UEFA Cup Becomes Europa League. Design Industry Quietly Weeps
Behold, the new face of European football. Oh dear god…
Branding Camden
Watermill London has created this new marketing campaign for Camden Town, which aims to reassert the borough as a destination for international business and shopping, and put paid to the impression that it has “burnt down”.
A little something to remind me…
Photographer Michael Hughes has travelled the world in search of “little mementos from big tourist attractions” and a new book of postcards of his work, Souvenirs, celebrates his unusual quest. Depicting a variety of locations, Hughes’ photographs have a common theme: each features a postcard of the place he’s visiting skillfully worked into an image of the real thing. The book is designed and published by Fivefootsix and is now available to buy from their site…
UK MVA Nominations Announced
The nominations for the inaugural UK Music video awards have been announced, with the list below showing that there is still plenty of life in the promos industry, despite the doom and gloom that often surrounds it these days. The winners will be revealed on October 14 in a glittering ceremony that will take place in London’s West End. Tickets are available for the event here.
And the nominations are…
McCain’s Not The Only One Who’d Like A Delay
You know the problem – you’ve got something coming up that you’re really dreading. Wouldn’t it be nice to find some excuse to put it off? As John McCain calls for the postponement of the US Presidential debate so that he can singlehandedly solve the financial crisis, the thought occurs that it’d be nice if we could all do it…
The Heroes of Burgertown & friendly pens
It hasn’t escaped our notice here at CR towers that Nottingham-based illustrator Jon Burgerman’s output this year so far has been nothing short of prolific. While a new series of mini toys Burgerman has designed (in collaboration with vinyl toy maker extrordinaire, Kidrobot) hit shelves yesterday, a colourful, weighty monograph entitled Jon Burgerman: Pens are my Friends, published by IdN, landed on our desks this morning.
Read on to see a selection of some of our favourite characters from the new mini series of toys, entitled The Heroes of Burgertown, and to see some shots of the new book. We also caught up with Mr Burgerman to ask him about his busy schedule…
Beck’s Live Studio
Artists will be creating works live online this week as part of a campaign for Beck’s devised by Dare
Night of the AdEaters Comes to London
How would you fancy spending the whole night watching nothing but commercials? It may sound like the unlikeliest entertainment format ever invented but Night of the AdEaters is insanely popular. Now, thanks to the IPA, it’s coming to London…
Art & Sole – where sneakers and art collide
Art & Sole, a new title from publisher Laurence King, is the first book to explore and celebrate the phenomenon of the now-frequent collaborations between sports shoe brands and artists. The book is split into two sections, the first looks at sneakers designed by artists and the second looks at artwork inspired and or funded by sneaker brands – from sculptures made from dissected shoes, to oil paintings on canvas, and even the customisation of the shoes themselves. Read on to see a selection of work featured in the book…
Where’s the Classic Cover Art?
Few contemporary classical music labels acknowledge the relevance of good sleeve design. Spanish label,
Glossa Music, bucks the trend (recent work shown above) but new book, Classique, aims to show that,
since the 50s, there have in fact been many LP designers who realised the strength of a decent sleeve
Is it fair to say that classical music still suffers from a bit of an image problem? If so, this may in some part be due to the kind of sleeve artwork that graces the majority of releases. While contemporary labels like Glossa Music and ECM Records are exceptions to this (the latter uses beautifully minimalist designs, for example) the regular use of a composer’s brooding portrait isn’t necessarily going to entice any new listeners. Which is odd considering classical music’s pedigree in showcasing new design talent, as Horst Scherg’s extensive new book, Classique: Cover Art for Classical Music, reveals…
Great New Videos
Wild Beasts, Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants, directed by One In Three
Here’s a selection of the best promos that have passed under our noses at CR lately – first up is this rather fine video from directing duo One In Three for the band Wild Beasts. Warning: can cause mild nausea.
Designing Dante pt. II
Back in April, we featured a series of book covers for Dante’s Divine Comedy designed by Nicole Peterson, a graphic design graduate from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston (we spotted them on Armin Vit’s Quipsologies page). As the comments that Peterson received about her work on the CR Blog were so encouraging, she decided to make the designs into a series of posters, which are now available via her Flickr page, here. (Our original post on the book covers is here). What a nice story.
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