New Age Thinking
The ageing populations of Western economies pose huge social and political challenges, but they also offer a great opportunity. Patrick Burgoyne reports
CR Club: Alan Kitching talk and tour of GraphicsRCA
To launch CR Club – our new subscriber initiative – we are holding a free invite-only event: a talk by the world-renowned typographer and letterpress practitioner, Alan Kitching, which will take place at The Royal College of Art in London coinciding with their GraphicsRCA: Fifty Years exhibition
TM: The Untold Stories Behind 29 Classic Logos
New book TM is the result of eighteen months of research to expand our 2011 ‘logos’ issue into a collection of in-depth case studies on 29 of the world’s best examples – from British Steel, Centre Pompidou and ERCO, to the Musée d’Orsay, Pirelli and UPS
David Abbott: gentleman genius of advertising
David Abbott, one of the true greats of British advertising, passed away on Saturday, aged 75. He will be remembered for a very rare combination of creative skill, business acumen and humanity
Ken Sequin’s Polish Adventure
Showing at the Kemistry Gallery in London is an enticing display of Polish posters from the 1960s. The collection belongs to designer and artist Ken Sequin, who acquired the works in 1964 having secured £200 for a student research trip to eastern Europe
Mike Dempsey at Typo Circle
One of the UK design industry’s true greats, Mike Dempsey, is to give the next Typographic Circle lecture
A century of good coverage
An exhibition on the history of the Radio Times reveals much about the changing state of the magazine industry
Phil’s Found Folk
As part of the Jerwood Space’s After Hours show, which contributor Nick Asbury wrote about on the blog on Monday, Phil Carter’s Found Folk series is proving to be a highlight. So here are a few more pictures of his wooden creations, along with some further details on how he makes them
Alan Fletcher archive goes live
A few minutes ago the Alan Fletcher archive, Work and Play, went live online. It looks to be both a fantastic resource and tribute to the late British designer’s work
50 (sometimes) glorious years
As part of its 50th birthday celebrations, D&AD has put together a history of its half century as told by its Presidents. Together, they remember the good, the bad, the arguments and the annuals. And a few take the opportunity to grind some axes too…
EnsamaidART’s delicious designs
To raise funds for a local charity, Majorca-based designers Astrid Stavro and Pablo Martín invited designers from around the world to create stickers to adorn a special edition series of boxes containing the island’s national cake, the ensaïmada
“D&AD? That was all my idea”
50 years ago, a group of designers and art directors came together to create a platform for showcasing the best work in London
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
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’
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?
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
My Career Journey: Polly Nor
Polly Nor creates striking, satirical drawings of women and their demons. We speak to the illustrator about her up-and-down career journey, the perils of imposter syndrome, and using art as an emotional release
Explore the work of influential 20th century designer Tom Eckersley
A new book by Paul Rennie is packed with iconic poster designs created by Eckersley for the likes of London Transport and Guinness
Marina Willer and Stuart Watson on ‘aimless’ creativity
During lockdown, Marina Willer and Stuart Watson turned their house into a home for painting, doodling, monster-making and music. Here they talk about being creative as a family, and why making work for pure pleasure is essential
The changing face of travel
The pandemic has been the catalyst for all of us to reassess our relationship with travel. As the world slowly begins to reopen, we speak to the travel brands that are shaping what our holidays of the future might look like
Jump on 25 years of making motion graphics
Jump is responsible for the titles of some of the UK’s biggest TV entertainment and sports programmes. Here two of its co-founders look back on a turbulent 25 years in the industry, and what it takes to make a successful creative business
How Foundation empowers creatives to make money
As part of our series on creative businesses set up during the pandemic, we speak to Foundation, the auction platform for digital art and NFTs about how their digital-first approach is working for them
BBC Creative launches Tokyo Olympics 2020 promo
The corporation’s in-house agency has teamed up with Nexus Studios and Factory Fifteen to create a film that reimagines the host city
Sport and Creativity
In this report, we look at the way that creative thinking is influencing sport, including in advertising, TV, branding, design, photography, illustration and more
Cannes Lions 2021 Grand Prix winners in full
It’s a bumper year for Cannes Lions this time, with the awards honouring work from 2020 and 2021 after last year’s event was cancelled. Here you can view all 35 of the Grand Prix winners
How Strava built a billion dollar fitness app
We examine how Strava became the app of choice for both professional athletes and amateur fitness enthusiasts, plus its ambition to create the biggest sporting community in the world
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
What’s next for the battle of the burger brands?
We look at the creative ways in which fast food brands are appealing to our tastebuds and standing out in a saturated market – from piggybacking off the vegan movement to embracing the allure of nostalgia
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
