Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Or is it a creative use of animation, with a serious message behind it? The innovative, animated series ‘The Carton Campaigners’ has hit the mark when it comes to explaining why sustainable packaging is key to...
If there is one MP that has arguably benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic (at least as far as political capital is concerned), it’s Rishi Sunak. This is a man who, at the start of the year, was only really known to those of us that watch...
Ultra Brand Studio is a new creative shop launched under lockdown by ex-AKQA creatives Alistair Schoonmaker, Matt Bennett and Will Battersby. These guys were the brains behind Nike’s most awarded ad “Rise” and already under...
Of all the projects I’ve been involved with since my career in design and branding kicked off some twenty years ago, there are few I feel as fondly towards as the Studiocanal cinema ident. I remember the day we received the brief; the rush of...
Yes, it's September, and you're not the only one wondering where the year went right now. Excuse the 'C' word, but Christmas is around the corner, at least for consumers. Brands will already have most of their planning ready for this year, and they...
With the COVID-19 outbreak showing no signs of giving up, more and more professionals in the creative industry have been struggling with mental health, with 67% of people feeling now more anxious than ever, according to Anxiety UK. The mental health...
Most everyone has heard of Simon & Garfunkel, Penn & Teller and Dolce & Gabbana, even though they are in such different industries. At the heart of what brought these distinctively different duos such fame is how well they play to each other’s...
“From Day One, we have been telling clients that you have to see disruption as an opportunity.” Some probably wouldn’t expect to find much optimism in the industry right now. Can’t really see why that would be - I mean,...
With the UK about to ban social gatherings again on Monday, the rest of the world is increasingly aware that tight lockdown measures will have to come back into effect soon. Work from home is here to stay, and this will shape the future of the...
Making friends through loyalty, consistency, honesty, kindness and relevance. Brands are designed to bring in revenue; we get that. But great brands, the brands that stay with us for life, offer consumers something more. They deliver on brand...
What you should know about your customer and how to create digital CX in the post-pandemic world. There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a transformational year. While Covid-19’s impact at the macro level (across global politics, economics...
Stonewall’s legacy lives on today. Peaceful marches of Gay Pride movements all around the world, from Europe to the US and beyond, echo the days of riots and violence which erupted at the dawn of the Seventies. The LGBTQ+ community has come a...
Since the Government published its Coronavirus recovery strategy, we have been moving quickly through the relaxation of lockdown in ‘steps’ and are now celebrating the large milestone at which non-essential businesses are permitted to...
It's impossible to not fall in love with Stephen Berry's photography as soon as you lay your eyes on them. His love for cinema shines through each and every shot, and it's not by chance that he loves recreating his favourite film shots with his toys...
I’ve heard a lot of talk, especially during the current climate, around whether or not graphic designers should consider creating their own side projects. Opinions tend to vary quite widely on the subject - some designers see them as somehow a...
No sector will come out of COVID-19 unscathed. From production to freelance design, every creative in the industry has likely been forced to reinvent during the pandemic. This includes marketing. Whether it is a larger focus on upskilling and...
There is a fine line separating sympathy and blunt exploitation, which means it takes as little as a misinterpreted image to fall on the wrong side of a conversation. COVID-19 is proving to be an ‘unprecedented time’ and a...
We've spent months hearing about a deadly virus bending the world to its will. It is no surprise people may be looking for more positivity after months of heavy mental stress. With their latest campaign, Nescafé and Publicis Italy are doing...
Well that was quick, wasn’t it? A few months stuck at home, non-stop doomscast for a couple of weeks, then at some point the industry got used to it (or got bored enough) and started to cope, one way or another. We’ve heard of both...
Coronavirus has brought the live event industry on its knees. Festivals and awards have been cancelled, meetings have moved online, and it's not like the strain on the events industry is relaxing any time soon. But who says this is all negative? If...
First, let’s address the pink elephant in the room and say: yes, things have obviously come a long way since Stonewall, and no, in an ideal world, being an LGBT+ BOGOF creative team wouldn’t be noteworthy. But this isn’t an ideal...
You are a creative young receptionist working for a small advertising agency. And you have a dream. Ever since you were little you’ve had an ardent passion for creativity. You remember playing with your mother with cardboard and colours,...
My fingers feel the smooth plastic on the keyboard as I type this sentence. I hear the rhythmic clatter of the keys. I know I am human. But how do you know? The words you’re reading right now could have been generated by a machine....
The more time we spend in lockdown, the more people are starting to realise that COVID-19 was not a cataclysm for the business world - it was a catalyst of change, an occasion to adapt or die and accelerate innovation for those ready to embrace...
To say that 2020 hasn’t turned out exactly as predicted for advertisers and marketers would be an understatement. So, if the experts can’t get it right - why do we as humans still need predictions in times that are seemingly...
Nineties or millennials, noughties or baby boomers, it is no secret that all generations have their myths and prejudices and marketers have to overcome these to make sure they're tailoring their offer appropriately. We've had the chance to learn...
There are countless merits in growing up with technological advancement. One of them is having the skills to carry out complex tasks in hours, rather than days. But it also means that sometimes you lose touch with nature. Toby Tinsley loves nature...
During lockdown we have all found ourselves with more time on our hands. A few days ago I decided to have a sort out and digging through drawers in the studio I discovered a handwritten note from 2004. Back in 2004 I was an Art Director at an...
The coronavirus pandemic has brought a host of unimaginable changes into everyone's lives. Things that were ordinary have become temporarily extraordinary, and vice versa in some cases. Some, like retailers, have had to sustain more crippling blows...
Ashley Gray has a dream. That we start respecting the creative industries as much as they respect and include all of us, nurturing our ambitions and making us grow as human beings. Ashley is an excellent 3D artist with his own, cryptic and somewhat...
Inspiration can come from a variety of different sources. For Marcin Roszkowski and his small company, Vivid Flow Studio, inspiration comes from looking at the world. Marcin wishes for a better world, one in which we start respecting our planet as...
It is not a secret that most retailers are having a hard time now. With the lockdown and the pandemic crippling their sales, some big names in the likes of Cath Kidston and John Lewis were forced to make scary announcements, and the ones who didn't...
Some underestimate the impact of title sequences on viewers, but the truth is these sequences can largely contribute to strengthen a solid tv show's brand. From Game of Thrones to Penny Dreadful, from Breaking Bad to Westworld, having memorable...
Some will remember a very specific time in the history of cinema, a time when certain crews were reduced to a bare minimum and all that mattered was the artistic expression, the idea behind film itself. I am certainly too young to remember a time...
Imagination is a tough and cheeky beast to tame. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it works just enough to get you annoyed for not coming up with a full-rounded idea. In other cases, it starts really early-on - with a tree looking...
One would guess the pandemic is hurting extroverts way more than the other end of the spectrum, but freelance photographer Adam Shaw is the living proof that that is really not the case. Though he declares himself an introvert by nature, Adam loves...
