At the heart of this rebrand is the idea of inspiring brighter workdays for everyone. Workday has always been about people, whether it’s revolutionizing how organizations handle HR, finance, or business planning. And now, with a design system that blends optimism, rigor, and a little bit of joy, that philosophy shines through in every detail.

Take the logo, it’s an evolution of Workday’s ‘Horizon’—a nod to new beginnings—refined with custom letterforms that are both confident and approachable. There’s even a shorthand version called The Dub (yes, it’s as versatile and fun as it sounds). The color palette’s energizing yellows paired with calming blues, symbolize the rhythm of a workday, with vibrant gradients adding depth across digital and print.

A custom Workday Sans typeface is in the works to ensure clarity and sophistication across all communications. And the motion design? Seamless and intuitive, it mirrors the natural flow of time and reinforces Workday’s message of progress and transparency.

But what really ties it all together is the brand’s visual personality. The photography feels natural, aspirational, and authentic, with subtle movements that reflect progress—whether it’s a forward glance or a task in motion. It’s all about balancing big-picture vision with the everyday moments that make work meaningful.

Working with the Workday team was about more than just building a brand—it was about capturing the heart of their culture and sharing it with the world.”

Caroline Fox, Koto creative director

“Over the past year, we became a true extension of their team, collaborating across brand and digital to ensure every detail felt authentic and resonated with HR and Finance audiences,” Caroline Fox, Koto’s creative director said. “We’re proud of what we’ve created together and grateful for the trust they placed in us to bring this vision to life.”

For me, this rebrand is proof that even in the world of B2B software, design has the power to connect on a deeply personal level. Workday’s updated identity doesn’t just reflect a brighter future for work—it makes you believe it’s already here.

The post Koto’s Refresh for Workday Brings Optimism to Enterprise Software appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Left image: 404 Branding, Right image: Co-founders (left to right) Renan Monjon, Rafael Caldeira, Saulo Monjon

Their debut project, The Cruise Heist, is a masterclass in creative risk-taking. Tackling a Netflix campaign when the company was less than three weeks old, with just five people on the team, is the kind of audacity that defines 404. Co-founder Rafael Caldeira put it perfectly: “Our name ‘404’ celebrates the idea that mistakes and risk-taking are essential parts of the creative process.”

And it’s not just a nervy concept—they’ve proven it works. In its first year, 404’s design-first approach and lean, two-department structure have delivered results that rival even the most established agencies. From partnerships with global heavyweights like Google and Natura to snagging awards at Cannes Lions, Effies, and El Ojo de Iberoamérica, 404 is shaking up the industry. They fully embrace their tongue-in-cheek, “error-prone” ethos by leaning into the spirit of a 404 error — playfully owning the fact that they don’t even have a website (yet!?) to showcase their award-winning work. You can, however, find them on LinkedIn and Instagram.

What stands out about 404 isn’t just the awards or the high-profile clients. It’s their philosophy: innovation thrives in uncertainty. In a world increasingly dominated by AI, the team champions the power of human creativity and thoughtful design. By blending cutting-edge tech with a distinctly Brazilian flair for bold ideas, they’re redefining how creative problems are solved—not just in Brazil, but anywhere.

As they enter year two, 404 Design & Innovation is on a mission to grow even bigger. Their rapid rise is a testament to the idea that with the right mix of creativity, collaboration, and courage, even the newest player can make waves in a competitive industry. Keep an eye on this agency. PRINT is excited to see what’s in store for 404’s next chapter!

The post 404 Design & Innovation Celebrates a Year of Bold Moves and Big Wins appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

This isn’t just a book—it’s a time capsule. Inside, you’re presented with 1,000 symbols and logotypes crafted by Pentagram’s legendary partners since the firm’s founding in 1972. Each mark tells a story, capturing brands from all corners of the world, from grassroots nonprofits to multinational corporations to cultural institutions (there’s even a logo for a country). The beauty lies in their diversity: bold wordmarks, intricate symbols, and abstract designs—all stripped back to black and white, letting the forms take center stage.

Pentagram—founded by graphic designers Alan Fletcher, Colin Forbes, and Mervyn Kurlansky, architect Theo Crosby, and industrial designer Kenneth Grange—has always been about pushing boundaries. While the tools and trends of design have evolved, one thing hasn’t changed: the logo remains a keystone of identity design.

What struck me most while flipping through 1000 Marks is how timeless great design can feel. These marks aren’t just logos; they’re cultural symbols that connect us to brands and experiences. And for designers like me, this book is pure gold—equal parts inspiration and education.

Whether you’re a designer, a brand enthusiast, or just someone who appreciates good design, 1000 Marks is a reminder of why logos matter. They’re more than just pretty pictures; they’re visual ambassadors for ideas, values, and stories. And Pentagram’s collection shows us just how powerful a single mark can be.

The post A Journey Through Pentagram’s Legacy in Logo Design appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Michael Johnson appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Design creativity blooms in spaces where curiosity meets intention, where ideas are nurtured into forms that resonate and inspire. It’s a process marked by exploration, experimentation, and the willingness to challenge conventions to uncover new perspectives. In this fertile ground, creativity is more than a spark—it’s a cultivated journey, drawing from diverse influences and blending intuition with technique.

Celebrating our 45th year, the 2025 PRINT Awards honors design in every shape and form. And, as our industry continues to evolve and our practitioners continue to explore new mediums and methods to advance their creativity, the PRINT Awards have found new ways to recognize outstanding work.

2024 PRINT Awards First Place Winner in Self-Promotions. The Office of Ordinary Things and D&K Printing. D&K Printing also printed the beautiful 2024 PRINT Awards certificates.

Categories for 2025

The 2025 PRINT Awards offer 28 categories for entries, ranging from Illustration to Motion Design & Video. In recent years, we added In-House, Design for Social Impact, and Packaging and expanded our branding categories. We also expanded the awards to offer students a chance to enter work in each category instead of only one student category. And, this year, our jury will also consider entries in Social Media + Content Design, Title Sequence Design, and Graphic Novels.

Learn more about the 2025 PRINT Awards categories.

2024 PRINT Awards Third Place Winner in Packaging, CF Napa Brand Design; Second Place Winner in Logo Design, Onfire. Design.

Citizen Design Award

Each year, the PRINT Awards highlight a free-to-enter Citizen Design Award to celebrate design work focused on one annually chosen social issue. With societies facing global challenges like climate change, economic instability, and technological shifts, our Citizen Design Award this year will honor work that speaks to social justice.

Social Justice ensures that all people are entitled to human rights and societal respect regardless of race, gender, religion, health, and economic status. Discrimination in the form of economic and educational inequities, combined with enduring legacies of oppression continue to impact many communities, creating toxic cycles of privilege and disadvantage.

Design can profoundly influence social justice through graphic tools that amplify awareness and drive change. Design can make complex issues more accessible, spark debate, inform audiences, and motivate positive engagement. This year’s PRINT Citizen Design category recognizes and celebrates the most impactful work that fosters empathy and action. From social awareness campaigns to apps, community-centered design projects, infographics, posters, social media graphics, and interactive experiences, Citizen Design will honor work that strives to make our world more compassionate and just.

2024 PRINT Awards First Place Winner in Design for Social Impact, Clinton Carlson and Team.

Our 2025 Jury

With a global jury representing a wide range of disciplines, each entry will continue to be judged on four key criteria: Craft, Longevity, Innovation, and Originality. Top winners will be featured on PRINTmag.com and receive trophies, certificates, and social media promotion. We’ll be adding jury members in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we welcome a few here!

A few of the 2025 Jury Members: Marisa Sanchez-Dunning, Bennett Peji, Jennifer Rittner, Eleazar Ruiz, Lara McCormick, Mike Perry, and Miller McCormick. More jurors are to be announced soon!

The 2025 PRINT Awards Presenting Sponsor

The team at PepsiCo Design + Innovation believes that good design is a meaningful experience. A functional product. A rich story. A beautiful object. Design can be fun, convenient, precious, or fearless, but good design is always an act of respect, empathy, and love.

That’s why PepsiCo Design + Innovation has joined PRINT this year as our Presenting Sponsor—to recognize, honor and, above all, to celebrate the joy of design in all its forms. That’s why PepsiCo Design and Innovation has joined PRINT this year as our Presenting Sponsor—to recognize, honor, and, above all, celebrate the joy of design in all its forms!

Dates and Deadlines

As in years past, we’ve broken the deadline schedule for the awards into four simple tiers—Early Bird, Regular, Late, and Final Call. The earlier you enter, the more you save because it helps us plan judging schedules and other tasks in advance. Enter now for the best price! (And it’s worth noting that to enable students to enter, the pricing is consistent across the board no matter when they submit their work.)

Join us as we recognize the talent that colors our world and celebrate the beauty of fresh ideas, bold solutions, and impactful storytelling. From emerging talents to seasoned visionaries, each submission is a testament to the boundless growth of design.

Submit your work today, and let’s cultivate the next generation of creative vision!

The post Announcing The 2025 PRINT Awards Call For Entries appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

With bold flavors, nostalgic branding, and a playful mascot named Sando Sam, Ayoh! isn’t just a condiment—it’s a love letter to America’s sandwich culture. Designed to bring the spirit of the classic deli counter into your kitchen, Ayoh! seeks to redefine what it means to make a great sandwich at home. Collaborating with CENTER Design to build a brand as flavorful as its sauces, Ayoh! promises to revolutionize home-cooked sandwiches by combining chef-level flavor with playful Americana-inspired branding. I was lucky enough to speak with Alex Center about Ayoh!’s creation and talk brand strategy and direction; find gems from our conversation below.

Baz’s journey from recipe developer to condiment creator was fueled by a love for sandwiches and a frustration with boring, dry options at home. “Ayoh! is all about taking the sandwich shop and everything that means—from American culinary heritage to its vibrant energy—and bringing it to today’s countertop,” explains Alex Center, founder of CENTER Design​.

Ayoh! is about taking the sandwich shop and everything that means—from Americana heritage to its vibrant energy—and bringing it to today’s countertop.

Alex Center

The brand’s creative direction leans heavily on nostalgia, with a nod to mid-century sandwich shop culture. The Ayoh! logo draws from vintage deli signage, combining art deco script styles with a modern gloopy twist. The custom-designed typeface even includes a subtle drip in the “o,” hinting at its saucy DNA. “We wanted the brand to feel like it’s always been here—a tribute to the enduring charm of the great American sandwich,” Center shares. Vibrant hues inspired by Formica diner surfaces and zany illustrations complete the aesthetic​.

What inspired the nostalgic-meets-modern design for Ayoh!’s branding?
Alex Center: We wanted the brand to feel historic without feeling vintage, and modern without being trendy. It’s about bringing the American sandwich shop’s heritage to the countertop—infusing nostalgia from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s sandwich shop culture while ensuring it feels fresh and relevant today. Molly’s vibrant energy and love for sandwiches were central to this design, and her unique color palette, inspired by elementary school hues, added an approachable and educational touch.

At the heart of Ayoh!’s branding is its mascot, Sando Sam—a cheeky sandwich character with a penchant for accessories that change with each flavor. “Sando Sam embodies the fun and levity brands used to have,” says Center. “It’s a storyteller and a nod to classic mascots like Mr. Peanut and the Morton Salt Girl, adding personality to every bottle.”​

What was the rationale behind incorporating Sando Sam as a mascot?
AC: Molly’s ethos of making cooking approachable and enjoyable called for a character that could inject personality into the packaging. A little sandwich character with boots and a cap felt like the perfect way to echo the Americana vibe while adding a playful twist. It’s not just about sandwiches; it’s about celebrating the joy and creativity of making them.

Launching with four bold flavors—Original Mayo, Dill Pickle Mayo, Tangy Dijonayo, and Hot Giardinayo—Ayoh! aims to end boring sandwiches once and for all. Packaged in squeezable bottles reminiscent of deli counters, the sauces invite culinary creativity, encouraging users to “Pass it! Squeeze it! Spread it! Dip it!”​

How does Ayoh! stand out in the crowded CPG market?
AC: Ayoh! doesn’t aim to be another trendy startup—it’s designed to feel timeless, as though it’s been part of the culture for generations. The design avoids overt nostalgia or modern clichés, instead blending both into something era-less. Molly’s storytelling and passion for sandwiches shine through, turning Ayoh! into more than a condiment—it’s a tool to elevate home cooking with personality, fun, and purpose. It’s a true reflection of her brand DNA.

With a mission to make home cooking more accessible and exciting, Ayoh! perfectly encapsulates Baz’s ethos: “Cooking has to be fun and easy, or no one will do it.” Whether you’re elevating a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich or experimenting with bold flavor pairings, Ayoh! is here to bring the joy of the sandwich shop to your kitchen.

A sandwich isn’t just food; it’s democratic, timeless, and for everyone. Ayoh! celebrates that spirit by ending boring sandwiches with fun, flavor, and a bit of personality.

Alex Center

To get your hands on this delicious sando sauce, visit Ayoh! and follow them on Instagram at @eatayoh.

The post CENTER Design Brings Sando Shop Nostalgia to Molly Baz’s Saucy New Brand appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

The New Look of Money

Remember when financial brands looked like, well, financial brands? They evoked trust and solemnity in shades of blue, with clean layouts and sophisticated type conveying decades (centuries-even) of dependability. Chime and Klarna are rewriting the rulebook, building sleek, mobile-first apps that feel more like social media platforms than bank branches. Chime uses inviting, saturated colors and uncluttered visuals, making money management feel intuitive and, dare I say, friendly. Klarna has also nailed the balance of simplicity and style but with a hint of playfulness. It’s as if these brands are saying, “Money doesn’t have to be a chore,” which resonates deeply with a generation empowered by quick, user-centric digital experiences.

Chime brand refresh by jkr.

Radical Transparency

Klarna stands out here with its “Pay Later” options, which are communicated upfront and without fuss. It’s all about empowering the user with knowledge and then trusting them to make informed decisions. On the crypto side, transparency is even more crucial given the complexity and volatility of the market. The best crypto brands don’t just list risks; they break down what those risks mean in a practical way, bridging the gap between excitement and informed caution. It’s refreshing to see brands lean into candor, and young consumers are responding with trust.

Klarna brand by their in-house team.

Personalized and Empowering Tools

For many young people, managing finances still feels intimidating. Enter brands like Check My File, which offers simple, comprehensive views of credit standing across multiple agencies. The service is not just about delivering numbers; Check My File offers insights, making credit monitoring feel like a useful, even empowering habit. Personalization isn’t just about flashy algorithms; it’s about creating tools that users actually find helpful and that build loyalty in an authentic way. For younger audiences, this type of personalization makes finances feel less abstract and more like something they can control.

Check My File brand by Ragged Edge.

Creating Community and Social Connection

It’s no secret that social media plays a major role in how young people make financial decisions, and these brands are tapping into that big time. Klarna and 1inch are turning financial management into a shared experience. Klarna, for instance, collaborates with influencers and uses a social commerce approach, embedding itself into the lifestyle and aesthetic young people are drawn to. Meanwhile, 1inch builds communities for shared learning, making finance feel inclusive rather than exclusive. These new brands are not just selling services; they’re creating spaces where people feel a sense of belonging (and dare we say, fun!), even when dealing with something as traditionally daunting as personal finance.

1inch campaign by Talent in collaboration with the Bruce Lee family

These fresh brand aesthetics and marketing strategies signal that financial companies are finally catching on to what young audiences have long wanted: accessibility, straight talk, personalization, and community. By embracing the values of younger audiences, financial brands can become more like guides than institutions. And as they continue to evolve, it’ll be exciting to watch just how far this new wave of finance brands can take us.

The post From Intimidating to Empowering: Financial Brands for the Next Generation appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Since its founding in 1969, L’eggs has been a trailblazer in hosiery, famously breaking ground as the first pantyhose brand sold in grocery stores, with its unforgettable egg-shaped packaging. The brand quickly became synonymous with accessibility and everyday style, revolutionizing how women shopped for and wore hosiery. Now, with a refreshed identity, L’eggs is embracing its legacy while stepping forward to captivate a new generation.

Téllez pulled out the stops for this reimagining, bringing in design firm Family Office — started by ex-Collins designer, Diego Segura — along with Britt Cobb, formerly of Pentagram, and type designer Schwartz, the creative mind behind The Guardian, Esquire, and T Magazine. Together, the team had one goal: update L’eggs’ legendary wordmark while preserving its distinctive charm.

Britt was tasked with updating the logo without losing its original charm, inviting Schwartz to subtly redraw and refine the letterforms. Schwartz’s adjustments included fine-tuning proportions, relaxing some of the old-school rigidity, and transforming the uppercase “L” to lowercase for a more flexible and approachable look.

For L’eggs, which pioneered the hosiery market in 1969, this redesign nods to both heritage and adaptability. The updated logo keeps its retro spirit intact, while making it at home in today’s digital and physical spaces. In its quiet way, L’eggs continues to show that the best updates don’t replace the old—they just give it room to breathe.

Project Credits

Executive Creative Director: Cami Téllez, L’eggs
Brand Identity: Family Office (Collins alumni, Diego Segura and Eliz Akgün)
Wordmark: Cobbco (Pentagram alumni, Britt Cobb, Jonny Sikov, and Commercial Type’s Christian Schwartz) + Family Office.

The post L’eggs’ Iconic 70s Logo Gets a Modern Twist appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Those who were there remember that compulsive uncovering of the new. Take the genres of the time—jungle, ragga, drum n’ bass, goa trance, hard house, French house, tech step, hard step, and on and on. The distinctions don’t seem important now, but at the time this was important stuff. Once a sound was conquered, the rules and norms were drawn up, and with boundaries in place, they were abandoned for new sounds.

Amongst all that discovery, no one took sound farther afield than a group of electronic musicians in Cologne in the mid-1990s, and one designer was responsible for creating their record art. From their perch on the shelves of the new and still slim electronic music section of the record store, Frieda Luczak’s designs pulled us in and introduced us to the new and indescribable.

Her covers from that time capture what brought people to that specific type of left-field music. Not a love of technology, but a new form of beauty that only technology could allow—an alien kind of beauty.

“Frieda is a curious mind,” says Jan St. Werner of the electronic duo Mouse on Mars, “as modest and cautious as she’s into change and new ways to see and do things.” She doesn’t have much of an ego, he adds, “We surely forgot her name a few times on projects, sleeves, etc. and she had never been upset about it.” Luczak who describes herself as “much fantasy, much anxiety,” was born in an evolving rural Düsseldorf that was home to a strange mix of professional commuters and villagers. A next-door neighbor would shoot into a cherry tree to keep the birds from eating the cherries. There, she was first exposed to design through the Letraset letters her father, “an architect with talents in designing futuristic living spaces, but with two left hands,” used for his building plans.

After a rigorous design program at university, she took a break and moved to Cologne, where she would fall in with a community centered around A-Musik, an independent record store and label for experimental music. In the avant-garde, she says, “Money isn’t the key, but changing views of what beauty is.” Amongst their activities—exhibitions, publications, filmmaking, and concerts—Luczak soon found herself as their cover artist. After being introduced by another designer, Mouse on Mars instantly knew they wanted to work with her. She became the designer for Mouse on Mars, St. Werner’s solo work, his label Sonig, and other associated acts, making covers, posters, stickers, ads, and merch.

Her covers from that time capture what brought people to that specific type of left-field music. Not a love of technology, but a new form of beauty that only technology could allow—an alien kind of beauty. Inspired by the destructive punk art and home computer craft, and after what she calls, “absolutely unleashed discussions about why one detail is more inventive than another,” she designed some of the most beautiful and imaginative record covers of the ‘90s. “We wanted to have no reference to anything we had previously done,” she said. St. Werner recalls “playing her our music, telling her the ideas we had around the songs, how they had come about technically, the threads and revelations we had while recording them.” These discussions could have gone on for years and only stopped because of deadlines. 

“We never thought of sleeve art as something that would sell the music,” St. Werner says, “but rather [it would] tell its own story in dialogue with the music.” Tom Steinle, who hired her to do covers for several Tomlab records for artists like The Books, also says Luczak’s work was “a second artistic layer,” but adds that she “had a talent for developing a brand for the musician.” 

I first encountered Luczak’s work in a small record store in a small Vermont town. It called to me plain and simple, probably because it looked absolutely nothing like trees. Life in Vermont, and all printed matter associated with it, looks like trees. Logcabin.ttf, I’m looking at you. Luczak’s work was pure alien. How did this weird music and art make it from Cologne to New England? Like all great artistic revolutions this period had a lot to do with the supply chain. Specifically, CDs, those beautiful iridescent disks where music was data. The profit margins were much greater, and CDs could be produced much quicker, so the major labels installed CDs as the ruling format of the era. With the addition of new digital recording and mastering technologies, suddenly the overhead for an independent record label became much lower. If you had a unique vision, you could have one tool. Maybe more than punk, this was independence. CDs, that’s how new ideas were distributed and conversations could play out between restless artists across the world.

Luczak created the packaging for influential albums by Markus Popp, recording under the moniker Oval, whose early records were constructed out of sounds from scratched CDs. Popp would talk about “music as software” and “file management.” That sounds pointy-headed, but the records are carefully composed, abstractly beautiful, and quite listenable despite coming with a hefty thesis. But that listenability was obvious from Luczak’s album art. Using a copy of Cinema4D, which she didn’t quite know how to use (and which looked very different than today’s C4D), she built lush, organic landscapes out of pixelated 3D forms and somehow seemed to reference both Cy Twombly and Microsoft Excel graphs. The writer Mark Richardson, who wrote a feature on Oval’s second album for Pitchfork 20 years after its release, describes it as, “the tension between digital precision and the uncertainty of nature… Luczak’s imagery captured this dichotomy beautifully.”

Tim Saputo, a designer and former Art Director of electronic music magazine XLR8R, says that her records, “tap into an impossible beauty, objects and color bloom and blur. They suggest a freeze frame of some kind of dance, there is so much movement and beauty, and I think it lends those Oval records a certain softness and expansiveness that I don’t know if it would be present if it wasn’t presented with such grace.” 

There seems to be so much depth to these covers because they were mere snapshots of an expansive world developed through a years-long collaboration between Luczak and Oval. Popp explains that he would imagine a scene—a virtual location—and then Luczak would attempt to realize it. They would explore and document this environment by capturing stills using the software’s virtual camera. “We developed these fantastical 3D worlds, following the logic of an imaginary… game engine.” He points out that this was “decades before 3D game engines like Unity were on the horizon” and adds that he doubts Luczak has ever played a modern immersive video game.

Her designs and design language would also extend to the user interface of Oval’s Ovalprocess software, an interactive musical tool that allowed users to create their own version of Oval’s music. This software was made available in several art installations that featured a large sculptural kiosk—a small part of the world they built made tangible through 3D printing.

Left: Ovalprocess software’s user interface, 2002; Right: The Ovalprocess software’s help screen, 2002

Her work for Mouse on Mars is some of her most noteworthy. Like the band itself (which can go from a sound that I can only describe as a “tiny squish” to a full marching band in a matter of seconds), her work dips in and out of abstraction and joyful associations. Her cover for the US release of Niun Niggung features a crude, amoeba-like 3D hairbrush combing what is presumably hair. As a bonus, the liner notes were a fold-out poster of the hairbrush in an oddly intimate position with another hairbrush. St. Werner suspects but does not know for sure, that the cover features an image of Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor at the time. Unlike the maximalism of this 3D work, her designs on their Idiology and Agit Itter It It albums were flat black-and-white dadaism via MacPaint and seemed to predict the anti-design of studios like Hort.

Left: Cover of Niun Niggung (1999) by Mouse On Mars, released by Thrill Jockey in the USA; Right: Poster insert of Niun Niggung (1999) by Mouse On Mars, released by Thrill Jockey in the USA.

Left: Cover of Agit Itter It It (2001) by Mouse On Mars, released by Thrill Jockey in the USA; Top right: Cover of Diskdusk (1999) by Mouse On Mars, released by Sonig in Europe; Bottom right: Record label of Diskdusk (1999) by Mouse On Mars, released by Sonig in Europe.

Today, Luczak has no social media (“too shy,” she says) and primarily focuses on corporate design work. One of her most important clients is a funeral home. She tells me, “The key is empathy and modernity,” when working with a funeral home. While the music industry has changed, and there’s less design floating in its orbit, she’s still designing records. The back cover of  Kid Millions and Jan St. Werner’s Imperium Droop is a pattern that is hard to place. It could be Mesoamerican-inspired? Or maybe thermal imaging of a refrigerator evaporator coil? From this pattern, two glyphs are placed on the front cover, perplexing, totemic, and mischievous as ever.

Left: Front cover of Imperium Droop (2021) by Kid Millions & Jan St. Werner, released by Thrill Jockey; Right: Back cover of Imperium Droop (2021) by Kid Millions & Jan St. Werner, released by Thrill Jockey.

I no longer have a CD collection, but I do have one CD, Oval’s Szenariodisk—a digipak, made of print cardboard that, unlike a plastic jewel case with a locking mechanism, swings open naturally like a book. For this article, I had to rebuild this design from Luczak’s ancient QuarkXpress file and discovered a beautiful hidden forest. Not a metaphorical forest of meaning, but an actual photo of a forest hidden in the design, mapped onto 3D cubes. Twenty-five years later, I fell in love all over again. 

Left: Record label of Szenario Europa (1999) by Oval, released by Form & Function in Europe; Right: Record label of Szenario USA (1999) by Oval, released by Thrill Jockey in the USA. Note the subtle type changes.

Why is this work so interesting all these years later? Tom Steinle explains it like this (although many others I spoke to said the same thing): Luczak always focused on the content of the object she was designing, not what was happening around her aesthetically at the time. What was happening around her at the time? Mostly the cool, ironic corporatism best embodied by studios like The Design Republic. TDR loved to revel in the transactional nature of the whole thing, but, to be fair, that was another thing CDs are known for. Luczak’s work isn’t couched in irony—she seems unable to approach anything with irony. Her work is earnest and big-hearted. And so this is a story of genre. You can borrow some of the genre’s energy, some of its buzzy interest, and put it right into your own work free of charge. But that energy is on loan and you must give it back. One day, sooner than you think, it will look tired. This is what the economic philosopher Thorstein Veblen describes as “the process of developing an aesthetic nausea.” And it is doubly true if you borrow from a genre in revival. Luczak never touched that genre stuff; she was too curious for that, and it helped that the musicians she worked with were too. This is the real work of creativity: to make the unknown so beautiful and intriguing that we are lured farther and farther into the new.

Phillip Nessen is a Brooklyn-based designer, strategist, and educator. He is the founder of Nessen Company, a studio with a focus on building distinctive, performant brands and consumer packaged goods.

Header image: Promotional poster for Ovalcommers (2001) by Oval, released by Form & Function in Europe.

The post Beautiful Unknown: The Y2K Album Cover Art of Frieda Luczak appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

If you’re curious to see and read more about the 2012 DesignThinkers branding, you can do that here.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Tina Mackenzie RGD Emeritus appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Mostafa Asadollahi was among the first graduates of the Graphic Design program at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, in 1976. Unlike the previous generation of graphic designers, mainly painting graduates, Asadollahi studied graphic design academically, though he had previously studied painting at the Tehran School of Fine Arts. Asadollahi found influence in teachers such as Morteza Momayez and Jalal Shabahangi in the field of graphic design and by professors like Karl Schlamminger, Rouin Pakbaz, Sima Kouban, Violette Mottahedeh, and Parviz Tanavoli, who taught the foundations of art. He describes that period: “Part of the exercises in college were related to the pure and essential expressions of graphic design, where we sought concepts. There, I developed an interest in simple and unadorned graphic design: the fewest fonts and colors for the greatest expression.” Subsequently, Asadollahi’s graphic design oeuvre draws on geometry, which is influenced by modernism and constructivism. His refined approach later incorporated classical Iranian art, making him one of Iran’s most unique and celebrated graphic designers.

Clockwise, from upper left: (1) Poster, The 9th Tehran International Poster Biennial, 2007; (2) Logo, Tehran International Poster Biennial, 2004; (3) Poster, Book Week, 1993; (4) Logotype, Kalameh weekly magazine, 1992; (5) Logotype, International News Network, 2001

Mostafa Asadollahi’s influence in my life reflects his generous nature and professional character as a mentor, graphic designer, friend, and colleague. All three roles hold equal priority; just as his role as a designer was of particular significance, his roles as a teacher and colleague were equally important. Asadollahi’s aesthetic, which made use of the three primary shapes, makes me think of each as an aspect of his influence: squares symbolizing his role as an educator, triangles a nod to his identity as a designer, and circles encompassing his professional persona.

Mentor

My most fundamental relationship with Mostafa Asadollahi involves his mentorship. He was one of the most influential, disciplined, and capable instructors during my studies at the College of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran in the 1990s. Having dedicated nearly three decades of his professional life to education, his passion for teaching was evident, paying attention to each student’s needs and supporting their growth. He was a beloved educator. His classes, especially those on poster and packaging design, are fond memories of my studies in the early 1990s. Asadollahi modeled strategy, discipline, and structure in the graphic design practice, which significantly impacted my work. His authorship of three books from the “Graphic Design Fundamentals for Visual Communication” series, including Environmental Graphic Design (2016), The Language and Expression of Imagery (2018), and Poster Design (2022), is the result of over five decades of teaching and professional experience.

Graphic Designer

Following in the footsteps of great designers such as Sadegh Barirani, Morteza Momayez, Ghobad Shiva, Mohammad Ehsaei, Farshid Mesghali, and Ebrahim Haghighi, I found Mostafa Asadollahi to be a uniquely distinguished graphic designer. Initially, I found his works overly rigid, but as I became more familiar with his perspective, I realized that he was a graphic designer unlike any who came before or after. One of his most brilliant works, a poster for the 5th Biennial Exhibition of Works by Iranian Graphic Designers (1996), helped me grasp the depth of his point of view as a graphic designer. In the poster, the tree balances simplicity and visual complexity, a nod to the dynamism of the graphic design profession. This work opened my eyes to his earlier poster masterpieces—such as the one for the Iranian Cultural Exhibition in Almaty (1992) and later works like the Book Week poster (1997). Asadollahi also designed remarkable logos for various companies and institutions, including Asia Insurance (1990), International News Network (2001), and the Tehran International Poster Biennial (2004), which, after nearly three decades, remain fresh, effective, and relevant.

Left: Poster, Exhibition of Iranian Culture in Kazakhstan, 1992; Right: Poster, Book Week, 1997

Logotypes: (Top) Day Bank, 2009; (Bottom Left) Asia Insurance Company, 1990; (Bottom right) Taban Printing, 1996

Friend and Colleague

The Iranian Graphic Designers’ Society (IGDS), established in 1998 through the persistence of Morteza Momayez and the collective efforts of several graphic designers, played a significant role in my relationship with Mostafa Asadollahi as a friend and colleague. During the three years (2003 to 2006) when he served as the board of directors president, I had the opportunity to work closely with him as the board treasurer. At that time, in addition to teaching and his professional graphic design work, he dedicated a large portion of his daily schedule to guild activities, organizing, and managing the profession of graphic design. This aspect of his personality reminded me that graphic designers must pay attention to industry and professional matters alongside their educational and professional responsibilities to ensure strong and enduring societies (outside of the governmental realm).

Posters, left to right: Commemoration of the Cultural Heritage & the International Museum Day, 2002; Polish Posters 2, 1973; Poster, Coffee-House Painting Exhibition, 2007

In 2019, when he was living in Toronto, his collection of works, Fifty Years of Graphic Design by Mostafa Asadollahi: 1968–2018, was published in Tehran. I brought him a copy on a trip to Toronto, but I couldn’t resist asking if I could open the package to have the first look. It was a fitting and comprehensive look at Asadollahi’s life and career. Though Mostafa Asadollahi, the patient teacher, brilliant graphic designer, and my responsible friend and colleague, is no longer with us, his legacy lives on among Iran’s most influential graphic designers.

Majid Abbasi is the design director of Studio Abbasi, an internationally active studio based in Tehran and Toronto. He leads design projects for start-ups, non-profits, and cultural institutions, specializing in visual identity and wayfinding. A member of IGDS and AGI, Abbasi contributes to the global design scene as an instructor, jury member, and writer. From 2010 to 2020, he was editor-in-chief of Neshan, Iran’s leading graphic design magazine. He is currently editing a book on the history of Iranian graphic design.

The post Remembering Mostafa Asadollahi (1950-2024) appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

“Our focus has always been on understanding people,” said Jay Houston, president of talent solutions for Addison Group’s Finance & Accounting division. “This brand refresh emphasizes what makes us unique while delivering a clear and compelling message to the marketplace.”

With the talent acquisition landscape becoming more competitive, Addison Group’s new digital presence ensures that businesses seeking specialized solutions continue to see Addison as a trusted partner. To bring this vision to life, Addison partnered with VSA Partners, a creative and branding agency, who worked with Dapper and Associates to craft an engaging, people-centric user experience.

As Addison Group continues to grow—with eight brands and 28 offices across the U.S.—this brand refresh is the latest move to showcase what sets them apart: a deep commitment to connecting businesses with the best talent.

Celebrating 25 years of success, Addison Group’s new branding is a testament to its dedication to delivering exceptional talent solutions and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving industry.

The post Addison Group Celebrates 25 Years with a Brand Refresh appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

‘Tis The Season For Sustainability

It’s often said that if you’re seeking something but can’t find it, the best option is to create it yourself. Libby Hampel followed that advice when founding MASU, a company that reflects her passion for design and the environment in a line of gift-wrapping paper that’s made in America, 100% recyclable, and bold in design.

Hampel, a Columbia, Missouri resident, began her design journey studying and experimenting with surface pattern designs like fabric and wallpaper and eventually transitioned into textile design. She spent many years developing her trademark design style and sense of color that, coupled with an eco-friendly profile, has won the MASU brand a devoted following.

In keeping with Hampel’s personal ethics and principles, MASU sources only recyclable and sustainable materials throughout every facet of the production process – from packaging and shipping containers to the paper itself. For its key element, MASU relies upon the New Hampshire-based and family-owned Monadnock Paper Mills. The over 200-year-old mill is the oldest continuously operating paper mill in the U.S., a longevity matched by the company’s deep commitment to sustainability. Monadnock’s Astrolite 100 PC Velvet coated paper is made of 100% PCW recycled content and is ideal for coated fine text and cover applications. Hampel found that the ink doesn’t absorb into the high-quality coating of the paper, making her designs and colors really pop.

MASU’s core values are reflected in all facets of the company’s operation, including its name. In Japanese there are two words for giving: agemasu and kuremasu. Agemasu is used when you are giving to someone, while kuremasu is used when someone is giving to you. True to Hampel’s vision, MASU embodies all forms of giving, and the result is wrapping paper that looks good, feels good, and does good.

The post MASU Paper Goods Embody the Season of Giving appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

“Letters are magic” is the watchword of Jessica Hische, one of the world’s leading lettering artists. “Letters are an amazing playground,” she says, “a playground for art and creativity. They’re an art form that gets kids — and everyone — believing they’re artists.” But it’s inaccurate to call Hische “just” a lettering artist. She’s a bestselling author, a graphic designer with an enviable client list, and an illustrator with a delightfully sophisticated style.

She’s also the mother of three school-age children, which gives her an insider advantage when it comes to creating books that kids will love and parents will want to buy (and read aloud and collect and display). It’s no accident that her books‚ which are one hundred percent Hische productions from the cover and spine to the acknowledgments page — have sold up to 200,000 copies each.

On October 22 — that’s next Tuesday — her fifth picture book, My First Book of Fancy Letters, will be released by Penguin Random House, and Hische is currently on tour.

What places does she most enjoy visiting? Elementary schools, of course, like the two pictured above, where she’s introducing her 2021 New York Times bestseller Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave. “Kids at first don’t know what a lettering artist is,” she explains. (For a detailed explanation yourself, please see her 2015 book In Progress: Inside a Lettering Artist’s Process from Pencil to Vector.)

To break the ice at a school visit, Hische might ask, “Who has letters on their shirt?” Many kids always raise their hands, so she explains, “An artist drew those letters and made them into what they wanted to express.”

She then demonstrates that letters can have all kinds of forms and meanings. As long as the basic shape of the alphabet letter is clear, it can be Athletic, Bubbly, Creepy … or whatever you, the artist, want it to be. I personally appreciate that each letter is shown as a grown-up capital and a baby lowercase because 95 percent of the letters we read in text are lowercase. Kids who start first grade only knowing the uppercase letters are at a big disadvantage.

Spreads ABC and DEF from My First Book of Fancy Letters, © Jessica Hische, 2024

Hische might then ask, “What’s your favorite thing?” If a student says, “a rainbow,” she might encourage them to draw an ‘R’ made from a rainbow, like the one in the spread below. If another student answers, “A rocket ship,” you can already visualize the kind of ‘R’ the child will draw. This game has only one rule: you must draw the alphabet letter that matches the concept or word. So, if the word is “Prickly,” like in My First Book of Fancy Letters, in which each letter illustrates an adjective, the ‘P’ is a prickly green cactus.” The ‘F’ is definitely Flowery. And the ‘Y’ is as Yummy as a cookie with pink icing and sprinkles.

Spreads PQR and XYZ from My First Book of Fancy Letters, © Jessica Hische, 2024

“I’m not there to sell books,” Hische says of her school visits. “I’m there to inspire the kids, especially when they’re still at the age when their brains are mushy sponges. Even if the book is not specifically about letters, they’ll walk away inspired to draw letters.” Her way of organizing a talk or pitch — totally involving the audience in a creative process — could be a model for all of us.

A quick stroll through Hische’s website tells you that “lettering artist-author-designer-illustrator-mom” is still an incomplete bio. Hische is a true entrepreneur. In addition to 20 years — and counting — as a design firm principal, creating logos, posters, book jackets, packaging, and all kinds of cool stuff like holiday cookie jars for A-list clients, she owns two retail stores in her adopted hometown of Oakland, California. She describes Drawling as a kids’ art supply store and Jessica Hische &Friends as a showcase for her books and lots of flourish-y things she’s designed: limited-edition prints, posters, apparel, jewelry, and note cards. Many of the products are on the ‘shop’ section of her website, where font packages of her six original typefaces are available for sale and download — so that you, too, can design with very fancy letters.

A few examples from the extensive Jessica Hische portfolio. (l-r) Top row: Spread from the book Tomorrow You’ll Be Brave; Popcorn can from the Neiman Marcus 2022 holiday packaging suite; Poster for all-star Scott Rudin film. Center: Neiman Marcus Christmas cookie jar, based on a ceramic tree that Hische’s grandmother put out every holiday season; Promotion for a master class she teaches for Skillshare featuring her hands refining the Mailchimp logo. Bottom: Poster for the American Red Cross encouraging vaccination; Main title design and poster for Lionsgate film; Poster for Comcast used as set decoration in a film in which E.T. reunites with Elliott’s earth family; Limited-edition print.

Hische is the first to admit that from kindergarten on, she was the one whose art was most often displayed on school bulletin boards. After attending public schools in the small town in Pennsylvania where she grew up, she became “a design major who did illustration on the side” at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, graduating in 2006 with a BFA. In 2007 she came to New York to be a junior designer at Louise Fili LTD, bringing her own historically-based swashes and ligatures to the firm’s work in logo, book, and postage stamp design. Not surprisingly, the job soon became a full-time senior designer position.

“When I’m looking to hire a designer,” Fili says, “I want to see at least one portfolio piece that I wish I’d done. Jessica’s was a set of postcards for the Twelve Days of Christmas, a showcase of her skills. From day one here, she was fearless. To anything I asked of her — Can you make this type look like spaghetti? Like embroidery? Oatmeal? Ribbons? — I received an affirmative response. And the lettering was always, of course, perfect.” 

In 2009, Hische began freelancing in New York, making a name for herself and winning just about every award and accolade in the business. In 2011, her husband, the musician and web designer, now Meta design director Russ Maschmeyer, was hired by Facebook, and they moved to the Bay Area.

Hische and Maschmeyer began growing their family in 2015, now with kids aged nine, seven, and five. “I have a complicated life,” she admits, “but I could never miss one of my kids’ first steps or birthday parties. We’ll even make the cake together. Part of the reason I’ve kept my businesses small — mostly just me — is to have a ton of flexibility around family stuff. I love going to their school plays, volunteering at the school, and bringing them to sports. I’m even taking karate with my middle son!”

Letters are an amazing playground.

Jessica Hische

Portrait of the family, © Rasmus Andersson

What are the most important things Jessica Hische wants everyone to know? One: that every letter in her books is hand-drawn, first in pencil, then in Illustrator or Procreate. Other than the glyphs in the font packages, each letter is a unique work of art. Two: that she hopes that the kids (and grown-ups) on your gift list will make their own fancy letters. And have lots of fun doing it.

With Hische, even an interview can be lots of fun.

Images courtesy of Jessica Hische, except where noted.

The post Letters are Magic in Jessica Hische’s New Children’s Book appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

In today’s rapidly evolving creative landscape, the importance of collaborative teams and de-siloing design departments is becoming increasingly clear. As agencies seek to break down barriers between creative, strategy, and design, the role of design has shifted from a final aesthetic touch to a core driver of the entire process. At McCann NY, design is not just a service but an integral part of the creative journey, embedded within the agency’s core teams. By fostering cross-department collaboration, McCann has created a culture where design not only informs the work but also elevates it, challenging traditional agency models. This approach has resulted in more cohesive brand identities and inventive campaigns that drive meaningful client outcomes. I was thrilled to chat with McCann New York’s Shayne Millington, chief creative officer (left), and Matt van Leeuwen, head of design (right), to discuss the transformative impact of de-siloing design within McCann and the lessons other agencies can learn from their approach.

In what ways does McCann Design integrate design processes throughout the agency and within various departments?

Shayne Millington (SM):
At McCann, design is not an afterthought. It’s not just there to make things look pretty or to dress up a deck at the end of a project. From day one, our goal has been to make design a true partner in the creative process. 

We are becoming more visually driven, so design has become a necessity rather than a nice to have. It is crucial to a brand or agency’s success. Our team of about 20 designers is deeply embedded within the agency. They are present in every corner of our business, from new business pitches to social strategy.  

To make sure the practice is integrated, you can’t overlook where they are physically placed within the agency. That is why our designers sit alongside our creatives—at the center of where everything happens. This isn’t a separate department tucked away somewhere. It’s an integral part of our creative brain, collaborating closely with the teams to shape work that’s both visually compelling and conceptually powerful. 

For us at McCann, design is about making things that challenge people to look twice, experience things deeper, and connect with brands in unexpected ways.

How does McCann Design’s de-siloing approach challenge the traditional agency model, and what specific benefits have you observed from integrating design across all aspects of your work?

Matt van Leeuwen (ML):
In the traditional agency model, design and creative operate separately or not at all. And often times, the design team is siloed and brought in after the fact. On the other hand, if you’re working with a brand design agency, what often happens is that they will design the brand identity, then hand it off to the creative agency, who will take it and often times break the rules by giving it its own spin. It’s not efficient. Coming from a branding background, the disconnect comes when the work is different than what we designers intended.  

SM:
At McCann, we knew we wanted to take a different approach. With timelines getting shorter, we noticed that the craft and experimentation were starting to become an afterthought. So we took a different yet simple approach. We combined creativity and design under one roof with McCann Design embedded within the creative teams. We’ve brought on some of the best brand designers in the industry and have created culture-defining work for our clients like TJ Maxx with its first custom font inspired by its logo, Smirnoff’s entire global design system, and the Last Prisoner Project’s Pen to Right History campaign.

ML:
It creates exciting work, but also new ways of working and types of work. We are currently helping multiple clients with the design of their brand identity. When you combine that, with crazy cool creative ideas, the sky is the limit.

In an industry often segmented by specialized departments, how has McCann Design’s commitment to removing silos transformed the way you collaborate internally and deliver value to clients?

SM:
Designers are some of the most conceptual people in the industry. We include design from the beginning of every project. From conception to execution, it’s a collaboration between the teams. It allows for greater debate and challenges the work and learning on both sides. You start to see the lines blur and that is when you know it is working. 

The success of this is creating new opportunities within the agency. We have begun to take on design specific assignments and are entering new areas with our client’s business. In the last year, we have been embedded in all of our clients’ design systems and brand architecture.

ML:
I think of creative and design as cross-pollination, inspiring and challenging each other. For the client, design is an awesome added value; we can truly look at a client’s brand in a holistic manner. From the communication side and the purer brand side, we are bridging those worlds.

Can you share a case study or project where de-siloing had a significant impact on the outcome? What lessons did you learn from that experience that could inform other agencies looking to make similar changes?

ML:
Our work for TJ Maxx on their visual identity is a great example of creative and design collaboration from the beginning. Surprisingly it didn’t start as an identity exercise. Our work was born out of our campaign work. We noticed that the retail space TJ Maxx was operating in, was flooded with Helvetica typography. So we wanted to change that – especially as designers, we wanted to create something unique and ownable for the brand. We proposed something simple; a bespoke typeface, born out of their iconic wordmark. 

The simplicity of the typeface, designed with Jeremy Mickel, forced us to revisit the identity. We couldn’t typeset things the old way. Step by step, we are working through the visual world of TJ Maxx, ultimately resulting in new brand guidelines. In parallel, we are developing campaigns in the same new look. It’s extremely exciting, the way this all comes together. 

To me, it’s living proof that silos don’t have to exist, but we can operate fluidly.  

SM:
Another great example is our most recent work for the New York Lottery. As its agency of record for the last decade, we’ve produced some of the category’s most impactful campaigns. Now, we are incorporating ideas around the design for the scratch cards (most recently for the “Grande” games) that align with the creative communication allowing for a much more holistic and surprising way to engage with the brand.

As agencies continue to evolve, what do you believe are the most pressing challenges to fully integrating design across all functions, and how is McCann Design addressing these challenges?

SM:
One of the most pressing challenges is breaking down the siloes between departments and fostering a culture where design isn’t just an afterthought – it’s a core driver of the creative. When you include more creative voices in the conversation, something amazing happens. It ignites the culture of the agency. The conversations get richer and the solutions become more unexpected. You can move quicker, and the community grows. It’s because you are bringing new experts with new capabilities and new energy to the table, which allows for impactful creativity to flourish.

In the last two years, with Matt heading up the McCann Design practice, we’ve done that. Built design from the ground up – the team, the capabilities – a home for design to shine and a culture where design is celebrated.

ML:
It’s very hard to explain the amount of craft and time that goes into design. The development of a visual narrative, the workings of color, typography, and image. It’s a delicate exercise that doesn’t always abide by the same timeframe of let’s say a campaign idea. So, time. Time to develop, tinker, and play, is of extreme importance. I like to say that design is a playground. We don’t have a house style. We don’t operate within a fixed framework. Every project is unique with its own set of challenges. With all those variables, it’s important to create time to make the best work. If we truly are creating a playground for design, we need to make the time to play.

Bring design into the process as early as possible. This gives designers the time they need to create and iterate throughout the creative process.

How does the de-siloing of design at McCann Design influence your agency’s creative process and strategic thinking? What role does leadership play in fostering a culture of integration and collaboration?

SM:
As soon as a project kicks off, my first question is – where is design? I bring them in from the beginning and they are with us for the journey. Collaboration across all departments is key to getting the best creative product.

McCann Design has been recognized by Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards, MONOCLE’s Design Awards, and leading industry creative accolades like ADC’s Best in Show, Designism, Best of Discipline in Typography, Cannes Lion for Design Driven Effectiveness, Epica’s Grand Prix, and One Show’s Best of Discipline, to name a few, and there’s no doubt that their approach to collaborative creativity is a reason for these accolades.

I’m all about tearing down walls, and I have no doubt that more agencies and big corporations will follow suit—especially with today’s remote, agile workforce making it easier than ever to rethink how we work together.

The post De-Siloing Design: McCann Reimagines Collaboration in the Creative Process appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Dominic Ayre RGD appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Visual effects magazine befores & afters looks at the impressive array of seamless VFX shots in Ripley.

More gorgeous photography – Richard Weston and family follow in the footsteps of Mr Ripley along the Amalfi Coast.

More Farrow-meets-Kubrick than the rest of Richard’s pics, that up there is Anish Kapoor’s Dark Brother at Museo Madre. No family holiday is complete without a big black hole in the ground filled with nothingness and despair.

Back in Blighty, The World of Tim Burton is opening this month at the Design Museum. I’m very much “love the early stuff, and then … ehh” on Burton², but heck, I’ll still lap this up. Can’t wait to see the range of gift shop merch. I love gift shop merch.

The Folio Society have continued their Dune series with a new edition of Children of Dune, illustrated by Hilary Clarcq. At some point I’m going to get all three of these books and make a little sandy shrine to them.

Pretty certain that Harold Fisk’s Meander Maps of the Mississippi River (1944) are some of the most beautiful images ever made. Do I need one of these on my wall? If so, which one? All of them, you say? Every wall? FINE.

A brief history of a graphic design icon: Chip Kidd/Sandy Collora/Tom Martin’s Jurassic Park logo. Features the greatest fax of all time.

Very pleasantly surprised to find myself alongside other fantastic newsletterists in this week’s Substack Reads digest, curated by Coleen Baik.³ Apparently I’m a “known quantity in design circles” and should be enjoyed with a dirty vodka martini. This is all I’ve ever wanted.

An LP a Day Keeps the Doctor Away – excellent guest post by Rachel Cabitt on Casual Archivist, delving into the world of educational record sleeve art.

“I have been told to stop stealing muffins from the bakery. Unfortunately, it’s the only way to keep my lucrative muffin stand in business. Everyone is fine with this.”

That is all.

1. If anyone needs me, I’m out here perishing on the “remakes and re-adaptations are distinct cultural entities that each deserve their own critical discourse” hillock. ↩︎
2. Slavishly copying Burton’s art occupied most of my time at school. Ideally, this show would have one room dedicated to nothing but nineties teenagers’ exercise book doodlings of stripy snakes and Edward Scissorhands. ↩︎
3. This has created quite a spike in subscribers, which will immediately correct itself the moment I hit Send on this thing. Nothing loses you newsletter subscribers quite as effectively as sending a newsletter to your subscribers. ↩︎

This was originally posted on Meanwhile, a Substack dedicated to inspiration, fascination, and procrastination from the desk of designer Daniel Benneworth-Gray.

Header image by Osarugue Igbinoba for Unsplash+.

The post Meanwhile No. 212 appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

On a recent three-week visit with my family, I noticed something else: Chiang Mai University has substantial buildings housing a College of Digital Innovation and a College of Art, Media and Technology. A visit to the TCDC, the Thailand Creative and Design Center, demonstrated that the government fully and publicly supports design as a catalyst for social and economic growth.

The country has invested in architecturally notable buildings that are comfortable places to research, teach, work, and present the results.

TCDC Chiang Mai has the largest design library I’ve had the pleasure of visiting (pictured above and below).

The periodicals ‘corner’ offers hundreds of magazines.

Exhibits at the entrance and throughout the space share design-related news and events across Southeast Asia (like the color-focused vignette, above).

Visitors and members can access a database with more than 8,000 files of textiles (like this sample of waterproof, biodegradable wall covering material composed of 98% banana fibers, above) and building and construction materials.

It is not only study and research that is taking place. Chiang Mai Design Week 2024, December 7 – 15, the website on the monitor above, is promoted as a “festival” with exhibitions, music and performance events, talks, tours, workshops, and a marketplace.

There are dedicated spaces for conferences, seminars, and training. Media rooms are available for designers and entrepreneurs to present their concepts and products.

There are dedicated spaces for conferences, seminars, and training. Media rooms are available for designers and entrepreneurs to present their concepts and products.

A permanent exhibition of 300 fascinating Thai-made materials for construction and manufacturing demonstrates why Thailand is considered a leader in developing and producing eco-friendly materials. A sign invites local artisans and manufacturers to submit samples for selection in the Material ConneXions database for viewing worldwide. Brands including Adidas, BMW, Chilewich, Logitech, and Puma, have created products using materials displayed in the centers.

Two examples of how Lanna handicrafts are transformed into consumer goods. (“Lanna” means “millions of rice fields” and refers to Northern Thailand, where Chiang Mai is located. It’s also the name of the dialect people in rural areas speak.) This high-performance shoe (above left) is made from black-and-white woven stretch fabric that appears to be made of tiny metal spheres. The bench (above right) is crafted from paper made from pineapple fibers and formed over a steel frame.

Samples in the exhibit include (clockwise from top left) a material for applications like floor mats made from small linked blocks of local hardwood; art paper made from mulberry fiber dust; a patterned textile that blocks light, heat and UV and electromagnetic rays; pesticide-free upholstery fabric made from organic wool and ramie; paper made from long inner fibers of plants; Korean ‘hanji’ mulberry paper with a three-dimensional, reflective pattern.

Three Branches, One Country

The TCDC was established in 2004 by a royal decree —Thailand has a 700-year-old monarchy, considered a pillar of stability and identity — for “Establishing the Creative Economy Promotion Agency.” It operates under the office of the Prime Minister “to serve as the country’s premier learning resource center for design and creativity, providing comprehensive knowledge of design-related matters.” The original and most extensive branch is in Bangkok’s historic Grand Postal Building. The Chiang Mai branch I visited was designed by DBALP (Duangrit Bunnig Architects Limited) and opened in 2013. It calls itself “the first public learning center in Northern Thailand, … an education resource to develop creativity among entrepreneurs, designers, students and interested members of the general public.” The newest center, in Khon Kaen, a province northeast of Bangkok, opened in 2020 “to promote creativity at the regional level and drive economic and social growth” in collaboration with Khon Kaen University.

The three branches — in one country about 30 percent smaller than Texas — offer access to all the resources described here, including more than 70,000 books, 170 magazine titles, and 500 multimedia files. There are various levels of annual membership, ranging from (converted from Thai Baht) $18 (student) to $4500 (corporate). A visitor’s day pass is $4.50.

Reaching Out to the Public

As I left, I was handed a six-page questionnaire “to evaluate the benefits and satisfaction received.” It queried my age, gender, highest educational level, and occupation. Then, I was asked to state the reason for the visit, from “participate in trainings” to “get new inspiration and ideas.” The survey asked me to rank everything from the location to the signage, the knowledge and enthusiasm of the staff, to the way the books and material samples are organized. The last page provided ample space to suggest improvements.

My suggestions: Why not include books by or about American and British designers? I spotted nothing by The Partners, Neville Brody, Paula Scher, Stefan Sagmeister, or Milton Glaser. The shelves could benefit by including copies of Henry’s Wolf’s Visual Thinking and Pentagram’s Ideas on Design. The magazine corner might feel more complete with issues of Communication Arts and Eye. But that’s just personal, Western prejudice.

Then again, couldn’t [insert any US design center or materials library] benefit from including some of these Thai design resources?

The arrangement of objects in this window at TCDC Chiang Mai — with a view of the surrounding hills and traditional tile-roofed buildings — sums up Thailand’s commitment to transforming generations of local handcrafting expertise into useful and beautiful products that drive economic growth.

Imagery courtesy of the author.

Where else in the world can you discover design centers and museums? Here are a few ideas:

China — OCT Design Museum, Shenzhen
An avant-garde space for exhibitions of fashion, product, and conceptual automotive design — within an eco-development that combines tourism, entertainment, shopping, lodging, dining, and nightlife with elements of local culture.

Denmark — Designmuseum Danmark, Copenhagen
The objects and exhibitions present Denmark as a country strong on design — from Lego bricks to Arne Jacobsen’s Egg chair — and emphasize how good design makes the world a better place to live.

England — The Design Museum, London
Founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran and devoted to design in every form, this museum even offers a master’s degree program in Curating Contemporary Design.

Germany — Bauhaus Archiv Museum of Design, Berlin
A new home for the collection of Bauhaus objects — some one million paintings, photographs, plans, models, graphic works, and archival records — is currently under construction to preserve and promote the legacy of the Bauhaus, founded by Walter Gropius in 1919.

Italy — Museo del Design Italiano, Milan
This 100-year-old institution is in the Palazzo dell’Arte. The permanent exhibition features iconic pieces in the history of Italian design — lots of fashion and furniture.

Singapore — Red Dot Design Museum
Promotes good design for business via an important international annual competition awarding the best in 35 categories including, products for babies and children, mobile phones, tools, and medical devices.

South Korea — Dongdaemun Design Plaza | DDP
“Dream, Design, Play DDP.” Designed by Zaha Hadid with undulating walls that house, in addition to a design museum and lab, conference and public spaces “where global citizens can share and enjoy the value of design.”

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While this client work comprises the crux of Chermayeff’s legacy, he maintained a lively personal art practice on the side, primarily using mixed media collage and printmaking techniques. Following Chermayeff’s passing in 2017, his family generously donated more than 700 pieces of his original art to SVA’s Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives.

To showcase these unique pieces and honor Chermayeff’s lesser-known artistic prowess, SVA Galleries and the SVA Archives have curated an exhibition of these works entitled “Copy, Cut + Paste: The Visual Language of Ivan Chermayeff.” On view through October 1 at the SVA Gramercy Gallery in New York, the exhibition presents nearly 50 of Chermayeff’s collages, a number of early works, works in progress, and professional works— plus some finger paintings! The show was curated by SVA Archives’ Head of Archives Beth Kleber and Assistant Archivist Lawrence Giffin.

“Collage makes it possible for everything to be something else.”

Ivan Chermayeff

As a lifelong mixed-media collagist and collector, Chermayeff incorporated many of the objects he found into both his personal and professional work. The pieces shown within “Copy, Cut + Paste: The Visual Language of Ivan Chermayeff” exemplify his playful and experimental point of view and the way in which he used collage and mixed media to unlock new ways of seeing.

“I love the idea of discovering that two things that have no relationship are the same size and color. It’s like a chef who discovers that bananas are perfectly okay with fish—there are new relationships that when made, come to life,” Chermayeff once said. “Collage makes it possible for everything to be something else.”

Take a deeper dive into the exhibition with curator Beth Kleber, as she unpacks Chermayeff’s personal works alongside his professional pieces and draws parallels between the two.

Hero image: Mrs. Lovell at the Window, 2015. Mixed media collage, 16.5 x 13.5 in.

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“Don’t wish you could be a famous photographer. If you do, you will fail” – Martin Parr joins WePresent’s excellent pile of manifestos.

All Tomorrow’s Pencils – in which Spencer Tweedy reviews the stationery stores he visited on tour. My favourite bit is the comment from his dad (Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy):

“Remembering one of the only real complaints I ever heard from your teachers growing up, I’d say ‘drummers’ love writing utensils because pencils double as tappity tap tap tapping drum mallets and pens can clicky click click like maracas. In fact they’re probably the first ‘drum sticks’ a future drummer ever holds. Which comes first? The drummer or the innocent child with a maddening urge to tap out a paradiddle with a pencil on a trapper keeper?”

As a relentless desk-drummer and stationery fetishist myself, yep, this all adds up.

Thoroughly enjoying Michigan-based book designer Nathaniel Roy’s A Book Designer’s Notebook, a regular peek behind the curtain of the craft.

Recent Letterboxding, including scattered thoughts on Alien: Romulus and a slog through the Fantastic Beasts films, equal parts cheekbones, coats and gibberish.

Got a little bit lost in Kottke’s posts about maps. I particularly like Andrew DeGraff’s maps of cinematic paths, although the Fury Road one does remind me that the two recent Mad Max movies frustratingly reduced the endless expanse of the apocalypse to an area about the size of the Isle of Wight.

Weird little animations from photographer Jack Davison.

Nolen Royalty (great name) made a website that simply had one million checkboxes and unwittingly created a surprisingly complex canvas for hexadecimal-savvy teens. Love this sort of thing – the internet needs more purpose-less sandboxes like this cough cough cough bring back myspace.

If you’re going to be outed as a serial killer with a trophy wall of decapitated heads in your basement, it might as well be through the medium of LEGO.

The Belvédère du Rayon Vert, a 1920s hotel that teeters above the railway tracks in the southern French town of Cerbère. Stunning. Desperately needs to be covered in neon and rain and plonked into a cyberpunk movie of some sort

SPINNING NEWSPAPER INJURES PRINTER and other Simpsons headlines.

This was originally posted on Meanwhile, a Substack dedicated to inspiration, fascination, and procrastination from the desk of designer Daniel Benneworth-Gray.

Header photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash.

The post Meanwhile No. 211 appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Launched on Voter Registration Day (September 17) and running through Election Day (November 5), the campaign provides a one-stop resource for voters at readyforroevember.com. The site allows visitors to register to vote, prepare for the upcoming election, and dive into key ballot measures and races focused on reproductive rights. Hey Jane will donate $1 to abortion-related ballot measure organizations for each visitor, transforming engagement into direct support for reproductive access.

In a country where reproductive rights are increasingly threatened, Ready for Roevember is designed to do more than just encourage voter turnout — it’s about driving informed action on an issue that’s critical for many. For women under 45 in swing states, abortion has overtaken even the economy as the top voting concern, according to The New York Times. And national surveys show that eight in ten Americans oppose federal abortion bans, emphasizing the broad support for protecting reproductive choice, per The Associated Press.

A key moment in this campaign is September 28, which marks both International Safe Abortion Day and the Ready for Roevember Day of Action. On this day, supporters nationwide are encouraged to share why they’re “ready for Roevember” on social media. They can use the campaign’s free toolkit to amplify their messages and guide others to the campaign website. Hey Jane has created phone screens, social media templates, yard signs, posters, postcards, and more, all available in the toolkit to help spread the word.

Hey Jane, a New York-based telehealth provider specializing in reproductive care, is driving this initiative with a clear goal: to ensure voters are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions at the ballot box. For years, Hey Jane has been at the forefront of expanding access to safe, affordable reproductive healthcare through its telehealth services. Now, with Ready for Roevember, the organization is linking healthcare advocacy with civic action.

This year’s election is pivotal for the future of reproductive freedom in America. With state and federal legislation increasingly threatening to roll back rights, voters have the opportunity to send a clear message that reproductive autonomy is non-negotiable. Ready for Roevember aims to channel this energy into concrete action, ensuring voters are not only showing up at the polls but also fully aware of the issues at stake.

Visit readyforroevember.com to register, learn about key races, download your Roevember assets, and prepare for the election. In 2024, every vote counts—and with Ready for Roevember, your voice will make a difference.

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Not simply a news portal, MAD serves as a meeting point for creative minds to collide, where new ideas come to life and the boundaries between marketing, advertising, and design blur. The platform presented a unique challenge to the brand transformation agency Ba’ndo: express the “madness” of creativity in a structured and engaging way.

Ba’ndo tackled this project’s complexity by building a complete brand system, which included illustrations, animations, and mascots inspired by the letters in the logo. This system gave MAD a distinct voice that was energetic, curious, and full of life.

The logo itself is minimal yet striking, with retro influences. Its aesthetic draws on an 80s vibe, blended with pop art and modern elements, achieving a balance between nostalgia and forward-thinking design. The sharp lines and bold details convey MAD’s dynamic energy, while the flexibility of the logo offers limitless possibilities for future evolution.

MAD’s logo is more than just a typographic solution—it is a character with a distinct personality. Each letter of the logo has multiple expressions—bold, curious, and slightly wild—to mirror the facets of the brand.

Inspired by the MAD logo, the mascots further expand the brand’s world. Each mascot is lively, energetic, and curious—perfectly capturing the spirit of MAD. Together, they enhance the brand system, adding an extra layer of engagement and playfulness.

One of our favorite project highlights is the Instagram story generator, designed to allow users to interact with MAD’s identity in a personal and playful way. This tool, which encourages users to make minor modifications to the logo’s letters, not only creates a personal connection with the brand but also adds an element of fun and entertainment, aligning perfectly with MAD’s mission to engage its audience creatively.

For Ba’ndo, working on MAD provided a chance to explore new frontiers in brand identity design. The outcome is more than just a logo or a set of visual guidelines; it’s a holistic system that embodies the spirit of creativity. MAD serves as a platform for sparking new ideas, inspiring bold moves, and connecting people across design, marketing, and advertising — and with it, a brand designed to continue to evolve and inspire the creative community, exploring brand identity design through dynamic, expansive, and fluid ecosystems.

The post Ba’ndo’s Identity for MAD Captures the Madness of Creativity appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Anne Pasternak, the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the museum, sums it up perfectly: “We needed a new brand that meets the demands of the day, honors our rich history, and brings a whole lot of energy.” And energy is precisely what this rebrand delivers. The museum’s building—an architectural journey from neoclassical grandeur to modernist minimalism—served as inspiration. The new look blends approachable, modern sans-serif fonts with design elements that tie directly to the institution’s storied past.

Look closely at the new logo, and you’ll see dots framing the text—an ode to the ancient philosophers and playwrights whose names adorn the museum’s façade and a nod to its early days as a library. These dots pop up everywhere, from motion graphics to signage, adding a playful touch that keeps things fresh. The intertwined O’s in “Brooklyn” and the merged M’s and U’s in “Museum” symbolize connection, community, and how the museum brings together diverse voices, cultures, and ideas.

The color palette? Consider it Pantone Brooklyn. Grays echo the limestone walls of the building, balanced with bright, bold hues that shout out creativity. The effect is a reflection of the borough—gritty, colorful, and alive with possibility.

The brand reflects the Brooklyn Museum’s identity as a place where art meets education, community meets culture, and history meets what’s next.

The rebrand was brought to life behind the scenes by Brooklyn-based design studio Other Means in collaboration with the museum’s in-house team. After a year of research, collaboration, and conversations with audiences and staff, the result is a brand that reflects the Brooklyn Museum’s identity as a place where art meets education, community meets culture, and history meets what’s next.

So, the next time you’re in Brooklyn, don’t just stop by the museum—experience its brand-new chapter. Admire the kaleidoscopic colors, grab some fresh merch, or enjoy a weekend event. The Brooklyn Museum’s reimagined identity is as dynamic as the borough it calls home.

Photographs by Adrianna Glaviano.

The post The Brooklyn Museum Unveils a Bold Rebrand for 200th Anniversary appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

The brand update was a full-throttle extravaganza in true Lolla fashion, with the rollout beginning at Lollapalooza Chicago in 2023. If you were at Grant Park for this year’s mega show featuring Megan Thee Stallion, SZA, Hozier, and Chappell Roan, it was hard to miss the brand’s expanded digital and IRL footprint—vibrant pinks, electric blues, and dynamic graphics dancing on every surface. With over 10,000 branded touchpoints at the festival, Someoddpilot ensured Lolla’s identity was as omnipresent as the music blasting through the speakers.

Why the need for a brand refresh? Well, the festival’s audience has grown up and out—450,000 attendees last year alone—and with that, so have their expectations. Lollapalooza sought to meet this new crop of music lovers where they live: on TikTok, in the digital art world, and within the pulse of modern youth culture. So this year, C3 Presents and Live Nation, the festival’s parent brands, handed Someoddpilot the keys to drive Lolla’s brand into the future.

Someoddpilot certainly brought the goods. Born 25 years ago as an indie record label and known for another Windy City legend — the Pitchfork Music Festival — the Chicago-based agency was the perfect fit to bring Lolla’s brand identity into the now while staying true to its alt-culture origins. They dug deep into the 90s, when zines ruled, and the Xerox machine was the designer’s best friend and brought that gritty, DIY aesthetic into the 21st century.

Think cut-and-paste compositions, bold streaks from inkjet printers, grainy photos, and op-art graphics—all with a slick, vibrant twist. It’s a nod to the punk, metal, and electronic scenes that birthed Lollapalooza in the first place, but with a modern punch that resonates with today’s digital natives. It’s tangible nostalgia with a digital filter in the best possible way.

And it’s not just Chicago that’s getting the fresh look. Lollapalooza’s visual identity is going global, popping up at the festival’s offshoots in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and even Mumbai. This year’s 20th birthday celebration also birthed a new festival logo—a cheeky nod to the past where “20” sits snugly in place of the original logo’s double O’s.

Someoddpilot and Lollapalooza smartly made the updated identity flexible—after all, a music festival is chaotic, colorful, and (let’s be honest) unpredictable. The new identity shines across social media, digital ads, out-of-home displays, and within the festival grounds.

As Lollapalooza strides into its third decade, it’s not just keeping pace with the times—it’s defining them. With Someoddpilot at the helm, the fest embraces its past and charges into the future, one Xeroxed graphic at a time. Here’s to 20 more years of music, madness, and killer design. Cheers, Lolla!

The post Someoddpilot’s Colorful, Gritty Tribute to Lollapalooza’s Alt-Culture Past appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

For decades, Sunrise Bakers has been more than just a bakery; it’s been a rite of passage for anyone visiting Dehradun. The bakery’s walls have witnessed the comings and goings of celebrities, politicians (an ex-prime minister among them), and everyday folks who can’t resist its iconic rusks and biscuits. But the digital age comes calling, even for beloved community institutions. The bakery tapped Bombay Design Centre to reimagine Sunrise Bakers for today’s tech-savvy, Instagram-loving generation.

What does it take to bring a 70-year-old brand into the 21st century? A lot of love, a deep respect for tradition, and a sprinkle of modern magic.

“We are immensely proud of our legacy and grateful for the unwavering support of our community,” says Rishika Jolly of Sunrise Bakers. “This overhaul is a testament to our commitment to preserving our heritage while embracing the future.” And that’s precisely what Bombay Design Centre set out to do—craft a dawn for Sunrise Bakers that’s as warm and inviting as fresh baked goods.

The brand strategy began with a deep dive into the bakery’s history, one that’s as golden as the crust of their beloved pista biscuits. Ankur Rander, CEO of Bombay Design Centre, describes the experience as thrilling and humbling. “Reimagining a legacy bakery for the new generation was quite exciting for us,” he says. “We aimed to ensure that every element of the new design honoured the bakery’s rich inheritance.”

The result is a brand identity that feels like a warm hug from your favorite aunt—familiar and comforting with a dash of contemporary flair. From the shelf-popping new packaging to an engaging new social media presence, Sunrise Bakers is ready to capture the hearts of a whole new generation. The new e-commerce platform allows the bakery to be just a click away, ensuring that no matter where you are, you can get a little taste of Dehradun delivered right to your door.

Sunrise Bakers has stayed true to its roots, proving you can teach an old bakery new tricks. With its established reputation and fresh design, Sunrise Bakers will remain a beloved destination for another 70 years—one that connects the past, present, and future with every crumbly buttery bite.

The post Sunrise Bakers’ Warm and Inviting New Brand by Bombay Design Centre appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Michael Bierut appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Stone and von Hauske Valtierra were first introduced to Hensonville by the Frankos, who got to know the chefs as regulars at the pair’s Lower East Side eatery, Contra, and eventually became close friends. In 2021, when a 19th-century boarding house turned Airbnb hit the market, Danielle and Ely knew who they wanted as partners. The inn is newly renovated and thoughtfully designed by the Frankos to create an atmosphere to reconnect and recharge, featuring 16 ensuite guestrooms to indulge in slow mornings, lazy afternoons, and luxuriant candlelight evenings. Building off the hotel’s historical footprint, the Frankos designed a sprawling yet intimate, organic garden that is a microcosm of the Catskills and the various flowers and herbs that grow wild in the region. Aside from hosting guests in elegant comfort, The Henson is equipped to host private dinners, corporate events, and weddings of up to 140 guests.

This project was a big deal for me because Fabian and Jeremiah have been my favorite chefs for a long time. And on top of that, they both have great taste in design. Fabian is a talented graphic designer, having done Wildair and Contra himself, so the stakes were very high!

Alex Ostroff, creative director, Saint Urbain

The foursome enlisted the help of Saint-Urbain to create the visual identity for The Henson and Matilda. The Henson identity is rooted in classic elegance, blending heritage with modernity, while Matilda embraces simplicity and comfort. Drawing from the dynamic flora and fauna that define the Catskills region, the design for both identities is built on a system of hand-drawn illustrations and type that evoke a simpler age where time passed more slowly. The overall design makes for a contemporary yet timeless brand that represents the genuinely welcoming and hospitable nature of the region and the people behind the exceptional hotel and restaurant.

Photography by Alex Stein.

The post Saint Urbain Unveils a Fresh Identity for 19th-Century Catskills Hotel appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

This refresh, led by United Sodas COO Kate Reeder and Carli Nicholas (head of marketing), isn’t just about looks; they’ve also tweaked the ingredients without the trade-off of questionable ingredients or excessive sugar. “We spent two years developing our flavor range, each of the 12 offering something unique and ensuring there’s a flavor for everyone,” says the duo.

I had the pleasure of asking the United Sodas team and CENTER’s founder, Alex Center, a few questions about the brand update and their plans for the future of soda. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Your original brand, launched during the COVID-19 era, drove significant buzz. How has the evolving consumer landscape influenced your packaging and product formulation strategy as you enter this next phase?

Kate Reeder & Carli Nicholas (KR & CN): As our company grows and our presence expands, we’re committed to ensuring that our product evolves as well. Our guiding principles have always centered on simplicity: delivering great-tasting soda made with simple, healthier ingredients. This philosophy drives our latest improvements. We’ve simplified the shopping experience by adding our logo to the front of the can, making it easier to find on the shelf. We’ve also simplified our ingredients. Research shows that consumers prefer recognizable, simple ingredients in their beverages. With this in mind, we’ve improved our sweetener blend to include organic cane sugar and organic stevia, resulting in a bigger, better flavor than ever before.

Rebranding a project you created offers a unique opportunity for reflection and growth. How did this influence your approach to United Sodas’ refresh, and what lessons from the original branding did you carry forward?

Alex Center (AC): United Sodas holds a special place for us as one of our first brands, which we helped build from scratch starting in 2018. It’s a prime example of our approach to design and branding: creating something that stands out, breaks the mold, and is grounded in purpose. For United Sodas, that purpose was about representing America’s diversity through a concept of ‘America as a rainbow,’ distilled into its simplest form.

Launching during COVID was unique, as we designed the brand more for homes than store shelves. The vibrant, multi-colored variety pack became a memorable experience for people during that time, contributing to its success.

We’ve developed a strong relationship with United Sodas, working closely on projects beyond the initial branding. So, when it was time to refresh the brand, our goal was to retain the essence of what made it successful while addressing specific operational challenges, like ensuring the packaging was recognizable on store shelves without losing its bold simplicity.

The result was a subtle evolution, not a revolution. We made necessary updates while preserving the core identity, ensuring the brand remains as impactful as it was when we first launched it.

United Sodas is now available in an array of high-profile locations. How does your brand’s presence in premium settings align with your brand strategy?

KR & CN: United Sodas was created to be more than just a soda – it’s an experience that begins with the design of our cans and extends to the distinctive flavors within. From the outset, premium hospitality and immersive experiences have been central to our strategy, emphasizing the versatility of our product in a way that’s both memorable and impactful. When someone tastes our sodas for the first time while enjoying an exceptional meal in a stunning setting, it opens up a world of possibilities for how our sodas can integrate into their daily lives – from dinner parties and happy hours to thoughtful gifting. We’ve had a great time exploring this and believe we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible.

What challenges and opportunities did you encounter while balancing United Sodas’ vibrant minimalism with visibility and consumer recognition?

AC: It’s interesting because this wasn’t a rebrand to me—it was an optimization of the existing brand. Think of it like a software update: Apple constantly updates its operating system to enhance performance, and I believe all brands should do the same to improve and evolve. The focus wasn’t on change for the sake of change but rather on optimizing the brand to make it easier for people to find and more recognizable to consumers.

United Sodas of America is a great name, but it’s long, and most people naturally shortened it to United Sodas. That’s what the website and Instagram have always used, so it made sense to officially adopt that shorthand, much like Dunkin’ did by dropping ‘Donuts.’

As a studio, we’re not precious about our work. We believe there’s always room to reimagine and improve. This project is a prime example: United Sodas was already close to perfect, yet we found ways to make it even better.

Alex Center

I felt strongly about retaining the ‘zipper’ logo because this brand is about minimalism and thinking differently. We didn’t want to lose that clean, almost fashion-like aesthetic where the packaging feels like an accessory—part of your personal brand. We maintained that while making the brand design clearer and more optimized.

How do you plan to maintain the balance between staying true to United Sodas’ brand ethos and adapting to the changing preferences of a diverse consumer base?

KR & CN: Soda has always been a timeless and universal concept. This belief remains at the heart of our brand vision. As consumer behaviors, preferences, and communication methods evolve, we’ll adapt our strategies to meet people where they are. When we launched during COVID, we leaned heavily on social media, showcasing creative ways to incorporate our sodas into mocktails and cocktails. In a post-COVID era, we’re focused on demonstrating how our sodas can enhance a wide variety of occasions and moments. We’ll continue to evolve how and where we connect with our consumers to stay aligned with the times.

How did consumer insights shape the decision to simplify and feature the name more prominently on the can, and what impact do you anticipate it will have on shelf awareness and brand recognition?

AC: That’s what everyone calls the brand—United Sodas—so this change is about simplifying and solidifying our identity as we take the next step toward becoming an iconic soda brand. We’re big believers in doing the least amount necessary to convey an idea, and that philosophy guided our approach here. The name ‘United Sodas of America’ was already strong, but simplifying it to ‘United Sodas’ made it even bolder and more direct.

When we started this project, soda was a category many avoided due to its association with sugar, while seltzers were booming. But we believed people still loved soda; it just needed to be reinvented for modern consumers, and that’s what United Sodas did.

In today’s crowded market, where many brands lean into health trends, United Sodas stands out by focusing purely on flavor and simplicity. Our minimalist design, bold colors, and modern aesthetic make the brand instantly recognizable, even on a crowded shelf. There’s often a great discussion on Twitter, where people share photos of crowded beverage aisles and ask, “Which brand do you see?” The overwhelming answer is United Sodas.

We achieved the project’s goals—enhancing visibility and recognition—without losing the original intention. The brand remains true to its essence, and I’m proud that we’ve made these improvements while maintaining what made United Sodas great in the first place.

I simply couldn’t avoid the next question: What’s your favorite flavor?

Kate Reeder loves Blackberry Jam, while Carli Nicholas is partial to Pear Elderflower. Sour Blueberry is the flavor Alex Center turns to. While they all sound fantastic, I’m also on team Pear Elderflower. (Add a little Empress Gin, and enjoy the perfect summer cocktail.)

The post A Pop of Perfection: Inside United Sodas’ Brand and Flavor Refresh appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Glenda Rissman RGD appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Nine months into the pandemic, architect James Biber thought if he did something on Instagram every day, he’d know what day it was. So he started his timekeeping experiment by cataloging architects’ birthdays, eventually adding graphic designers and artists into the rotation. Michael Bierut saw what Biber was up to and thought it’d make great fodder for a book.

We couldn’t agree more—make room on your bookshelf for The Architect & Designer Birthday Book!

Biber was the book’s editorial conductor, and Bierut was the designer. Our discussion with the duo was insightful (the book features many women creators that were new to us) and oh-so-fun (tune in to learn what everyone really thought of Bob Gill).

The design is very simple, like Massimo Vignelli’s Audubon field guide series. The spreads are sparse with the focus on a visual at the top and the anecdotal and often relational history with the author.

Designers love working with constraints. This project was full of parameters that were fixed and could not be negotiated. It made it a fun project.

Michael Bierut

Part of the magic of the physical reading experience happens on the spreads, which sometimes mirror each other (like the Williams-Kent spread above). Sometimes, as in the Gehry-Savage spread below, they provide a visual contrast.

A particularly interesting discussion point centered around the bane of all publishers: the clearance of images. And, we’re talking IMAGES. Three hundred and sixty-six, in fact. A team of people worked tirelessly to find and obtain permission for the book’s visual content. When unable to clear for a variety of reasons from a good, old-fashioned ‘no’ to hearing crickets from the estates, Bierut got creative.

For Milton Glaser, they relied on an overhead shot of Times Square chairs arranged in the shape of Glaser’s famous logo from a personal friend. For Charles Addams (right), they opted for a pull quote. Their visual stand-in for Dan Flavin’s work is genius.

Register here to watch the recording.

Haven’t purchased your copy of The Architect & Designer Birthday Book? You can order one here.

The post Book Club Recap Biber & Bierut: Architects, Designers, and Images (So Many Images) appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Forest Young appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Page 73, a Tony and Obie-award-winning theater production company, is on a mission to advance the careers of talented playwrights by producing impactful Off-Broadway debuts and awarding substantial development resources exclusively to playwrights who have not yet had a professional premiere in New York City.

To help push their efforts further, Studio Usher crafted a fresh identity to better position the company to support and showcase the next wave of talent in the off-Broadway world.

Page 73 is committed to staging productions while also nurturing the next generation of voices in theater. The rebranding project brought together design, culture, and innovation in an engaging and forward-thinking way. It visually reinforces Page 73’s commitment, making it easier for audiences and donors to recognize and support new talent.

One of the key features of this rebrand is the positioning of Page 73 as an “ingredient brand.” Similar to how Intel operates in the tech world, Page 73’s logo now serves as a mark of quality and innovation that playwrights can carry with them as they advance in their careers. It’s a badge that extends the theater’s influence beyond New York, allowing it to have a broader cultural impact.

Studio Usher also addressed a common challenge in the arts: balancing institutional branding with promoting individual shows. The new identity for Page 73 achieves this balance, ensuring that the theater can maximize its marketing efforts while staying true to its core mission. This approach could be a valuable model for other arts organizations seeking to maximize resources.

In addition to its strategic elements, the rebrand broadens Page 73’s appeal. Modernizing the theater’s visual identity and messaging wasn’t just about updating its look; it was about making it more inclusive and accessible. The new brand invites a broader audience and attracts potential sponsors, aligning with ongoing conversations about representation in the arts.

Studio Usher’s comprehensive work on this project covered everything from visual identity to voice development to digital strategy. The streamlined website and updated social media presence give Page 73 a contemporary edge, demonstrating how a traditional theater can effectively connect with audiences in today’s digital age.

The use of paper as a central branding element is an interesting aspect of the rebrand. This choice reflects a blend of tradition and modernity, showing that staying grounded in the past is possible while looking toward the future.

Studio Usher drew from its extensive experience working with other off-Broadway theaters to inform this successful rebrand. Its background, working with Soho Rep, The Vineyard Theatre, and National Black Theatre, among others, allowed the team to push creative boundaries while staying true to the unique spirit of off-Broadway.

Studio Usher is known for consistently exceeding expectations, taking pride in their meticulous attention to detail and willingness to take risks. Their passion for working with artists, innovators, and disruptors drives them to deliver their best work every time, and the rebrand of Page 73 is a perfect example of this dedication.

Imagery courtesy of Studio Usher.

The post Studio Usher Rebrands Page 73 as an Off-Broadway Powerhouse appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Just when you thought you had snacking figured out, Bezi is here to shake up the game with a fresh and playful take on labneh. I dare you not to drool over this tasteful brand!

Red Antler has been busy crafting the identity for Bezi, a fresh labneh brand making its debut in New York City grocery stores this September. With its eye-catching design and playful vibe, Bezi is ready to introduce a new twist to your snack game and exemplifies how effective branding can elevate a product.

Our goal from the beginning was clear: we want to make labneh a thing.

Ilay Karateke, co-founder and CEO of Bezi

With its high-protein content and mild tang, Bezi stands out from other labneh products and is positioning itself to rival hummus as the go-to healthy snack dip. “Since labneh is an unfamiliar category to many Americans, our strategy was to build awareness by anchoring it to a popular existing product—hummus,” said Ilay Karateke, Bezi’s co-founder and CEO. However, the founders wanted to “capture hearts with a striking design that stands out on the bland, beige hummus shelves.” Bezi tapped Red Antler for a branding strategy that is both innovative and engaging and could spark interest among consumers who may be new to labneh.

Bezi’s visual identity is eye-catching and vibrant. Each flavor features bold, groovy colors that create a visually appealing and tasty palette. The rounded, geometric logo reflects the brand’s humor and confidence, giving it a friendly and approachable feel. “The short, punchy name ‘Bezi’ was a perfect fit—it’s memorable and versatile,” said Jackson Bernard, Red Antler’s brand design lead. “By incorporating the name into the design as a framing device, we were able to reinforce its meaning and ensure it stands out on the shelf while also allowing for future growth of the brand.”

Our approach to Bezi’s packaging design was all about centering the vibrant flavor profiles and key product benefits, creating a system that’s not only visually appealing but also easily scalable as the product line expands.

Jackson Bernard, Brand Design Lead, Red Antler

The brand’s clever mascot, inspired by the creamy labneh swirls, adds a charming element. Playful illustrations of flavors, characterized by geometric shapes and vibrant colors with soft shading, enhance the design’s appeal and intrigue.

High-saturation flash photography is used in the art direction to emphasize the mouth-watering qualities of Bezi’s labneh, reflecting the brand’s fun and sociable personality.

The packaging features colorful speech bubbles that invite shoppers into Bezi’s world, effectively capturing the brand’s playful spirit and encouraging consumers to explore labneh in a fresh and exciting way.

While Bezi’s website and Instagram are already buzzing with labneh excitement, you’ll have to wait until September to snag this game-changing snack item for yourself from grocery shelves.

The post Red Antler Crafts a Big Brand Debut for Bezi Labneh appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Letterform Archive is offering a reprinting of W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design by Bruce Kennett with a Kickstarter campaign and a special $60 pricetag until September 10.

This is a book to spend a year with.
—Steven Heller

Letterform Archive kickstarted the first printing of Bruce Kennett’s comprehensive biography of Dwiggins. It was funded in two days and quickly sold out. This beautiful book is not just a biography; the pages are typeset in a custom digital version of Dwiggins’ Electra typeface, with 1200-plus images and Dwiggins’ essays set in his typefaces.

“The name W. A. Dwiggins usually brings to mind typefaces for Linotype and books for Knopf, but his amazing career has myriad additional facets. Over a period of fifteen years, I researched, wrote, photographed, and designed this book to honor his creative forces, exploring material from the Boston Public Library, Letterform Archive, my own private collection, and other archival sources,” says Kennett, the book’s author. “The book serves as inspiration for anyone in the visual arts — whether it be graphic design, illustration, textile design, printmaking, calligraphy, type design, or puppetry.”

The book will remain available on Kickstarter and at museum shops after this date. However, the early campaign premiums are worth a look.

Running through his life is a joie de vivre and lightness of spirit than can serve as inspiration for all of us.
—Bruce Kennett, author

Learn more about W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Design and become a backer on the book’s Kickstarter page.

The post Call Yourself a Graphic Designer? You Have W.A. Dwiggins to Thank appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Welcome to the DesignThinkers Podcast! Join host and RGD President Nicola Hamilton as she digs into the archives of the DesignThinkers conference, reconnecting with past speakers about their talks and ideas that have shaped Canada’s largest graphic design conference. Follow the RGD on Instagram @rgdcanada or visit them at rgd.ca. Purchase tickets to the upcoming DesignThinkers conference at designthinkers.com.

The post DesignThinkers Podcast: Ellen Lupton appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Toronto’s own Bruce Mau Design (BMD), an award-winning multidisciplinary brand and design studio, has once again proven its creative prowess by reimagining the visual identity of The National Ballet of Canada. The nearly 75-year-old cultural gem, revered for its classical roots, has undergone its first major rebrand in almost two decades, and the results are nothing short of lively.

Looking to bridge its rich heritage with a bold, forward-thinking future, NBOC entrusted BMD to craft an identity that would be as inclusive as it is inventive. “We were tasked to create something that would invite more people in,” says Laura Stein, BMD’s Chief Creative Officer. And invite it does. BMD’s fresh approach isn’t just a cosmetic change; it’s a statement. The new wordmark does more than merely label the ballet company; it begins a narrative, setting the stage for a creative, open, and welcoming identity.

The wordmark is the cornerstone of BMD’s visual redesign, thoughtfully developed in collaboration with Displaay Type Foundry. It’s a simple yet ingenious tool that allows designers to extend the narrative seamlessly from the logo, ensuring consistency and elegance in every application. The typeface, coupled with a vibrant palette of jewel tones, marks a significant departure from the brand’s previous dark pink hues, infusing the identity with a sense of openness and accessibility.

But BMD’s magic doesn’t stop at a new logo and color scheme. The studio has redefined every visual element, from art direction in photography to motion behaviors and layout principles. Most notably, they’ve introduced the Storyteller concept, designed to close “the uncertainty gap” for potential audiences.

The wordmark’s narrative can tease some of the story so that people who know nothing about a ballet such as Onegin, understand that it deals with exciting and dramatic themes such as love and betrayal.
—Laura Stein, Chief Creative Officer, BMD

Laura Stein, BMD’s Chief Creative Officer and Kar Yan Cheung, BMD’s Director of Design Strategy

Kar Yan Cheung, BMD’s Director of Design Strategy, noted that the challenge was to create a brand that resonated with both long-time ballet aficionados and a new, younger audience — not just about aesthetics but a strategic balancing act. Through a series of workshops, stakeholder interviews, and immersive experiences at the ballet, BMD ensured that the new identity honored classical ballet’s tradition while embracing the future with contemporary stories.

The result? A rebrand that respects the past while shaking off the elitist image often associated with ballet, making it more accessible and engaging for everyone. “Ballet is often seen as inaccessible, something only for the wealthy, and this is a barrier to newer and often younger audiences,” Cheung explains. The new identity aims to tear down these barriers, bringing audiences closer to the artistry and passion of ballet.

Hope Muir, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, couldn’t agree more. She believes the new brand does more than refresh the company’s look—it reflects its values and aspirations. “The visual identity is bold, personal, and inclusive, with creative taglines that spark the imagination and invite conversation,” Muir says. “The Storyteller reflects the values and energy of The National Ballet today and asserts our commitment to an innovative and accessible future.”

BMD’s reimagining of The National Ballet of Canada is just the latest example of why the studio is celebrated as one of the world’s leading brand and design powerhouses. With a portfolio that includes work for giants like Infiniti, Sonos, and the Zayed National Museum, BMD has earned accolades from Cannes Lions to Fast Company — a testament to its ability to blend tradition with modernity, creating brands that truly resonate.

The post The National Ballet of Canada Dances with a New Identity by Bruce Mau Design appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Couple of new posts on The Book Cover Review worth a look see: Joe McLaren on The Jon Pertwee Book of Monsters and Tree Abraham on Parker Mabee’s A Wander in the Woods.

33 1/3 have announced their new batch of titles, including Andi Harriman on The Cure’s Disintegration, Yousef Srour on Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Joel Mayward on Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie & Lowell. I’m amazed they’ve been going this long and still haven’t covered Swift in any way whatsoever. Love her or not, it’s a weird omission.

Excellent thread of behind the scenes shots of classic album covers. Particularly love all the Björk ones, natch.

Agnès Poirier meets the army of artisans tasked with rebuilding the Notre Dame, the 12th-century ‘soul of France’. Incredibly, it looks like they’re going to hit the target date arbitrarily thrown down by Macron the day after the fire.

The Quiet Persuader on iPlayer, a 1965 documentary following New York ad-man Stephen Frankfurt. Half an hour very well spent.

100 of the greatest posters of celebrities urging you to READ; in which James Folta bravely attempts to rank the iconic American Library Association series. The Connery one always cracks me up.

How design’s oldest org torched a decade of discourse—when AIGA Eye on Design vanished overnight, it exposed a troubling lack of stewardship in preserving our industry’s legacy. How can we ensure our design history endures in the digital age?

Do I need these decade-spanning Japanese SNOOPY COMIC SELECTION books? Why yes, yes I do.

That is all.

This was originally posted on Meanwhile, a Substack dedicated to inspiration, fascination, and procrastination from the desk of designer Daniel Benneworth-Gray.

Header image: Unsplash+ with Michael Tucker.

The post Meanwhile No. 208 appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Few resources shine as brightly as Designing Brand Identity in the ever-evolving landscape of design. Now in its 6th edition, Wheeler brought on Rob Meyerson to coauthor and steward the book. With practical advice, case studies, and step-by-step strategies, this book is a beacon for anyone seeking to navigate the intricacies of branding with confidence and creativity.

Wheeler’s vision and expertise have left an indelible mark on the field, empowering countless professionals and students to transform how brands are conceived and executed. Her dedication to demystifying the branding process is a testament to her passion for design education, and her legacy lives on through this book. For more on that legacy, PRINT honored her memory this year. You can also listen to Debbie Millman’s 2011 interview with Wheeler on Design Matters.

The introduction of the 6th edition offers an insightful look back at the last two decades of branding. We’ve excerpted the intro Q&A with Wheeler and Meyerson below, with permission.

What are your biggest takeaways from twenty years of writing Designing Brand Identity?

Alina Wheeler (AW): Since the first edition, we’ve put supercomputers in our pockets, fallen in and out of love with social media, weathered a pandemic, and witnessed massive change in the climate and global politics. At the same time, branding has changed immeasurably. Now, major rebrands are mainstream news. People use (and misuse) phrases like “on brand” in daily conversation. Brand expression is omnipresent across all digital platforms, content marketing is a cost of entry, and armies of algorithms track our every move. We continue to see a dramatic increase in best practices across organizations big and small, B2C and B2B, driven by new generations of agile leaders. And companies are rebranding more often—identities that would have once lasted 20 years are now revised after just five. Writing Designing Brand Identity has reminded me how much courage it takes to effect change. And that no one does it alone. Through this book, I’ve aspired to capture the strategic intelligence and boundless creativity of our colleagues around the world. We are infinitely grateful to all who have shared their time, stories, wisdom, and insights as they build the brands of the future.

Why a sixth edition? Why now?

AW: When I began writing Designing Brand Identity in the early 2000s, there was no comparable book. It was the resource I needed in the heat of a new engagement—a book that would provide a shared vocabulary and process for management and the marketing team, supply a list of the major brand name changes in the last century, and remind me of the irrefutable fundamentals of branding. It was a way to keep me up to speed on the most current thinking on user experience, approaches to decision making, and global best practices. Since then, hundreds of smart, new branding books have come out. But Designing Brand Identity remains the most comprehensive resource available. Over 20 years, five editions, and eleven languages, it’s been a living document in which I’ve continuously collected and updated best practices, processes, and trends. The sixth edition is the strongest one yet. As long as branding exists, Designing Brand Identity will always have new insights to share.

How (and why) did you select a coauthor?

AW: After 20 years, it’s time for a new generation of brand thinkers to take the lead. Two things have allowed me to be effective writing this book: being “in the game” — working with clients, attending conferences, networking with peers—and committing to creating the best book I could. So, when I began the daunting search for a co-author, those were my top priorities. Who’s in the game? Who will truly commit to helping me create the best possible version of Designing Brand Identity? Rob Meyerson has occupied every seat at the branding table, from start-ups to mature, multinational, public companies. He’s led strategy teams at world-renowned brand consultancies and boutique agencies. He has lived and worked in Silicon Valley, Shanghai, and Southeast Asia; he understands the importance of cultural insights. As Global Head of Brand Architecture and Naming at HP, he hired and managed top-tier branding firms and was “in the room” helping to create a new, multi-billion-dollar brand—Hewlett Packard Enterprise. And as an independent consultant, he’s demonstrated his commitment to understanding, improving, and educating the global branding community through his writing and podcast.

What’s changed in the sixth edition?

Rob Meyerson (RM): Our main goal was to ensure the book is not only up to date, but forward thinking in terms of how brands are built and maintained, trends impacting the world of brands and branding, and examples of amazing work. We’ve added detail and rigor to pages about brand strategy, brand architecture, and naming, as well as ideas that have more recently gained relevance in branding, such as AI, social justice, and evidence-based marketing. And we continued our efforts to feature a diverse cross-section of work in terms of geography, agency size, and types of client companies. Just as important is what hasn’t changed. We’ve preserved the three-part structure (Basics, Process, Best Practices), built on the comprehensiveness of previous editions, and factored in insights from dozens of industry experts. Designing Brand Identity is still organized as a reference book, with bite-sized pieces of useful information—a book for busy people undertaking the monumental challenge of building or overhauling a brand.

What did you learn working on this book?

RM: Creating a new edition of Designing Brand Identity is a massive undertaking: Over 150 two-page spreads, each with its own set of challenges, examples to source, and experts to consult. It means capturing, distilling, and organizing the collective wisdom of an industry, then sharing it back in an easily digestible format. Doing so forced me to gain a deeper understanding of some topics and learn about others for the first time. Alina’s assertion that “no one does it alone” is more than a statement of fact—it’s a mindset. It’s been an honor to work with Alina on this iconic book. Doing so gave me a front-row seat to the impact she’s had on the lives and careers of so many people in our industry. Time and again, senior executives and acclaimed designers would jump at the opportunity to contribute to the new edition—not only because they relied on this book early in their careers (many of them did) but because of how giving Alina is with her time, attention, and expertise. I’m certainly not new to collaborating, networking, or community building, but working with Alina on this book has been a master class.

What’s next for Designing Brand Identity?

I reached out to Rob, curious to hear his perspective on leading the way forward as he takes the helm.

What do you believe have been the most significant changes in the branding landscape in the last 20 years, and how have these changes influenced the updates in the sixth edition?

RM: In some ways, it feels like everything has changed. When the first edition was published, none of us had heard of an iPhone or Twitter, and most of us had never heard the name Barack Obama. And changes like these—in technology, culture, and elsewhere—have had immeasurable changes in how we build and manage brands. Meanwhile, branding professionals and academics continue to advance the thinking on how marketing and branding work. Every edition delves into relevant topics, updates best practices, and provides fresh examples and case studies. For example, in this edition, we added information about AI, evidence-based marketing, and how brands responded to the murder of George Floyd.

We added a two-page spread on social justice, which shows examples of how brands have stood up for social justice, provides dos and don’ts, and highlights some of the brands that changed their names or logos in the wake of George Floyd’s (2020) murder. We also added over 50 new case studies in this edition—the first time since the first edition that the book has had a full refresh on case studies—and aimed to highlight some environmentally friendly and socially responsible brands. Brands featured in the case studies include nonprofits, fully electric cars, reusable packaging, and even a sustainable alternative to cemeteries.

What are some of the most compelling case studies or examples included in the sixth edition?

RM: Of the 800+ images, diagrams, and examples of brand touchpoints in this edition, over 75% of which are new, it’s tough to choose favorites. What I like most is the diversity of work highlighted in this edition—and I mean “diversity” in just about every sense of that word. Big, famous brands, like Pepsi and Nike, and smaller, local brands, like a convenience store in Costa Rica. Work from every continent. From well-known agencies like Pentagram and COLLINS to boutique agencies. B2C and B2B. For-profit and nonprofit. We wanted to show a range, and I think we succeeded.

Why do you believe Alina Wheeler’s impact continues to resonate with today’s brand strategists and designers?

RM: Alina’s known globally as the author of Designing Brand Identity, and of course, that book has had—and will continue to have—a huge impact on branding professionals everywhere. (As an example, Alex Center of CENTER says it’s “the book that first taught me how to build brands.”) But, Alina made a significant impact even before she wrote the book as a female agency founder, a founding member of AIGA Philadelphia, and an advisor and mentor to countless agencies and young professionals around the world. And those who had the chance to meet her personally will remember her generosity, humility, wisdom, and humor. She loved helping people in their careers, she was passionate about design and branding, and she was optimistic about the future. In many ways, Designing Brand Identity is just an extension of those traits.

Anyone working on future editions of this book should constantly be asking themselves, “What would Alina do?” We’ll do our best to make some of her ideas a reality, and I think she’d love to know that we’re continuing to push the envelope. She wouldn’t have had it any other way.
—Rob Meyerson

Thanks to Alina Wheeler for her monumental contributions to the branding world, which continue to inspire and guide us. And here’s to the next chapter of Designing Brand Identity — I’m looking forward to what comes!

What do you want to see from Designing Brand Identity in the future? Sign up at dbibook.com/news to send feedback and stay in the loop on future plans.

The post The Enduring Legacy of Alina Wheeler’s ‘Designing Brand Identity’ appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

In 1999, we looked ahead to the new millennium. Concerns about a Y2K bug were kicking around. The Matrix was winning at the box office, and The X-Files and The Sopranos were at the height of their popularity. Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator were becoming industry standards, and creativity was thriving across all disciplines.

1999 was also the second year of the PRINT New Visual Artists showcase. Launched the prior year as a way for the PRINT editorial team to seek out and identify emerging visual artists from around the world, the inaugural class included an impressive list of designers, including Michael Braley. Five years earlier, Braley had graduated from Iowa State and was working at Cahan & Associates, looking ahead to his burgeoning career.

I knew I wanted to be in San Francisco. I loved the city and its creative pulse. After a few years, in which I was lucky to work with Stone Yamashita and then Elixir Design, I landed at Cahan & Associates where I worked on projects ranging from brand identity to packaging to annual reports.

Michael Braley, 2024

Trimble Newsletter | Stone Yamashita; Seeing Jazz Book Cover | Elixir Design; 1997 Annual Report Design for COR Therapeutics | Cahan & Associates

I always believed it was important to be recognized especially as a young designer. I remember going to interviews with my big black portfolio, which had a side pocket with the magazines in which I had been featured and Post-it notes marking the pages with my work. Bill (Cahan) also knew the value of award recognition. (I think he’s won thousands in his career). So, when I asked him to endorse me for the PRINT New Visual Artist showcase, he said an enthusiastic yes!

Michael Braley, 2024

Sappi Ideas that Matter Tenth Anniversary Promotion

After twelve years in San Francisco and being in demand, Braley worked for a time at VSA Partners before relocating to Kentucky. His business, Braley Design, has been flourishing for thirty-one years.

Braley, known for his clear, simple, and impactful work, has a mantra: communicate immediately and aim for seamless integration between form and content. His work has been recognized internationally and is in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, the Denver Art Museum, the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe (Art and Design) in Hamburg, Finland’s Lahti Poster Museum, and The Museum of the Marie Curie-Skłodowska University, in Lublin, Poland.

Poster Designs by Michael Braley

I still believe that it’s important to put yourself out there to your colleagues, peers and potential clients. When you’re young, it’s all about carving a path for yourself and finding your place in the creative landscape. For me, participating in competitions is about being exposed to new techniques and ideas so that my work remains relevant and being inspired so that I can always find the joy in design.

Michael Braley, 2024

Brand Identity and Catalog Design for United States International Poster Biennial 2023

Do you want to share your skill, talent, and joy? Do you believe your work has longevity? Inspire others to follow your path by entering the 2024 PRINT New Visual Artists showcase!

Featured Image – Book Design for The Woven Perspective, The Work of Photographer Jock MacDonald

The post A Look Back with Michael Braley, NVA Class of 1999 appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

Aimed at Gen Y (you know them as Millennials) fashion and streetwear enthusiasts, Lazy Tuesdays hits the mid-market sweet spot. In an industry crowded with extremes—from the body positivity-wellness crowd to the hardcore fitness fanatics—Lazy Tuesdays found its groove. Bald’s big idea? An athleisure brand that says, “Hey, it’s okay to just be.” No pressure, no fuss—just high-quality gear that fits seamlessly into everyday life. It’s all about enjoying the pause and appreciating life without the rush.

I reached out to Bald founder and CEO Hillel Hurwitz to learn more about this athleisure weekday revolution. Our conversation is below (lightly edited for length and clarity).

Can you walk us through the initial strategic discussions and brainstorming sessions that led to Lazy Tuesday’s unique positioning and naming?

We received an open brief with the main goal of making the brand ownable and fresh. Instead of kicking off with a deep dive into our target audience, we decided first to explore the competitive landscape. Our team included a strategist with a fashion background from Parsons. We connected with change-makers in the industry, and what we found was an oversaturated market where every brand seemed to be selling the idea of ‘community’ in one of two ways: either through a blood, sweat, and tears motivational approach or through an overall wellness and health positivity lens. This discovery led us to a simple yet powerful insight: there is a gap in the market for an athleisure brand that doesn’t make exercise a statement but instead dedicates itself to the relief from it.

Once we nailed down the big idea of ‘just being,’ the name Lazy Tuesdays came naturally through our conversations because it captured the essence of relaxation and balance we envision for the brand

What strategies did you employ to ensure the brand’s positioning as a champion of ‘just being’ resonates in a sustainable and impactful way?

It’s right in the name. What other brand makes clothing for active people but calls themselves Lazy? This juxtaposition between the brand identity and who the brand serves is really what makes it so unique. And this comes down to collaboration at Bald. Our strategists and designers work closely together to be sure nothing gets lost as the idea moves from story to visual development. We take pride in threading the needle from strategy to creative to achieve consistency.

Our story informs the messaging, our messaging inspires the visual identity, and our visual identity leads the product design language. So, the customer feels like they are experiencing a cohesive brand that really knows who they are. 

What was the creative process behind the development of Lazy Tuesdays’ logo and visual identity?

At the heart of the brand is the irony driven by the name “Lazy Tuesdays.”  It epitomizes the harmony between hard work and relaxation. This duality drove our design approach, leading us to select two contrasting typefaces:  Fabiola Script, symbolizing ease and fluidity, and TWK Everett, representing structure and hard work. This pairing highlights that working hard and enjoying life aren’t mutually exclusive, but complementary.

The clover flower emblem we incorporated adds another layer of meaning. Inspired by nature’s resilience, it symbolizes growth, vitality, and the interconnection of life’s journeys. This emblem is woven into every piece of our athleisure wear, blending the spirit of the outdoors with the spirit of balance, all while celebrating moments of relaxation.

Our visual identity is a harmonious blend of contrasts that conveys the core values, creating a powerful ethos of ‘working hard… so you can relax harder.’

What consumer behaviors or trends did you consider in crafting Lazy Tuesdays’ messaging and identity?

The athleisure market is crowded. We knew that to cut through the noise, we had to relieve the pressure often associated with athleisure clothing. Through research, we found that most people already have statement brands in their closets. What they truly desire is a brand that isn’t trying to be another statement like all the rest.

At Lazy Tuesdays, they view daily life itself as hard work enough. Instead of promoting the idea that hard work is only about monumental achievements and an unreal grind, we stand for the notion that hard work is handling your responsibilities and then taking a break. We want people to choose Lazy Tuesdays because the brand makes them feel content and fulfilled with who and how they are, not because it reminds them how much better, faster, and stronger they should be.

The messaging is grounded in optimism and fulfillment, avoiding the trap of overwhelming customers with grandiose ideas. While community has been a dominant trend recently, we believe people crave balance. They don’t want the pressure of representing a polarizing brand every time they step out. We all have a clear image of a “Gymshark bro” or an “Alo girlie.” In contrast, Lazy Tuesdays is for those days when people don’t want to be boxed in by their clothing. They want simple, reliable basics from a brand that lets them be themselves.

What challenges did you face while bringing Lazy Tuesdays to life? Were there any unexpected insights or pivots that significantly shaped the outcome?

Every branding project has unique challenges, and Lazy Tuesdays was no exception. One of our biggest hurdles was the tight timeline. We transformed an open brief from an idea in the founder’s mind into a full-fledged brand in less than 90 days. This required a lean, agile team that was deeply involved in every step of the process, as we simply couldn’t afford any delays.

What was your favorite part of working on this project?

Fashion, fashion, fashion. Even though Lazy Tuesdays has a bit of an anti-fashion vibe, we absolutely love the fashion space. Several of our creatives come from fashion school and industry backgrounds, so this project was a perfect playground for us. We always enjoy the opportunity to stretch our creative and strategic muscles in all directions, but there’s something special about working in hyper-creative industries where we can move with fluidity and without strict rules.

Imagery courtesy of Bald.

The post Bald’s Branding for Lazy Tuesdays Makes “Just Being” Fashionable appeared first on PRINT Magazine.