Soho businesses united under graphic new branding
M&C Saatchi has drawn on vibrant illustrations to highlight iconic stores and venues in the lively central London area
How to start a rum brand with purpose
For the next piece in our series on businesses created during the pandemic, Nic Akinnibosun and Rico Oyejobi talk about setting up their rum brand Saint Ogun while keeping their day jobs at Mother ad agency
An oral history of… the London 2012 Olympics branding
As the Tokyo Olympics approaches, we look back at one of the more controversial Olympic identities, Wolff Olins’ London 2012 branding, which prompted a storm of press and public opinion. CEO Sairah Ashman and chairman Brian Boylan remember the project
The early years of Factory Records celebrated in a new museum show
An exhibition at Manchester’s Science and Industry Museum celebrates the early years of Factory Records, and features rarely seen photographs and works from designers including Peter Saville and Ben Kelly
New ad demonstrates why the travel industry needs to get more human
Created by agency Broken Heart Love Affair for US firm Internova Travel Group, this dystopian ad shows what happens when machines take over our holiday experiences, and why good old-fashioned travel advisors can be vital
Leeds 2023 Year of Culture unveils new visual identity
Yorkshire-based agency Peter & Paul has worked on the branding for the city’s year-long celebration of creativity in all its forms
W+K London creates branding for CineCov film festival
As part of Coventry’s UK City of Culture, CineCov will turn the whole city into a cinema over the next 12 months, taking over parks, community centres, churches and towpaths
Beatport unveils a new vinyl-inspired logo
Kurppa Hosk has led a brand refresh for the app and music store, introducing a new wordmark and logo inspired by the stylus on a record player
Rough Trade on its convention-defying move to Manhattan
Director and co-owner Stephen Godfroy discusses Rough Trade’s decision to set up shop in New York’s Rockefeller Center and why, now more than ever, retail needs to invite shoppers into another world
Why it pays for brands to go local
In an age of turbulence, brands are seeing the benefits of a localised approach over a global one. Here, Ben Sillence, strategy director at Lewis Moberly, explores what this may mean for designers and creatives
For one week only: access the CR archive for free!
Running from today until May 31, all readers can access the Creative Review archive entirely for free, where you can browse over 400 issues of the magazine, stretching back to 1980
It’s a battle for the eyeballs in ITV’s Drama vs Reality campaign
Reality TV celebs take on drama stars in a new ITV campaign from Uncommon, which sees the two worlds go head to head in a fight for viewers’ attention
The stories embedded in the design of homes
The Museum of the Home’s new displays put storytelling at the centre and illustrate how our homes are rich with design and cultural history
How to make a thrilling sports promo
Sky Creative’s Simon Cole explains the process behind making sports promos, including how to appeal to younger audiences and why he takes parodies on the chin
Ikea Norway introduces the Trash Collection
Ikea’s latest sustainability push sees the brand repurpose furniture that has been found as trash on the street, to be sold in a new secondhand store
The role of the sketchbook in creative work
Despite the dominance of digital, the humble sketchbook is still a vital tool in making creative work. Here, we speak to three creatives about how working in a sketchbook is an important part of their process and also their favourite books to work in
Greg Williams on the art of the candid shot
The photographer discusses his journey from documenting war zones to capturing candid moments of some of the biggest celebs on the planet, plus why the best images often aren’t technically perfect
Unrecognised and unloved: Patrick Burgoyne on the state of creative education
Education is vital to the UK’s phenomenally successful creative industries. Yet its value to the country appears to be going unrecognised in the government’s plans
The colourful world of Autumn de Wilde
The photographer and director has injected striking palettes into fashion photos, celebrity portraits, vibrant ads and her feature-length debut, Emma. She talks to us about navigating these different arenas and building worlds through music and colour
Ryan Reynolds creates a Father’s Day cocktail: The Vasectomy
Reynolds brings his irreverent advertising approach to Father’s Day with a new cocktail for dads, featuring a good slug of Aviation Gin, natch
Why the time has come for game title sequences to shine
Territory Studio’s Andrew Popplestone discusses the evolution of games credits and title sequences, and how they’re moving ever closer to the world of film
Why it pays for brands to go local
In an age of turbulence, brands are seeing the benefits of a localised approach over a global one. Here, Ben Sillence, strategy director at Lewis Moberly, explores what this may mean for designers and creatives
Can we design a more sustainable internet?
With the internet now accounting for roughly the same amount of carbon emissions as global air travel, we look at what designers can do to help tackle our digital waste problem
Early 2000s nightlife in all its chaotic, shiny glory
Matthew Smith’s new book brings together his photographs taken across the flourishing British nightlife scene at the turn of the millennium
Tony Barry on why advertising should move people
The director and former Wieden + Kennedy creative director looks back on the lessons he’s learned about peeling back the ‘veneer’ of advertising to make people laugh, cry, and truly believe in what they’re watching
Cephas Williams project features letters from Black boys to their future selves
The letters are addressed by the children to their older selves, and detail the world that they’d like to see in the future. The project, which will appear on billboards in the UK, is created to mark the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder
The ups and downs of being a hybrid creative
In today’s complex media landscape, creatives are often expected to work across multiple mediums. CR speaks to those who’ve broadened their practice to understand the benefits and challenges of the multi-disciplinary life
Behind the punchy covers of SZ Magazin
The weekly German newspaper supplement has a track record of publishing abstract and playful images. We talk to Thomas Kartsolis and Birthe Steinbeck from the art direction team about risk, deadlines and the joy of analogue tricks
Ask Anna: How do I find a creative partner?
Our resident creative industry agony aunt tackles an age-old question from a reader: how to find a good work partner? Here she offers a range of solutions, including polyamory
K-Y’s sex-positive campaign champions female masturbation
To celebrate National Masturbation Month in the US, Elephant has created a series of billboards for K-Y to remove the stigma attached to female pleasure
The unstoppable rise of sneaker culture
A new show at the Design Museum is tracing the journey of the sneaker from sportswear staple to cultural icon. We explore how the marketing strategies of the biggest brands in the game have evolved hand-in-hand with the $80 billion industry
Has the ad industry improved for women directors?
Women filmmakers have racked up long overdue accolades in recent film and TV awards. But what is the state of play in the commercial world?
John Hegarty on advertising’s automated future
We speak to the adland legend about his new gig as chairman of AI recruitment company Genie, plus how he thinks the industry will need to adapt post-Covid
New Nike ad celebrates being rubbish at sport
Nike’s new ad is part of a campaign titled Play New, which emphasises the joy of taking part in sport, even if you’re a bit crap at it
How Xbox is getting accessibility right
From releasing its adaptive controller to tackling loneliness in older people, Xbox has proved how much creative scope there is for brands that commit to accessibility
Inside the UK’s biggest content house
Envisioned as Big Brother for the TikTok generation, content houses have become a mecca for influencer marketing in the US. So is the UK ready to follow suit?
The Annual 2021: Trends and observations
Last year was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, but we also saw a number of other trends and developments emerge in the commercial creative industries. Here, we examine what they might suggest for the future
A new film wants to make people angry about period poverty
Hey Girls has released a chaotic campaign film directed by Margot Bowman, which aims to rile up viewers as a way of driving action
