald’s Canada ad celebrates the joy of friendship (and fries)

A man waxes lyrical about how much he’s looking forward to meeting his friend for a McDonald’s, even if he always nicks his fries

Creative Insight

How designers make food brands delicious

Whether it’s the battle of plant-based brands or the move to online shopping, designers have more opportunities than ever to tickle people’s tastebuds. We spoke with studios Robot Food and This Way Up about what it takes to create a successful food brand

Creative Insight

How Antwaun Sargent is transforming the art world

The author of seminal photography book The New Black Vanguard talks through his plans as director of Gagosian Gallery with Gem Fletcher, which includes asking the question ‘what more can art do?’

Creative Process

The beauty of ‘ugly’ portraits

Historically speaking, portraits have almost always been about glorifying the subject – so what’s behind our recent fascination with unflattering, caricatured depictions of ourselves?

Creative Inspiration

The spirit of Street Fighter lives on in ITV’s 16-bit video game

Part of its ongoing Drama Vs Reality campaign, Uncommon has taken the next logical step and created an online beat ‘em up game that pits TOWIE and Love Island stars against actors

Creative Insight

Meet the creatives who are challenging Western tastes

We speak to the creatives behind Instagram page Diet Paratha and type foundry Vocal Type about the need for a more diverse group of tastemakers in the creative industries

Creative Insight

How influencers are reshaping the creative industries

As influencer marketing continues to dominate our social media feeds, we explore how it is impacting more traditional areas of advertising and what exactly separates ‘creators’ from ‘influencers’

Creative Insight

The case for radical popularism in advertising

The advertising industry turns its nose up at popular creative approaches such as jingles or celebrities in favour of ‘brave originality’. But, asks Ben Kay, is it shooting itself in the foot?

Creative Insight

How Ace & Tate shook up the eyewear category

The eyewear brand has found favour among young people thanks to its refreshing tone and image. Creative director Ruud de Bruin talks to us about showcasing its offering through a creative lens

Creative Inspiration

KFC masquerades as Ikea in its latest PR stunt

To mark the opening of its new restaurant in Majorca, KFC has dressed up a billboard in the yellow and blue brand colours of its neighbouring Ikea store

Creative Process

Inside the ambitious music videos for Jungle’s new album

Jungle are back with a bumper pack of dance-laden videos for their third album. The collective’s Josh Lloyd-Watson and co-director Charlie Di Placido explain the intensive process of making the choreographed one-shot videos, which were all filmed in just five days

Creative Insight

Paul Woods on handling a creative crisis

Whether you’re a fresh grad still finding your way or an old hand who’s lost faith, designer Paul Woods has some sage words of wisdom to help navigate creative angst

Creative Insight

Why some creative businesses want to stay small

For a lot of agencies and studios, growth is a top priority – but not all set up shop with this in mind. We talk to two founders about why they want to keep things small and how they’ve made it work

Creative Inspiration

Celebrating the legacy of the Tokyo 1964 Olympics

A timely new exhibition at Japan House London highlights some of the pioneering design from the event, including Olympic pictograms, posters and architectural models

Creative Insight

How Deliveroo is putting design at the heart of its brand

We speak to Deliveroo’s director of design Stuart Frisby about the joy of working at a brand that values creativity, plus how it’s standing out in an increasingly saturated delivery market

Creative Insight

How rap music took over advertising

As genres such as hip-hop and grime cement their position in the mainstream, we explore how the brand world is increasingly taking note

Creative Inspiration

Manjit Thapp brings her illustrated world to life for Now Gallery

My Head Is A Jungle sees the Birmingham-born illustrator transform the gallery space into a 3D maze-like structure filled with murals and sculptures

Creative Insight

Behind the scenes with Tyler, The Creator’s producer

We speak to Tara Razavi, founder of creative production company Happy Place, about her work with Tyler, The Creator on his latest album, plus what the role of a good producer entails

Creative Insight

Meet the agency shaking up the ad industry in ten days

London-based agency 10 Days is run by a trio of brothers determined to prove that ten days is all it takes to crack a brief and make a brilliant ad. Creative director Jolyon White tells us how they get it done

Creative Insight

Loulou João on creating a safe space in 3D

The animator, illustrator and visual artist speaks to CR about how her work has helped find her identity and why representation in what she does is key

Creative Insight

How UK skateboarding culture flourished

As skateboarding reaches new levels of attention around the world, we look at the evolution of the symbiotic relationship between skate culture and visual media

Creative Inspiration

Morag Myerscough has created a ribbon of colours for Coventry

The latest installation by the artist sees Myerscough turn a street canopy into a stained glass-style artwork that casts bright colours onto the pedestrians beneath

Creative Insight

How to commission great photography

From nailing the brief to making space for the magic to happen, CR spoke with photographer Shamil Tanna, IBM photo director Emily Keegin and East Photographic agent Kane Giblin to find out what it takes to commission great images

Creative Insight

Tom Hingston on designing for arts venues

As Hingston Studio’s type-led identities for the Serpentine and the V&A greet the general public, the designer talks to us about the importance of creating designs that give institutions flexibility in these times

Creative Inspiration

Channel 4 releases new Paralympics epic for Toyko Games

The ad reveals the challenges that come with being an elite sportsperson, and features the provocative line, ‘To be a Paralympian there’s got to be something wrong with you’

Creative Insight

How branding can help us reach a greener travel future

Car brands have spent years, and millions, shoring up our reliance on petrol and personal vehicles, but change is arriving fast. Can a new wave of design and branding persuade us to move to greener forms of transport?

Creative Insight

My Career Journey: Calmatic

The LA-based director behind music videos for Pharrell, Lizzo and Lil Nas X reflects on his journey from afterschool computer club to Grammy-winning director