Commonwealth: Fleshless Floor
Using animation software to create ceramics or ‘rule-driven scripts’ to design furniture, New York-based studio Commonwealth has made a name for itself in employing familiar technological processes in unlikely ways
FFL Paris: Wrangler print ads
Shot in New Jersey by artist Ryan McGinley, this slightly unnerving campaign for Wrangler has several jeans-wearing youngsters taking on the behavioural qualities of animals: be it part-submerged in murky waters, reclining in trees, or caught rabbit-like in a car’s headlights
Spellbound
Gee Thomson’s critical evaluation of the current multimedia landscape just doesn’t go far enough
The President: MK Bruce Lee magazine
Here at CR we’re longstanding fans of Peet Pienaar’s Afromag – a wonderfully eclectic, loosely bound collection of stickers, posters and graphic ephemera that gives a fresh take on what a magazine could be
Marque: Where We Are Book
Where We Are celebrates the design scene in Scotland’s six largest cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling
Sketchbooks
The concept of a sketchbook is, for me, a treasured space where thoughts and ideas can be tried out without any form of pressure or expectation
Design as a weapon of the Cold War
Design provided the battleground for much of the bitter East-West competition that emerged from the late 1940s onwards
The state of music video
“If what we get is mediocre, underfunded and badly executed, people will disappear”
An Ordinary World
The new Barclaycard identity by Brand Union
You’re a big brand. Huge. Global in fact, as we say these days. And you need to stand out more. You need a new visual device, something that can stand alone and represent your business and its values, even without the company name underneath. You want a logo that will say a few things about you, what you do – hey – maybe even where you’re going in these crazy times. So, what does the cyan and white sphere above say? Unequivocally, it says: I am another company with a hollowed-out spherical logo…
Ghost Bridge at Blackfriars
Ghost Bridge by Keith Bowler, image courtesy Jonny2005 via Flickr
Head down to Blackfriars Bridge after dark over the next few weeks and you’ll find that the old Blackfriars Railway Bridge, whose supports still remain in the water, is lit up with ghostly green lasers. The artwork is by Keith Bowler and forms part of Drift, a group exhibition by contemporary artists who have all created new works of art to be shown on the Thames.
The Apifera
“Apifera” is a botanical term given to flowers that are specifically designed to attract bees
Here’s an interesting architecture-meets-horticulture analogy. If consumers are bees and shops are plants, then shop windows are the pretty flowers that aim to attract our attention and draw us in. At least that’s the thinking behind the latest installation to be unveiled at of London’s Selfridges. “The Apifera is a responsive window that takes inspiration from the science of attraction developed in flowers,” explains its designer Matthew Plummer-Fernandez, “hence the complex fractal geometry and the work’s ability to respond and change its breathing rate according to the daylight and passersby”…
Hot Rods & Hairy Beasts exhibition
Hot Rods & Hairy Beasts is the name of an exhibition that opens on Monday (29 September) at London’s Coningsby Gallery put together by four seasoned professional illustrators, Nishant Choksi, Rod Hunt, Linzie Hunter and Allan Sanders. The featured work will showcase an impressive menagerie of horrendous and hairy beasts, many driving pimped-up rides. The four stars of the show have given CR Blog a sneaky preview of some of the work that will be shown at the exhibition…
Creative Review’s Annual Awards 2025 are officially open for entries
One of the most respected and trusted awards for the advertising and design industries are back for 2025. Run, don’t walk to get your entries in before the Early Bird Deadline on 25 October
How to scale your design business
Growth is a dream for many businesses, but it comes with challenges. Daisy Crowder, brand and marketing director at design recruitment agency Craft, offers advice on how to navigate the change and keep staff on side
Cultivating community with Ganni
The Danish luxury fashion label has spearheaded the characterful evolution of Scandi style. Here, chief brand officer Priya Matadeen discusses its approach to collabs, the pressures of being a responsible brand, and how Ganni Girls grew from a hashtag to a badge of belonging
Why are brands apologising so much right now?
Brands are saying sorry at a more rapid rate than ever. CR’s advertising columnist Ben Kay delves into why sorry is no longer the hardest word and whether this is an effective strategy for winning audiences
How Guinness embraced social
By loosening its approach to advertising, and engaging with its audience directly, the drinks brand has transformed with the times and won a whole new set of fans
Tracing Banksy’s art history remixes
Kelly Grovier’s new book charts the artist’s persistent dialogue with classic and contemporary art
How Lego creates meaningful brand experiences
We speak to Lego’s VP of global brand development Alero Akuya about the brand’s rare ability to straddle the physical and virtual worlds with ease – whether through its immersive new art exhibition in Paris or collaborations with Epic Games and Nike
Matt Willey brings a human touch to Kaos titles
The Pentagram partner has created the titles for the acclaimed new Netflix show, which reimagines the Greek myths in a contemporary setting
A visual history of movie posters
A new book from Reel Art Press collates the first comprehensive history of film posters. We explore why they remain an underappreciated area of cultural design
The Monthly Interview: Rob Lowe, aka Supermundane
Mark Sinclair talks to the artist and designer about his new book, Lost Ordinary Magic, and the importance of recognising the power of simplicity and the everyday wonders that surround us
Unravelling adland’s obsession with 90s nostalgia
We explore how the 90s, an era the UK looks favourably upon for its thriving culture, are continually inspiring a stagnated creative industry
Building the visual world of Fontaines DC
The band’s surreal new album visuals explore a darker, more grotesque side of romance. We speak to the creative team behind the campaign about challenging the visual tropes of rock music