And yet, for this year’s Kentucky Derby held in early May, partner and official hard seltzer of the Derby, White Claw, teamed up with the designer brand Homme+Femme and VCCP for an exclusive Kentucky Derby Collection. The main attraction in this collection is undoubtedly the White Claw-inspired windbreaker, dubbed the Clawbreaker, designed in two vibrant colorways.

We found inspiration in the heritage and vibrance of the iconic jockey silks. As a brand rooted in spontaneity, we look for the freshest spin on whatever we do. Exploring what a White Claw silk would look like led us to The Clawbreaker.

Gianmaria Schonlieb, Group Creative Director at VCCP

“We wanted to do something that celebrated the tradition of the Derby but also had our own White Claw spin,” Group Creative Director at VCCP, Gianmaria Schonlieb, said about the Clawbreaker development process. “We found inspiration in the heritage and vibrance of the iconic jockey silks. As a brand rooted in spontaneity, we look for the freshest spin on whatever we do. Exploring what a White Claw silk would look like led us to The Clawbreaker.”

While the fashion associated with the 150-year-old horse race might be a bit stuffy, The Clawbreaker is anything but, though it still harkens to traditional Derby motifs. “We wanted to stay true to ourselves while celebrating The 150th Kentucky Derby,” explained Schonlieb. “We designed this jacket with our brand ethos in mind. It’s designed to be both fashionable and functional, with the structure of the jacket reminiscent of an elevated jockey silk. We used bold colors from our hard seltzer flavors for the reimagined patterns. We incorporated embroidery and patchwork that nods to the legacy of the Derby and White Claw.”

The two colorways took inspiration from the Mango, Black Cherry, Blackberry, and Natural Lime White Claw flavors, chosen with the authenticity of Homme+Femme and jockey silks top of mind. “White Claw” is emblazoned on the back of each in the brand typeface, with detailed patches sewn on the front for added flair. “The patches nod to celebrating the 150th Kentucky Derby,” said Schonlieb. “It’s a unique way to inject the brand into a garment.”

The Clawbreaker provides White Claw’s avid consumer base with a fun and distinctive way to show their White Claw love, all while looking pretty spiffy in the process. “We created a garment that sits at the intersection of fashion, a cultural moment like the Kentucky Derby, and our fans’ love for the brand,” added Schonlieb.

White Claw lovers 21 and older can purchase their very own Clawbreaker for $150 to honor 150 years of Kentucky Derby fashion while supplies last.

Brahma, a Brazilian beer brand, had an idea.

In preparation for Carnival in Rio earlier this year, Brahma created a cell phone that partiers would be okay with breaking or losing. As the Carnival’s biggest sponsor, Brahma took on the challenge of preserving the carefree revelry inherent to the festival by devising a phone stripped down to just the essentials— the ability to call and SMS text, a GPS and transportation app, as well as an 8-megapixel camera. “This innovation lets party-seekers leave their high-tech worries behind, ensuring the celebratory spirit remains unbroken,” the brand shared in a statement.

Brahma leaned into the comedy of the Brahma Phone concept in their marketing campaign, playing up that the phone is bare bones and undesirable, and that’s the whole point. “Meet ‘Brahma Phone’: A phone created by a brand who understands everything about Carnival and nothing about cell phones,” they proclaim. “We thought of a phone that is so bad, with only the features that no one would want to steal,” said Nicholas Bergantin, co-CCO of the São Paulo-based creative agency Africa Creative, who worked with Brahma on the campaign.

“Brahma is more than a beer; it’s a brand that solves real problems for those eager to celebrate life fully,” elaborated Sergio Gordilho, Co-President and CCO of Africa Creative. “This project perfectly encapsulates our approach to meaningful engagement with our consumers.” And engaged they are! The Brahma Phone has proven to be a major success as the most viral Carnival brand action of the year and is becoming a festival must-have.

Bolstered by this initial success, the Brahma Phone initiative is poised to spread far beyond Brazil and Carnival. Brahma and Africa Creative are keen on sharing the Brahma Phone with attendees of other events similar to Carnival, where phone theft can kill the buzz. Brahma’s mission to problem-solve, exemplified by the Brahma Phone, is just revving up; they want to continue enhancing audiences’ experiences with innovations that prioritize letting go, simplicity, and the essence of celebration.

“I’ve always been working towards a world in which design for people, design for good, and inclusive design is just good design,” said Young, design researcher and acting chair of the MFA Interaction Design program at SVA. For decades thought leaders have been working to pinpoint the future of good design–and educators have been simply trying to keep up. Now they’re shaping the future themselves. This year, Young collaborated with Pinar Guvenc, partner at the award-winning global design firm SOUR, to construct the first year-long, graduate-level Inclusive Design course in the United States.

Designed to train the next generation of strategic, collaborative, thoughtful, and yes, inclusive designers, Inclusive Design I & II is SVA’s response to corporate reconstruction across industries. Since November 2023, interaction has seen mass layoffs from design leaders like IDEO and technology mega-companies including Google and Microsoft, citing “weak consumer demand.” 

There is demand, just not for their products. People with disabilities hold about $490b in purchasing power in the United States, while 68% of Gen Z prioritizes sustainable shopping. With these two groups holding consumer power, organizations have come to understand that corporate sustainability means social responsibility. Solutions are scarce, as design and tech hemorrhage capital in search of a new ‘new normal.’ 

With an undefined future, the leadership at MFA Interaction Design chose to focus on the only two constants in design — people and their problems. “Every designer is a social impact designer,” said Young. “Whether they like it or not, they’re having an impact on society and people.” 

Instilling inclusion, co-creation, and engagement into design processes may provide the necessary salve to these wounds, setting a strong foundation for our future. It’s the curb cut effect when a design created for a few changes the lives of many. Think of the touch screen on your trusty smartphone, rubber grips on vegetable peelers, or closed captioning; all universal products initially designed with the disabled community in mind. “If you’re not co-creating with people, what you’re putting out there is not going to stick or it’s not going to last, and therefore it’s not going to sustain,” said Guvenc.

Initially designed in two parts stretching over the second year of the MFA program, the course starts slow—painfully slow. Much of Inclusive Design I is spent slowing down, observing, deepening vocabulary, and unlearning traditional design processes. The MFA program defines inclusive design as designing with, not for, communities we aim to serve, recognizing that lived experiences are equally as important as professional expertise. The first few classes are simple yet complex, differentiating inclusive from accessible, universal, or equitable design and exploring what it means to actively invite participants into the process as co-designers. 

“Every designer is a social impact designer. Whether they like it or not, they’re having an impact on society and people. 

Adriana Valdez Young, design researcher and acting chair of SVA’s MFA Interaction Design program

From early January to May 2024, the second-year students in Inclusive Design II were given the mammoth task of redesigning their studio bathrooms. Though interaction design is often seen as a technological field, SVA broadens this definition to include the vast system of networks, services, narratives, products, and experiences shaping our daily lives. “Inclusion, where it differs from accessibility, is not necessarily concerned about the baseline axis,” said Guvenc. “It is concerned about the entire journey and the experience.” Because of this, the faculty chose to focus on a physical, universal human experience to frame the class project in the course’s pilot year.

Left: First-year students celebrate at the DesignIt headquarters with experience designer Brooke Viegut following an expedition throughout New York City; Right: Pinar Guvenc (left) moderates a talk with Jade McDonnough (center) and Marshall Sitten (right) about practicing inclusion as designers and creatives.

This initial class has proven to be a fruitful struggle. Designing for inclusion is a complex, intentional process, filled with co-creation, value-setting, shifting mindsets, community research, and detailed prototyping. As students began conducting anonymous surveys, Guvenc and Young found the emerging designers stuck in habitual thinking and linear processes; many of the students’ first drafts included problematic language and ableist assumptions. Several final prototypes raised an eyebrow, including one with signage depicting a male and female icon perpetuating the gender binary.

“These deeply ingrained mindsets and habits take time to break,” said Young. “For me, it’s about being patient; knowing that we have planted the seed and that seed might sprout later in their design careers.”

The students’ thinking evolved greatly, even if there wasn’t a sharp pivot in their work this year. “Inclusive design is a mindset I can keep with myself, in all types of design,” said Fan Fang, product designer and soon-to-be MFA Interaction Design graduate. “[The course] helped me learn how to decentralize my role as a designer.” Fan Fang’s thesis project focuses on democratizing gaming for those who are visually impaired, designing a tactile controller for blind people to play video games and access information traditionally only visually available. Other graduate projects this year range from apps embracing generative AI to nurture critical thinking for middle schoolers (ThinkKee by Amogh Gharpure), creating a better experience for people with mobility impairments to navigate ride-share platforms in New York City (Unit by Jennie Yang), to tools supporting young people in learning to care for their hands and prevent chronic injury from extensive technology use (Handy by Mihira Patel). 

Under Young’s leadership, the MFA Interaction Design program is turning the needle toward crafting more inclusive designers. Across courses, from entrepreneurial design to game design, students have been tasked with prioritizing ethics and inclusive values, asking them to go deeper into the same projects with these contexts in mind. This year the thesis project requirements have been redesigned to include community engagement, video stories, and a detailed body of work consisting of at least three different design prototypes addressing each student’s research, deepening their understanding of design and its impact. 

If you’re not co-creating with people, what you’re putting out there is not going to stick or it’s not going to last, and therefore it’s not going to sustain.

Pinar Guvenc, partner at SOUR

Looking to the future of the program, Young and Guvenc are hopeful. Inclusive design is still in its early stages as common practice, but its impact is clear. As Black Lives Matter invigorated new diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in leadership, and the deadline for the 2025 European Accessibility Act looms, companies have a need for lower and mid-level employees who bring a thoughtful lens to their work. “I feel like there was this portal that opened to making inclusive, accessible, and community-centered design this new norm,” said Young, “and we’re jumping through this portal to help future-proof our students.” Beyond future-proofing students, inclusive design just might be the key to future-proofing our world; we’ll just have to wait and see.

co-24: MFA Interaction Design Thesis Exhibition, a walk-through exhibition of works by 21 emergent designers exploring the themes of collaboration, connection, compassion, and construction towards a more intentionally inclusive future. May 16-17, 136 W. 21st St. RSVP here to attend.

Brooke Viegut is a narrative-driven experience designer, audience-centric theater maker, design critic, live entertainment researcher, donut connoisseur, cultural producer, collector of silly little things, and the creative lead at for.play. She is the author of Anonymous Intimacy (coming 2024) and holds an MA in Design Research, Writing, and Criticism from the School of Visual Arts.

Header: a snapshot of a tabletop at MFA Interaction Design filled with inclusive design tools and inspiration. Photo by Adriana Valdez Young.

Lowrider culture is far from specific to Los Angeles, with vibrant pockets represented around the country. The nonprofit lowrider organization Slow & Low recently published a retrospective book of the same title, the first formal documentation of the lowrider community in Chicago. In partnership with Nick Adam’s team at the design studio Span, Slow & Low was created with the utmost thought and care to showcase the photographic archive of twelve years of the nonprofit’s events and festivals. In addition to its gorgeous and vibrant imagery, the book features essays from Slow & Low co-founder and curator Lauren M. Pacheco and ethnographer, cultural critic, and professor Dr. Ben Chappell.

Span took on the design of Slow & Low with the imperative that every detail and aspect of the book must somehow reflect lowrider culture. They worked closely with Pacheco and her co-founder, Peter Kepha, to ensure they achieved this, from the editorial considerations to the page layouts and materials.

The book’s grid, for example, creates an elaborate page sequencing system that balances variation and repetition, creating perspective shifts and contextual relationships. From page to page, the photo compositions create a filmic cadence where motion, zooming, and surrounding angles evoke the sensation of cruising.

Lowrider culture is about far more than cars, and Slow & Low aptly reflects that. Beloved community photographers shot the 112-page photo archive presented throughout the book with a firsthand understanding of the culture, offering an intimate and authentic insider’s perspective. The range of photos depicts lowriding as a way for individuals and the community to have a voice of creativity and pride, featuring waving Mexican flags, airbrushed Aztec symbols, and folklórico performances in the background, to name a few.

The photos have been curated and sequenced by Span and then printed in full color with a spot gloss varnish on high-gloss coated paper. This meticulous process better reflects the look of the candy-colored cars on display, a nod to the vibrant aesthetics of lowrider culture. The effect also feels like a family photo album. The book’s front and back are printed with silver ink on natural paper to contrast the glossiness of the photos. The silver ink has a reflective quality inspired by the engraved chrome of lowrider cars and viclas.

The book’s body copy is set in Canela, designed by Miguel Reyes at Commercial Type. Each column of the Canela text baselines to the bottom of the page and rises to hit different heights meant to represent the hydraulic bounce of a lowrider. The display type is Respira, designed by Lucas Sharp with Wei Huang at Sharp Type. Respira was inspired by blackletter, which is a signature lettering style in lowrider and Chicano cultures.

Meanwhile, the Slow & Low front and back covers also feature the blackletter style, stamped in white foil on a black textile texture. The form is reminiscent of the letter-based tattoos that read top-to-bottom on many forearms within the lowrider community. This style also pays homage to the way churches often depict text, given the importance of faith within those in the lowrider community.

The book is stitched with myth-sewn binding to open flat, allowing you to immerse yourself in each photo fully. It concludes with a series of 360 silver ink photo booth photos featuring over 1,000 members of Chicago’s lowrider community, all taken at the 2022 Slow & Low festival at Navy Pier.

Concept, Design Direction, Design, Content Collection & Curation: Nick Adam

Design: Grace Song and Cheryl Kao

Printing: OGM

Writers: Lauren M. Pacheco and Dr. Ben Chappell

Curators: Lauren M. Pacheco, Peter Kepha, and Edward Magico Calderon

Photographers: Carmen Ordonez, Carolina Sánchez, Don’t Get Shot, Edward Magico Calderon, Fernando Ruiz, Katrina Nelken, Manuel Lagunas, Manuel Velasco, Max Herman, Mike Pocious, Nick Lipton, Peter Kepha, Sebastián Hildalgo, and Nick Adam

The rise of streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Apple TV has catalyzed a (New) Golden Age of TV: episodic shows have become more poignant, more engaging, slicker than ever, and more nuanced—honing in on pinpoint cultures and subcultures.

The best of these programs (think Succession, Severance, The White Lotus, Shōgun, The Handmaid’s Tale, Fleabag, The Bear, Beef, and on and on) take cues from the world of cinema and demonstrate a new approach to craft and detail. When we get an ad break, however, people are all too often served generic, cookie-cutter promos that viewers understandably look to mute or skip. Essentially, it is the worst of what we as an industry create.

Given the abundance of talent working in the industry, it’s surprising that the ads surrounding today’s culture-defining shows fall far short. Undoubtedly, those who direct and conceptualize these spots have the ability, talent, and storytelling skills. With streaming now representing over 38% of all TV usage—why the lackluster commercials on streaming platforms?

I’m not looking to start a debate (well, maybe I am!), but the best we collectively have to offer shouldn’t be celebrated by a select few only on the festival circuit. Our most stellar work should delight, entice, and educate in living rooms and bedrooms all year round.

Surely, this is also a debate for the media buyers amongst us, but essentially, audiences are smart, and the quality of what we consume has increased over the past decade (contrary to what David Chase, creator of the greatest show of all time, The Sopranos, has recently said about the decline of episodic content). So, let’s give them the best of what we as an industry have to offer.

Netflix’s optional ad-supported plan, launched in 2022, has amassed 15 million users. Prime Video launched ads this year, and we’ve all read the speculation that even Apple TV+ is now poised to do the same. Safe to say, streamers are increasingly moving towards ad-supported services.

We all know about the Super Bowl effect: the connection between ads and the game transcends inside-industry chat and gets everyone talking about mega-budgets and celebrity brand collabs. But let’s be honest: Are these ads even as great as they once were?

Having been at “industry” Super Bowl parties for the past decade or more, I can assure you it’s not my opinion alone that fewer creative risks have been taken in recent years relying on believed-to-be-proven formulas, often using the same voices who have been directing these spectacle spots for the past decade. Why? Because they seem like the “safe choice.” Many of these ads are good, don’t get me wrong, but are they great?

There’s something we all know: we should be making more great work.

These formulas have become tired and expected, and by using the same directors, the spots generated are frequently obvious and, even worse, predictable. Some get it right; the folks at Highdive come to mind, and my synapses also fire to CeraVe (from Ogilvy and Tim & Eric) and even Tubi out of Mischief.

To go way back, those wonderful Tide ads directed by Traktor and Saatchi & Saatchi are the best semi-recent examples where delight, surprise, craft, cleverness, and inventiveness ruled the day. But I digress. Super Bowl rant aside, we can’t overlook the 529 million viewing minutes achieved by Ted Lasso’s final episode alone. Essentially, the best of what we make should be seen and celebrated on the Super Bowl and streamers alike, but candidly, there’s something we all know: we should be making more great work.

It’s not just streaming viewing figures (quantity) that should be luring brands to strive for creative excellence; it’s also the distinct mindset (quality) of those tuning in. Take Euphoria, a show that’s authentic, raw, and emotive and delivers a viewing experience that resonates at the core. Audiences of shows this good are in a state of heightened emotion, receptive in a way they arguably never have been before.

Epic cinema ads like we used to see would feel very at home on streamers; here are a few other ways to kick-start progress:

Push for greater transparency from streamers: Nielsen has started reporting streaming figures much as it does for linear TV. Additionally, in December, Netflix released a report that shared global hours viewed for nearly its entire library over a six-month period, its most comprehensive breakdown of viewership yet. The writers’ strike has also helped to galvanize change and transparency. Let’s build on this momentum by continuing the push for greater clarity around reporting.

Create narratives: Let’s tap into episodic advertising’s storytelling potential. Consider sequential campaigns that take viewers on an emotional journey they’ll want to invest in.

Don’t go for the safe choice: Invest in pushing the boundaries of creative work; as a rule of thumb, don’t create anything for streamers (or anywhere else) that you wouldn’t be proud to air on linear TV or even during the Super Bowl. Push harder conceptually and take more risks.

Embrace thematic alignment: Some posit that if advertising is high enough quality, it risks disrupting the program itself. Advertisers should rise to this challenge, creating ads so well-made that they enhance the viewing experience. Matching ad themes to the content will tap audiences’ unique emotional state when watching beloved shows.

Brands and beyond: Considering public service announcement films (PSAs), let’s tie them into the content of shows to reach the audiences who need to see them with relevant, targeted, unskippable films. Fentanyl’s rise, for example, is a monstrous and disastrous issue in the US and abroad. A PSA-esque ad for Narcan during Euphoria would save lives.

If we align as an industry to address the mismatch in quality between the majority of ads on streaming platforms and the incredible shows they house, we’ll start a virtuous cycle of more channels, more opportunities, and, in turn, continuously better creative work. We’ll also push back the perceived threats of AI, for example.

In this golden age of TV, it’s time to take cues from the cream of episodic content and create adverts that get people talking, not muting.

Images created by Sibling Rivalry.

The company recently reached another important milestone by expanding its mental health services. Ginger, a licensed medical provider group with a nationwide network of psychiatrists, therapists, and behavioral health coaches, has rebranded to Headspace Care and will operate under the brand umbrella.

With broader offerings beyond meditation and breathing exercises, Headspace has also initiated a brand refresh. The rebranding effort was a collaboration between in-house teams and Italic Studio, with Colophon Foundry creating a new custom typeface called a “Headspace-ified version” of their Aperçu typeface. This font was chosen for its ability to transition from a playful to a clinical voice, aligning with Headspace’s expansion into diverse health markets.

The new typeface reflects the brand’s ethos, balancing playfulness with functionality and incorporating curves reminiscent of the Headspace smile. The brand’s illustrative and animated identity remains prominent, now featuring a more comprehensive range of facial expressions to convey various emotions.

The updated color palette retains the signature orange while introducing complementary colors to represent a range of human emotions. The design team addressed accessibility considerations to ensure optimal contrast and color combinations. These vibrant colors contrast with the conventional blues and greys in the mental healthcare space, making Headspace visually distinctive and uplifting.

In mental healthcare, strong brand engagement is the first step to generating better outcomes and reducing costs. Expanding the Headspace brand across our full portfolio of content, programs, and services is a powerful catalyst to reduce stigma and guide our members towards a lifelong journey of better mental health.

Christine Evans, president of Headspace

Headspace’s ongoing evolution and expansion aims to meet the escalating demand for mental health support. Among the notable brand enhancements are:

Streamlined Care Experience: Ginger app users can seamlessly transition to the Headspace Care app, offering a reimagined platform for coaching, therapy, and psychiatry support.

New Therapeutic Content: Headspace will introduce guided programs focusing on sleep improvement and stress management, grounded in evidence-based practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness. These programs join the existing library of mindfulness and meditation content.

Unified App Experience: As of January 2024, Headspace offers corporate clients and members access to a comprehensive suite of mental health resources within a single app. This integrated approach encompasses mindfulness resources, coaching, therapy, psychiatry, and work-life services, ensuring holistic support tailored to individual needs.

Leslie Witt, Headspace’s Chief Product and Design Officer, underscores the company’s commitment to simplifying access to mental healthcare. By providing continuity and personalization of care, Headspace aims to alleviate the burden often associated with navigating the fragmented mental health landscape.

“So much of our mental healthcare system is siloed and episodic, leaving those seeking help with the added challenge of figuring out the type of care they need, what providers are available, let alone where they can turn for everyday support,” said Witt. “Our goal is to alleviate that burden by creating a seamless, highly personalized spectrum of care – with care concierge services available 24/7 – so people can access in-the-moment mental health care that’s tailored to them no matter where they are on their journey, or how acute their needs.”

The changes are presented visually in a way that stays true to the brand’s identity — an excellent example of how personal services can become more professional while remaining true to their essence. The idea that a brand can make solving real problems feel comfortable and approachable shines through; Headspace hopes this approach “can help destigmatise seeking care by making talking about mental health feel approachable and normalised.” As Headspace reimagines mental healthcare, the expanded offerings and a refreshed brand signal a new era of accessibility and empowerment in the quest for lifelong mental well-being.

Imagery courtesy of Headspace: Headspace rebrand, design support by Italic Studio, custom typeface by Colophon Type Foundry, brand guidelines by Order developed on Standards (Copyright © Headspace, 2024)

That’s why when I came upon photos of the new RIXO location in the Marylebone neighborhood of London, I was instantly captivated and had to learn more about the unique design concept and those behind it.

RIXO is a contemporary clothing boutique specializing in bohemian sundresses and vibrant prints. Their new Marylebone location brings the whimsical energy of their clothing to life, with brightly colored architectural motifs organically illustrated all over its otherwise crisp white walls. The saturated color palette and hand-drawn line quality create a pop-art-like look, infusing the space with a playful take on classical design elements. Illustrator Sam Wood developed this aesthetic in partnership with the design studio Cúpla, helmed by Gemma McCloskey. I reached out to Wood and McCloskey to learn more about the process behind their design concept and what it was like bringing such a fresh take on retail space to fruition.

(This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

What was the development process like for this distinct store design concept?

Sam Wood: The initial process was driven by Gemma. She approached me after seeing some of my work with Claridge’s and other clients in the UK and asked me to devise something bold and colorful that told the story of RIXO in a distinctly new way.

GM: When I first stumbled across Sam’s Instagram page, his use of color felt really bright and fresh alongside his beautiful, fluid style. I knew instantly Sam would be perfect for the new Marylebone RIXO; his handwriting lent itself to enveloping the whole space while still allowing it to breathe.

SW: After I had taken a look at the other RIXO stores and got a feel for their story, it was a pleasure to bring something of Marylebone to the space and interpret that in my own line. I spend a lot of time in the area because a local gallery I work with is down the road, so I’m always roaming about looking at the mishmash of architecture from Gothic Revival (which was the basis of the alcoves) to Neoclassical (which was the basis for the floral details). I hope the eventual style reflects the multiplicity of the area and is a playful reference to how I see things existing alongside each other.

What was the rest of the collaboration process like?

GM: We had an initial meeting where I discussed the concept, design, and materials being used in the space. One of the threads from our concept for Marylebone was this nod to classical London architecture; therefore, creating illustrated paneling with a whiff of Jean Cocteau was the foundation of the design. Within this framework, it was important to give Sam the breathing space to be creative, and it was exciting seeing him embrace the concept and bring his own stamp to the design. 

Once we had reached the final internal designs, we decided we needed to use these on the external windows to fully embrace the concept. When Sam was actually onsite doing the mural, it was a very fluid process, and we would discuss colors and tweak a few things with the benefit of actually being in the space. We also added in some of the pendants which sit centrally in the space and look great.

Did you first map out the design digitally and then bring it to life on the store walls? What was it like free-handing the motifs? Nerve-wracking, exhilarating?  

SW: I am a stickler for being analogue early on; I work on full-scale drawings on paper, which gives me an idea of how the motifs will work at scale as well as the tones and quality of line. The client does not always see these, but they are an essential part of how I conceive of a design and have the confidence to execute it. After this, I can mark up the digital renders to hone the design so the client can get a full idea of the vision.

A great deal of forward planning and preparatory drawing goes into making sure that when I put the pen on the wall, it’s all where it should be. That’s an essential collaborative exercise, in this instance, with Gemma, who was fantastic to work with. Building sites are often chaotic places, which is a far cry from my day-to-day in the studio, so yes, it’s a heart-in-mouth moment every time with the first mark on the wall, but I do get a kick out of it!

Is this markers-on-walls technique a style you’ve done before? Or was it specially created and executed for this particular project?  

SW: I’ve used Posca markers for years in various contexts, they have such a nice uniformity of tone, which is ideal for bringing to life a design which needs to keep its clarity and “poppyness.” I used them for the first time in a mural context last year for Bryan O’Sullivan Studio, painting a celestial ceiling which is still on show in their gallery on Brook Street Mayfair.

Ordinarily I use a brush and acrylic when doing murals, so it was fun to what is possible with these works in the medium.

How did you feel at the end of the process after drawing your last line, stepping back, and seeing the completed store? 

SW: It’s always a moment of thinking, “Is it finished now?” There’s always the possibility of another line, filling out this corner, or changing that line. I habitually look for flaws in a work, and the “finished product” is always an opportunity to see how everything has worked together. It’s a strange feeling to hand the thing over— after a couple of days of the room being yours, it now belongs to the client and, of course, the public, who interprets it in their own way. That’s why I love working so spatially— the works sometimes divide people, but once I’m finished, that’s down to the viewers.

What sort of experience do you hope shoppers have when stepping into this RIXO store? What sensations do you hope they feel as they move about the space you all created? 

SW: So much of what I do is about storytelling and creating places where people can escape in some way. Here, the murals are front and center in the design and are a key part of the store’s identity. I hope anyone coming into the space gets a sense of the layers of detail that go into evoking the story that RIXO wants to tell, as well as how my own journey as an artist marries with that.

GM: We want the shoppers to feel invited like they’re stepping into someone’s living room at home. We didn’t want a sterile interior, which can sometimes be intimidating for a shopper. There is also a sense of escapism with the store, which we hope the customers find uplifting.

Unbeknownst to Airbnb at the time, this concept was just the beginning of what would become the company’s newest category and most impressive endeavor yet: Icons.

After the success of the Blockbuster experience, Airbnb pushed this idea of world-building even further by making the Home Alone House bookable on the site and bringing the Barbie Malibu DreamHouse to life last summer. They’ve gone all-in on bringing imagined worlds into reality, launching the first 11 new Icons experiences this week.

“Airbnb’s DNA has always been about inviting people into other people’s worlds,” Global Head of Marketing for Airbnb, Hiroki Asai, told me. “In the beginning, it was sharing homes, and then it became submarines and tugboats and castles, and you really came to Airbnb because you had this world opened up to you. So it was natural for the Barbie house and the Home Alone house to be listed, and I think what struck a chord is people got to participate in these imaginary worlds. That was the impetus for all of this.”

At a celebratory affair in sunny Los Angeles on May 1, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky proudly presented each of the 11 Icons, which he said have been a decade in the making. And you can see why. Each concept is impressive enough, but the execution to bring the experiences to life reaches a new level of audaciousness. “Magic is not limited to our imagination,” Chesky said triumphantly to an awe-inspired crowd as he walked us through each Icon. “Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination until now.”

The Up! House

At the Icons launch event, it was clear that the Up! house was the room’s favorite—and not just because the house itself was on-site for us to tour. This recreation is an exact replica of the house from the movie, down to the most minuscule detail. “We even had to create our own rust!” Chesky said of the antiquing effect his team created for a zeppelin toy on the mantle.

“We built the house down to its specific Pantone colors and weathering of the shingles to make sure it looks exactly like what was in that film,” said Asai. “The whole house, down to the pill bottles inside and the photos in the hallway and the little chair that Carl rides up the stairs, it’s all reproduced exactly the same. The fireplace even has the ropes coming out of it that you can strum like a guitar, and it makes noise.” And what’s most impressive? This 40,000-pound structure, attached to 8,000 balloons, was built to float 50 feet above the ground in New Mexico. “If we’re going to create a world for Disney fans and Up! fans to come experience, we’re going to make that world as magical as possible,” said Asai.

The Musée d’Orsay

When I asked Asai if he had a favorite of these 11 Icons, he told me without hesitation that it was what the Airbnb team had created at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

This legendary art museum along the River Seine is one of the most historic buildings—a former train station—known for its two massive clocks. Airbnb worked with Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games torch and cauldron, to create a luxurious bedroom in the clock room.

Guests will spend a night at the museum, with private access to the Musée d’Orsay collection, including four of Van Gogh’s most famous works. The stay will also coincide with the Paris 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony, to be held along the River Seine just below the clock tower terrace.

The X-Mansion

Airbnb recreated the X-Mansion to look and feel like you’re stepping into a cartoon. They achieved this by working with artists to painstakingly paint black outlines along the furniture and objects in the house to create a 2D-animated effect. According to Chesky, each prop took over an hour to paint. There are well over 100 objects in the house.

The Ferrari Museum

At the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, Italy, Airbnb built a sleeping experience for those with a need for speed. The bed is crafted from the same leather as Ferrari seats and is surrounded by—you guessed it—Ferraris.

Prince’s Purple Rain House

Until now, the house Prince purchased in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the film Purple Rain has never been available to the public. Hosts Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman of Prince’s band The Revolution are opening the home’s doors for guests to spend the night in Prince’s restored bedroom from the movie and listen to unreleased Prince tracks.

Game with Khaby Lame

A handful of the Icons are less about the physical spaces and more about the incredible people with whom guests will interact. TikTok creator and gamer Khaby Lame is one such host who will spend the night with guests gaming and eating pizza at his home in Milan.

On Tour with Feid

Reggaeton sensation Feid is bringing guests along for the ride on his FERXXOCALIPSIS World Tour for an entire week. Guests will join the crew for rehearsals, ride along on the eye-catching tour bus that’s decked out with fuzzy green interiors, and get backstage access for every show.

Inside Out 2 Headquarters

To build excitement for the upcoming release of Pixar’s Inside Out 2, Airbnb has brought the famous headquarters of Riley’s emotions to life. Guests can sleep in what they’re calling a “dreamatorium.”

The Kapoor Family Home with Bollywood Star Janhvi Kapoor

Asai told me that the locales of the Icons were imperative, considering that cultural luminaries reside around the globe. “When you look at the icons of music and film and culture and art, they naturally sprout up from all over the globe and across all categories.” Janhvi Kapoor represents one of these cultures as a member of one of Bollywood’s most famous families. She is opening the Kapoor family home in Chennai, India, for the first time and will share her beauty secrets and favorite Southern Indian dishes.

“”From a business perspective, these icons allow us to talk to new audiences and stay relevant,” elaborated Asai. “In the case of someone like Jhanvi Kapoor or Feid, they allow us to talk to not only different generations of our guests but also totally different geographies.”

A Living Room Session with Doja Cat

This Icons experience is about getting intimate access to one of the music’s biggest names. Doja Cat will host a private living session for guests with songs from her latest album.

A Private Comedy Show with Kevin Hart

Superstar stand-up comic Kevin Hart typically performs for sell-out stadium crowds, but this Icons experience offers the opposite. Guests will have a private tequila tasting and comedy show with Hart at the Coramino Live Lounge, with the promise of some of his comedic friends stopping by for a set.

“What Airbnb stands for is human connection, and for us, that’s connection in the real world,” Asai said about the importance of creating physical spaces. “We don’t want to be a platform where people connect behind screens or in any other way except in real life. That’s what travel and sharing, and accommodation are all about: connecting in the real world. So, these experiences are about creating something in the real world, not virtual. But to do that, you have to build something amazing.”

When asked about the most rewarding part of working on a project of this magnitude, Asai told me it was seeing a decade of work from hundreds of people’s efforts finally come to fruition. “When you work on something this long with this many teams that are all working their hardest to do the right thing and the best quality thing that they can, it’s really rewarding to see it all come together,” he said. “Then when you show it to people that have never seen it before, and to be able to appreciate it for the first time through the eyes of someone new to it, it’s unbelievably rewarding.”

Sister Mary, led by founder Leigh Chandler, unveils a new limited-edition printed publication designed exclusively for The Signal, a global current affairs brand based in Washington, D.C. “The Long Game” highlights the global struggle between authoritarian states and democratic life.

Created in partnership with the Human Rights Foundation, in support of the Oslo Freedom Forum, the magazine features interviews with the Bosnian investigative journalist Miranda Patrucić, the American social scientist Francis Fukuyama, and others—on questions from how autocrats are adapting artificial intelligence to how corruption inside dictatorships is spreading beyond them to what the issues of democracy and human rights might end up meaning for your investment strategy.

The Signal’s team, including John Jamesen Gould and Hywel Mills, partnered with Chandler to infuse the inaugural issue with the alternative spirit of underground publishing. Samizdat, a term derived from Russian for “self-publishing,” refers to literature clandestinely written, copied, and circulated during the Soviet era, often critical of the government.

The Signal offers a different approach to current affairs. Its focus is on exploring urgent questions in dialogue with knowledgeable companions around the world—an approach meant to support readers and help them develop their interpretations of global events.

This debut issue not only pays homage to samizdat but reimagines it. The editorial design captures the raw essence of underground publishing while presenting it in a contemporary context.

The layout demands attention, using layering, cropping, aged textures, and bold typography to create a sense of urgency.

Unbleached newsprint was chosen for the paper stock, reminiscent of samizdat’s historical context. The color palette of light beige, black, red, and gold reflects the publication’s rebellious yet premium aesthetic.

The typography is bold and commanding, with headlines in Manuka and complementary text in Untitled, echoing the theme of defiance and urgency.

The publication’s imagery invites readers to explore deeper narratives, aligning with The Signal’s mission to engage with complexity in today’s rapidly changing world.

To be able to assemble our work in a print publication like this isn’t just beautiful; it’s transformative. It’s allowed us to bring a historical connection with the samizdat publications of the Soviet era to life in the language of design—and that’s allowed us to create a reading experience with a completely different emotional resonance and, ultimately I think, a deeper meaning.”

John Jamesen Gould – Editor, The Signal

About The Signal
Current affairs. Strange world. As our world becomes more intricately connected, changes faster, and seems only to get more disorienting, we’re all navigating it—or trying to—in a digital media environment dominated by algorithmic manipulation, polarizing engagement, and partisan spin. It can be hard to focus on what matters—and harder to think. The Signal is for people who want something different. The nonpartisan U.S.-based current affairs organization has diverse global contributors and is committed to liberal democracy.

About Human Rights Foundation
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. HRF aims to raise awareness about the nature and vulnerability of freedom worldwide while strengthening the work of grassroots activists in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes. Grounding its work in a deep commitment to individual liberty, HRF achieves its impact through unique policy research and legal advocacy, global events and educational initiatives, innovative and creative campaigns, and direct support to activists on the frontlines of democracy.

The Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is a global conference series hosted and produced by HRF. Established in 2009, OFF brings together the world’s most prominent human rights advocates, journalists, artists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and world leaders to share their stories and brainstorm ways to expand freedom globally.

As part of one of their most recent studies, Tebra surveyed 1,005 adults about their ability to recall, identify, and draw healthcare brands. In doing so, they also asked a subgroup of 111 respondents to draw six healthcare logos from memory.

What did they find? For starters, Walgreens proved to be the number one most well-known healthcare brand, across genders and generations, with Advil and CVS following close behind. Tylenol was found to be the most identifiable pain reliever among Baby Boomers and Gen X, while Advil was most identifiable among Millennials and Gen Z. Unsurprisingly, women identified menstrual care brands 2x better than men, and skincare brands 2.3x better, with 62% of men surveyed able to identify the Tampax logo.

But what do the findings from Tebra’s study actually mean in the bigger picture? What can designers and brand builders in the healthcare space glean from this survey and put into practice? We asked a member of the Tebra creative team, Rachel Kirsch, a few questions to elaborate on their results.

What are the main takeaways from the results of this survey? What do the results tell us about successful (and unsuccessful) healthcare branding? 

The results of our survey illuminate a pivotal aspect of successful healthcare branding: the power of distinctiveness and familiarity. 

Brands like Walgreens, Advil, and CVS, with their easily identifiable logos, stand as testaments to the effectiveness of branding that cuts across various demographics, proving memorable across genders and generations. On the flip side, the struggle of brands like Bayer and Rite Aid to make their new logos resonate with consumers highlights a crucial pitfall in healthcare branding—changes in branding, especially those that significantly alter the logo’s appearance or color scheme, can dilute brand recognition. 

Successful branding, therefore, hinges not just on visibility, but on creating a durable and distinctive identity that resonates with and remains memorable to the public.

Based on your results, what should designers and brand-builders in the healthcare space try to emulate and inversely, what should they avoid?

Our study offers a clear directive for designers and brand-builders in the healthcare space: prioritize uniqueness and consistency. 

The memorability of Allegra’s purple logo in a sea of blue and green allergy medications, and Pepto Bismol’s standout pink, underscore the value of choosing distinctive colors and designs that set a brand apart from its competitors. Conversely, the survey results suggest a cautionary tale against frequent or radical rebranding efforts, as seen with Bayer and Rite Aid, where respondents clung to the legacy branding. 

This affinity for the familiar emphasizes the importance of consistency in logo design and the risk of alienating consumers through significant branding overhauls.

What’s the most surprising aspect of the survey results?

Perhaps the most surprising revelation from our survey was the broad recognizability of the Tampax logo among men, with 62% able to identify it correctly. This insight challenges conventional marketing wisdom about gender-specific product branding and suggests a wider cultural penetration of brands traditionally marketed towards women. 

Additionally, the significant generational divide in digital healthcare services recognition, with Gen Z far more likely to identify online mental health providers like Calm and BetterHelp, points to a rapidly shifting landscape in healthcare consumption and the increasing importance of digital platforms in providing health services to younger demographics.

The NAD’s latest exhibition, Sites of Impermanence, is set to delight art and architecture enthusiasts as it showcases the works of newly elected National Academicians. Running from February 8 to May 11, 2024, at the Academy’s new permanent location in Chelsea, this exhibition promises a journey through the diverse and thought-provoking creations of eight exceptional artists and architects.

National Academy of Design 2023 Induction Ceremony

Each Academician brings a unique perspective and approach to their craft. These creatives explore contemporary issues through sculpture, drawing, architecture, or interactive installations while delving into the rich tapestry of history that informs their work.

One striking aspect of the exhibition is its exploration of impermanence in various forms. Through a lens of time and space, the artists and architects invite viewers to contemplate the ever-shifting nature of our world. Sanford Biggers and Willie Cole repurpose materials laden with historical significance, infusing them with new cultural and spiritual meanings. Richard Gluckman expands upon existing structures, adapting them to meet the demands of contemporary society.

Top Images, Bottom Left, Bottom Right: Sites of Impermanence | Photo: © Etienne Frossard. Courtesy of National Academy of Design; Bottom Middle: In Tension: The Function of Body in Space with Torkwase Dyson and Sarah Oppenheimer, February 21, 2024 | Photos by Rebecca Smeyne

Others, such as Torkwase Dyson and Carlos Jiménez, delve into pressing ecological and human-centric issues, urging us to reconsider our relationship with the environment. Mel Kendrick‘s sculptures offer a meditation on the passage of time and our perception of place, while Alice Adams explores the intricate layers of architecture and the human body.

Sites of Impermanence | Photo: © Etienne Frossard. Courtesy of National Academy of Design

Central to the exhibition’s premise is Sarah Oppenheimer‘s manipulation of architectural space, challenging visitors to question their own agency within the built environment. By blurring the boundaries between human, object, and architecture, Oppenheimer prompts a reevaluation of our impact on public spaces.

Sites of Impermanence opens the door for cultural dialogue and introspection. Curated by Sara Reisman and Natalia Viera Salgado, this showcase underscores the National Academy of Design’s commitment to fostering artistic excellence and pushing the boundaries of creative expression.

Founded in 1825, the National Academy of Design has long been a champion of the arts in America. With a membership comprising some of the nation’s most esteemed artists and architects, the Academy continues to serve as a beacon of inspiration and reflection. Exhibitions like Sites of Impermanence reinforce the transformative power of art and its capacity to shape society.

Visitors to the National Academy’s Chelsea location are invited to embark on a journey of discovery and contemplation. Sites of Impermanence asks us to explore our place within the ever-evolving landscape of art and architecture.

Patrick Duffy is the top dog of the cool cat creative team at DICE. The London-based creative leader and brand builder has been keeping brands weird and provocative for over 25 years, working for companies across tech, advertising, and publishing. Duffy formerly served as the art director of the style magazine Sleazenation, helped establish Airbnb in Europe, and jumpstarted DICE’s growth from a ticketing start-up in Hackney to the global live entertainment juggernaut it is today. Not only that, but Duffy’s unique creative vision and point of view have brought him into the realm of performance, taking the stage as a mime artist at the famed London venue Koko, playing his music on Radio One, and even launching a fanzine. 

In every other job, I’ve had to fight (and usually lose) to get weird interesting stuff made.

Duffy recently spoke at the OFFF festival in Barcelona, among 70 other creative luminaries. As one of DICE’s many appreciators, I reached out to learn more about Duffy’s thought process behind its branding.

Where does your humorous and quirky point of view as an art director come from? Have you always had this worldview?

I grew up in the North East of England in an environment where having a sense of humor was essentially a survival mechanism, especially if you were bad at fighting and flirting. I loved reading the third-rate cheap comics you might find on the shelf next to The Beano and Dandy—Whizzer & Chips, Buster—and ingesting Looney Tunes cartoons. I drank a lot of Tizer. I think these three aspects are largely responsible for my worldview as an art director.

I’m quite suspicious of ‘success,’ though. Anything that might be seen as ‘success’ is, in reality, balancing on a mound of failure, and building that mound is the interesting part.

What’s your secret to success for DICE? What core tenets have you kept in mind to make DICE the powerhouse brand it is today?

I just try to make work that I like, that fans might like, that is fun to make, and feels real. I’m quite suspicious of “success,” though. Anything that might be seen as “success” is, in reality, balancing on a mound of failure, and building that mound is the interesting part. As soon as you’ve done the work and it’s “successful,” it’s kind of dead, and you just want to start failing all over again. That’s what I love at DICE— the commitment to a DIY approach to unlock true creativity and productivity in the business and across teams.

How did you develop the black diamond character at the center of DICE’s branding? Where did that idea come from, and why do you think it’s charmed so many?

I’m very pleased that our little black diamond person (a.k.a. The Fan) has proven to be so charming. Our community loves it so much that someone even got it tattooed on their arm. I think people like it because it’s a bit naïve— it’s not polished, so it doesn’t feel so much like a piece of branding.

The design team and I were working on a bunch of ideas, but we knew we wanted something that could come to life, some kind of mascot. We played with different shapes and expressions. I was on a train journey with my family and drew a little diamond shape with eyes and legs in my sketchbook and showed it to my six-year-old. He said he liked it so I considered it approved.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though— a guy wrote a whole blog article about how much he wanted to murder The Fan, so we’ll want to keep an eye on him.

I was on a train journey with my family and drew a little diamond shape with eyes and legs in my sketchbook and showed it to my six-year-old. He said he liked it so I considered it approved.

What’s your favorite part about what you do?

Making weirdness. Not many teams get the opportunity to make what we make, and even fewer would get it approved so easily. In every other job, I’ve had to fight (and usually lose) to get weird, interesting stuff made. At DICE, it’s just the kind of stuff we all like, so there’s no fighting, which is good because I’m getting old.

What’s one piece of advice you‘d give to a burgeoning creative director or brand builder about creating compelling branding and branded content?

Don’t be entitled. You want people to want to work with you and your ideas.

Founded in 1881 and revered as one of the world’s preeminent orchestras, the BSO has long graced the stages of Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, captivating audiences with masterful compositions by legendary conductors. The Boston Pops has become synonymous with musical excellence, with an illustrious history boasting luminaries like Arthur Fiedler and John Williams, enchanting listeners with iconic performances and annual spectacles. Tanglewood has long been hallowed ground for music aficionados, hosting an array of celebrated artists against an idyllic backdrop in Lenox, Massachusetts.

However, as the BSO sought to bridge the gap between its storied past and a vibrant future, it recognized the need for a contemporary reimagining of its brand identity. Colossus rose to the occasion, infusing the institution’s legacy with modernity while preserving its rich heritage.

The new brand, characterized by warmth and approachability, departs from previous iterations, unifying the BSO’s diverse offerings under a cohesive visual identity. The brand features a color-coded system and two complementary typefaces, blending old-world sophistication with contemporary flair. This rebrand is significant because it focuses on fostering broader audience engagement and accessibility, reflecting the BSO’s commitment to innovation while preserving its legacy and ensuring that classical music remains accessible to all.

Eager to learn more about the strategy and process behind this colossal undertaking, Travis Robertson, Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director of Colossus, and Jesse Needleman, Vice President, Marketing, Sales, & Communications of BSO, happily obliged with an exclusive.

(Conversation edited for length and clarity).

Given the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s history and cultural significance, what were the key challenges and considerations in modernizing its brand identity?

Travis Robertson: This project was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. Walking in the shadows of giants, our team felt a tremendous sense of pride and the weight of responsibility to get it right. For an institution so steeped in tradition and heritage, changing the course required tremendous strategic alignment, research, and due diligence. We involved key stakeholders, customers, and musicians before putting pen to paper. We ensured that the classical purists and institutional guardians felt heard and represented while also moving forward with something that resonated with the next generation.

We kept harkening back to a quote from Henry Lee Higginson, the American businessman and Civil War veteran who founded the BSO in 1881. He wrote that the institution aimed “to make fair prices for the tickets and then open wide the doors.” With that in mind, we did our best to create an inviting, unpretentious brand identity that also underscored the magnitude and credibility of the music.

On the use of architectural elements as design influences for the new brand identity: Could you elaborate on the significance of this approach and how it reflects the essence of the Boston Symphony Orchestra?

Travis Robertson:

Four disparate pieces of the puzzle had to be solved and, ultimately, unified through the development of the new identity system. Tanglewood: an outdoor music venue nestled in the hills of The Berkshires. Symphony Hall: the iconic building known as an acoustic jewel and home to the BSO. The Boston Pops: the celebratory, popular expression of the symphony known as “America’s Orchestra.” And, of course, the flagship Boston Symphony Orchestra. While musicians come and go, the stage itself has served as the bedrock of consistency throughout the history of the BSO.  You can feel it in the walls of Symphony Hall and the grass of Tanglewood’s infamous Music Shed.

To define the look and feel of the new brand identity, we looked to architecture and the unique sense of space created by each setting to help guide us. After touring each structure, we gravitated toward certain characteristics, shapes, and geometric patterns. We further solidified this idea after viewing the original Symphony Hall blueprints from the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White (1900). We saw that the windows, soffits, and side entry were all built in the same arch shape. We assigned this shape to the BSO and then worked to uncover further geometric signifiers for Pops, Tanglewood, and Symphony Hall. In the end, we arrived at a consistent system rooted in a place of history and authenticity.

To broaden the appeal of classical music to a younger and more diverse audience, how did Colossus approach the task of making the orchestra’s brand more accessible while still maintaining its sense of sophistication and tradition?

Travis Robertson: Great question. Our design team on this project was both young and diverse, ensuring that we weren’t telegraphing uninformed perspectives or misrepresenting things. We also took the time to speak with each audience segmentation- from Classical Purists to Experiential Engagers to Mainstreamers- making sure our approach resonated along the way.

Ultimately, it won’t be the color palette, clever iconography, or playful shape choices that make the orchestra more accessible. We can only pique the interest and pave the path for new audiences. Our work is the outward signal of this institutional evolution. However, the BSO’s programming, innovations, collaborations, and meaningful community partnerships will create a truly impactful and well-rounded step forward. And they’ve made some incredible strides to do just that. It’s been heartening to see the next chapter of this storied institution begin to take shape.

Could you delve deeper into how the selection of specific colors for each sub-brand reflects the unique identity and essence of the disparate entities?

We derived the color palette from the historical lineage of the brand, alongside modern influences and the need to differentiate the four factions of the BSO. Blue for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a foundational colorway for decades. Red for the Boston Pops, with nods to Americana and holiday festivities. Green for Tanglewood is an homage to the lush foliage and natural setting in Lenox, MA. And gold for Symphony Hall, based on the iconic building’s gilded brass and brick textures.

Given the aim of making classical music more approachable and inclusive through the new brand identity, what specific strategies or initiatives does the Boston Symphony Orchestra plan to implement to ensure that this message resonates with diverse audiences? How do you envision these efforts contributing to breaking down barriers and expanding the orchestra’s reach?

Jesse Needleman: What’s critical in getting the brand identity to resonate is backing it up with programming that resonates, too; the product we offer and its packaging absolutely need to match.

We always look at our programming through a lens of engagement. So to that end, we’ve been working hard to bring exciting young talent to our stages (like South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, who studies at NEC, won the Van Cliburn piano competition, and recently sold out four concerts at Symphony Hall), to commission and premiere new works (from the likes of Tania Leon and our newly announced Composer Chair Carlos Simon), to offer more culturally relevant programming (like a Pride Night concert featuring Thorgy Thor, and Dia de Muertos concerts, both with the Boston Pops), and to bring added context to the music we perform by including companion humanities programming in thematic festivals that anchor our seasons (like “Shostakovich Decoded” and “Beethoven & Romanticism” that will be part of the recently announced 2024-2025 BSO season).

The brand identities signal that it’s a new day at the BSO, both in the sense that we are continuing our deep and rich history of innovation in orchestral music and that we are taking a hard look at how we want to innovate the future so that we can contribute as much as we can to the amazing communities that we are part of in Boston and in the Berkshires; we are excited there will be much more to come on exactly what that means.

With the evolving landscape of music consumption and entertainment preferences, how does the BSO envision itself in the digital realm, and how will the new brand identity support its efforts to connect with audiences through online channels and multimedia experiences?

Jesse Needleman: The pandemic taught us a lot about creating digital experiences (particularly concerts via streaming video) and led us to approach this project with a strong “digital first” mentality. While interest in streaming concerts has waned since the public began returning to concert halls for in-person performances, we also know that we live in an increasingly digital world, and media that were once thought of as “traditional” (like outdoor) are themselves becoming digital, and require a different approach to brand identity. So, as part of developing the new identities, we not only created static versions of our logos but also developed animated versions, and we are also developing an audio component for them. Sight, sound, and motion are critical to capturing attention in the digital world that we live in, and so our brand identities need to take advantage of that.

In a world where cultural institutions must evolve to meet the demands of a rapidly changing landscape, the Boston Symphony Orchestra is a shining example of tradition reimagined. With its bold new identity, the BSO will captivate hearts and minds for generations to come, inviting audiences to experience the transformative power of music in all its splendor.

To honor Adams’s legacy and impact and to chart his journey to stardom, Dania Beach’s Mad Arts is currently hosting a retrospective of his work entitled “CEY ADAMS, DEPARTURE: 40 Years of Art and Design.” The show contains over 60 of Adams’s designs in various media, including photography archives, mixed media collage, paintings, textile, fashion, street art, contemporary fine art, and more. The exhibition serves as a visual timeline of Adams’s artistic evolution, beginning in the 1970s when he started out painting graffiti on the streets and trains of New York City. The show is on view through May 26th, with Adams himself on-site this Friday, April 19th.

While in Florida, Adams will also make an appearance at The Museum of Graffiti for the launch of their latest exhibition, “Sneaker Stories,” which delves into the historical ties and cultural relationship between graffiti and sneakers.

I recently had the honor of speaking with Adams myself about DEPARTURE, and the secret to his success. Our conversation is below (edited for length and clarity).

Whoever said you can get more flies with honey than with vinegar knew what they were talking about.

Cey Adams

How does one go about curating a retrospective of this magnitude? Forty years is a long time! 

I sat down with the curator, Liza Quiñonez, and we talked about my journey and what it meant to me. I said I wanted this exhibition to be a vehicle to tell the story of a young teenager who started out writing graffiti. Along the way, I’ve had an opportunity to make art and meet some extraordinary people. I wanted to showcase everything I have in my archive and, if we’re lucky enough, to also find a lot of the original art from back in the day that I made when I was a kid. That was how we thought about it.

I still have relationships with many people from 40 years ago, and I got on the phone and asked people to loan me pieces. Folks were kind enough to loan us certain pieces—some things I had in my personal collection. I also have boxes and boxes of photos from back in the day, so we just laid everything out, and we figured out how we could make something that really makes people feel like they’re on this journey with me.  

How did it feel to excavate so much of your past like that?

It was really emotional because I don’t get to look at these things all the time; I’m focusing on what I’m doing today. But looking back has been absolutely wonderful because only a small handful of my peers are lucky enough to have a career. I could count on one hand the number of people I knew from back then who are still working at a high level to this day. 

A lot of the journey is about trying to figure out how to make it because none of this stuff was promised to us. That’s what I realized when I looked at the work—and I’m still working!

What do you think propelled you to this incredible career and a level of success that so many other artists will never reach? 

It’s a combination of talent, passion, and perseverance. And being a nice person; if you’re kind to people, people want to be around you. If you rub people the wrong way, they don’t want to be around you. That’s a lot of what it is! I know because I have friends who could not crack the code, and they haven’t been able to carve out a career for themselves.

I learned that, by being who I am, people who love your work and love being around you will call you. The same thing happens with people who support your work. Everybody who buys my paintings and supports my mural work are the people I enjoy being around, and the feeling is mutual. That’s not lost on me.

Everything is about the journey and if you’re not enjoying the journey, what’s the point of it all?

It sounds simple, but being genuinely likable can get you far in life! We lose sight of that sometimes. 

Whoever said you can get more flies with honey than vinegar knew what they were talking about. I learned that as a teenager, and you can see it in all the old photographs in the show. I’m always happy to be around people who treat me well. Everything is about the journey and if you’re not enjoying the journey, what’s the point of it all?

As humans, we get caught up in the mythical concept of a destination and “making it” or achievement, but that’s missing the point.

You hear people say it all the time, but you don’t understand it. But that’s one of the things that I was lucky enough to learn right from the start— the journey is its own reward. It might sound strange when you’re trying to get somewhere, and you think there’s some better thing, but you must remind yourself to be in the moment and to enjoy it because that’s what it’s about.

That is the essence of what being an artist is all about—getting to make what you want to make on your own terms. You have to take stock of that every day because that’s as good as it gets! You have to enjoy the moment.

What has been the biggest surprise of your career?

I didn’t imagine having friends I would know for 40 years; that’s certainly a surprise. And to have good friends is an even better surprise: people that show up. When I turned 50, I had a surprise birthday party, and the room was packed with all these people who flew into New York to celebrate me. I never imagined any of that! It certainly didn’t happen in my 20s; I don’t even know if it happened in my 30s. But by the time I reached my 40s, people started to show up in major ways. It’s been that way ever since, but I’m beyond appreciative because I’ve had these milestone moments.

It’s a beautiful thing to have people who care about you, support you, and show up for you. 

I’m not coming in after they’re superstars. I’m there to help shape what is going to be the thing that everybody’s familiar with. 

Looking back on your career for the exhibition, is there a time period, moment, or project that you’re proudest of? 

The thing that I’m most proud of is that I got an opportunity to do this kind of work. I got to be the guy that worked with Jay-Z. I got to be the guy that worked with Dave Chappelle. I got to be the guy that worked with LL Cool J, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C.—I’m talking about from ground zero. I’m not coming in after they’re superstars. I was there to help shape the thing that everybody’s familiar with.

Usher was the Super Bowl halftime show this year—do you know how big you have to be to be the Super Bowl halftime act? And I worked on his first record! Like, wow! I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing, talented people before anybody else.

Have you maintained relationships with any of those stars you helped create? 

Sure! I was in LA a couple of months ago at a dinner with Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, and Diddy— everybody was there. We’re all sitting down and enjoying each other’s company, and it felt like, you know, that thing where you’re at a reunion, and everybody showed up. Nobody’s got security, hangers-on, handlers, and all of it. It was just us—just like it was back then. And we had the best time that night. I never wanted it to end because it was so wonderful.

I’m one of the lucky ones that gets to be treated the exact same way as back when we first started.

People hadn’t changed. There’s a perception that people are this way or that way, or they don’t want to be bothered. I realized that I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to be treated the same way as back when we first started, and that’s exactly what you want. You could have this dream that maybe one day I’ll run into so-and-so, and they’ll be really kind to me, but most people don’t get to experience that. I got to experience that. It felt as good as it did in the beginning, only better, because now we’re dressed up! Everybody’s happy! Everybody’s needs are all met, and they’re as friendly as can be! That is not a small thing.

Way back when, did you ever get an inkling that any of those guys would get as big as they did?

No! You can’t predict anybody would get as big as these folks have gotten. You just can’t! Also, I didn’t have that kind of vision because I hadn’t been there. The idea that I started as a graffiti artist, and by 2016, I was on the National Mall making a giant piece of my original artwork in front of President Obama in a ribbon-cutting ceremony! That’s the definition of a dream come true. And I get to have my name alongside all these great people who have come up in hip-hop; it’s just the best! It’s the absolute best.

A lot of my career has been about being first, and that’s what’s so amazing to me. It’s that I got an opportunity to be one of the first, and it’s come around again and again and again. It’s not lost on me because there’s no blueprint.

Is your career now a blueprint for the next generation?

I doubt it because so many things had to be aligned for it to happen. Also, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. This was the very beginning when hip-hop was not in its infancy, but right after that. I got to benefit from all the hard work that some of the early pioneers from the 70s put in, but because I was an artist, and nobody had seen anything like that. I was really fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, and that’s also the benefit of growing up in New York City.

As part of this imperative, JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles has an on-site gallery space where they host rotating exhibitions that celebrate Japanese culture and highlight creators who embrace Japanese aesthetics. On view now is “DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN | Bridging Design and Life,” which I had the delight of personally touring.

DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN features six Japanese creators—Tsuyoshi Tane (architect), Tamae Hirokawa (fashion designer), Koichiro Tsujikawa (film director), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (experience architect), Kinya Tagawa (design engineer), and Reiko Sudo (textile designer)—who have each conducted in-depth research into six Japanese design treasures that exemplify the design culture of a specific area of Japan. The show breaks down the back stories of each design and its connection to the region, brought to life with insights from the researchers.

I was particularly intrigued by the research of textile designer Reiko Sudo, who dove into athletic uniform development at a sports manufacturer in Toyama Prefecture in the Hokuriku region. This exhibition section displays the three position-specific jersey designs Team Japan wore at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The jerseys’ fabric, worn like a membrane, was formed three-dimensionally using heat. It is lightweight, tear-resistant, and dries quickly.

Deeper into the exhibition, I came to Kinya Tagawa’s research, which explores the creative process of product designer Sori Yanagi. Tagawa focused his investigation on Yanagi’s cutlery collection, which the designer fashions from single strands of metal or other materials.

Another standout section for me was film director Koichiro Tsujikawa’s research into spinning tops at the Japan Toy Museum in Himeji, Hyōgo prefecture. As our first contact with design, toys embody design in its most primitive form, and spinning tops, in particular, have the power to attract, elate, and entrance humans

DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN will run at JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles through April 14. Entry is free, so you can save your money for the carefully curated gift shop in the front.

Images of the exhibition are courtesy of the author.

My heritage is a rich, vibrant tapestry woven from the traditions of the Pueblo people of the Southwest and the Nahua/Mexica of Mexico. It’s an identity steeped in pride and longing, a strong fabric of interconnection and reciprocity that also bears the scars of displacement and detribalization. 

As an adult, I’ve embarked on a journey to reconnect to these roots, unearthing the treasures buried within my heritage. I’ve found solace and renewal in embracing community, the sacredness of ceremony, the rhythm of language, the pages of literature, and the passion for activism.

That’s why I felt instantly inspired and excited when I was invited to participate in a project designed to amplify Indigenous-owned businesses on Google Maps and Google Search. This wasn’t just another campaign; it represented an opportunity to help Indigenous business owners share their heritage and foster deeper connections between the businesses and their consumers. I had the honor of crafting Google’s Indigenous-owned attribute icon and associated launch materials, and little did I know then that the experience would ultimately inspire a personal project dedicated to commemorating Indigenous Peoples’ Day. It immediately felt empowering, allowing me to delve into the complexities of my cultural background and fully embrace my identity as an Indigenous designer.

As creatives and strategists, we can create something far beyond design when we work with a respect-first mindset and a genuine desire to listen and learn.

Together with Kevin Coochwytewa, a talented Seattle-based designer of Isleta Pueblo and Hopi heritage, we collaboratively explored the depths of Indigenous motifs across Turtle Island—from East Coast wampum belts to West Coast basketry and everything in between. The final product draws inspiration from the medicine wheel, whose four-quadrant design embodies balance and the interconnected cycle of life, with nuances paying homage to the diverse traditions of different Indigenous groups. The circular motif symbolizes the intricate web that binds all living things and, in this context, highlights the vital connections between Indigenous businesses and their communities.

Throughout the process, I was reminded of design anthropologist Dori Tunstall’s poignant words in this interview at the Jacobs Institute: “We’re accountable to those outside of ourselves in how we derive inspiration from the cultures of others but also our own. We don’t have permission sometimes to just mine, extract from our own cultural practices and backgrounds either. There’s an ethical dialogue that needs to happen with that.”

In creating this icon, we kept others in mind. Our work was not about appropriating or borrowing for aesthetic ends; it was about understanding the core essence of symbols, seeking permission, and engaging in genuine dialogue with community members to bring it to life. We actively listened to the concerns of local equity and Google Aboriginal & Indigenous Network leadership, valuing and incorporating their feedback with respect and empathy—a testament to the importance of intentional representation in shaping inclusive campaigns.

As creatives and strategists, we can create something far beyond design when we work with a respect-first mindset and a genuine desire to listen and learn. We build bridges of understanding, pave the way for healing, and, ultimately, weave a future where authentic representation and decolonization are not mere metaphors or ideas.

Images provided by author.

It’s been incredible to see the unique and individual interpretations of the Coca-Cola logo. … We’re proud to celebrate and embrace their work.

Islam ElDessouky, Coca-Cola Global Vice President of Creative Strategy & Content

While many brands are quick to protect their copyrighted materials and likenesses, Coca-Cola has recently launched a campaign that does the opposite, celebrating the many interpretations of their logo created around the world for generations. The ‘Every Coca-Cola is Welcome’ campaign (developed by WPP Open X, led by VML, and supported by Essence Mediacom and Ogilvy PR) embraces and showcases grassroots interpretations of the wordmark created by bodegas, shopkeepers, and local artists. Instead of slapping these creators with lawsuits or cease-and-desists, Coca-Cola is honoring the distinct and diverse ways people have reimagined the brand. 

“It’s been incredible to see the unique and individual interpretations of the Coca-Cola logo,” said Islam ElDessouky, the Global Vice President of Creative Strategy & Content at Coca-Cola, in a press release. “These visuals are so meaningful and impactful—signs for local businesses capturing colors of cultures and personalities of communities. We’re proud to celebrate and embrace their work.”

The campaign features a range of logo interpretations that span color palettes, fonts, and styles in out-of-home and print placements throughout Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Australia, and the US. Each unofficial logo offers us a view through a different cultural lens, honoring those who have sold and consumed Coca-Cola globally. ‘Every Coca-Cola is Welcome’ also consists of a robust content series, including films and interviews capturing stories from local store owners and their interpretation of the Coca-Cola logo. This video component of the campaign will run on the brand’s YouTube and Instagram.

“What is so special about this campaign is that the Coca-Cola brand is being reinterpreted in every corner of the world through countless creative expressions,” elaborated Rafael Pitanguy, the Deputy Global Chief Creative Officer at VML. “These reinterpretations are only possible because the Coca-Cola logo is so ingrained in culture across the globe.” At its core, ‘Every Coca-Cola is Welcome’ shows how brands can see imitation as the highest form of flattery and use it to their advantage.

Today, the branding industry is in flux. On one hand, the digital era offers brands limitless opportunities to engage with their audiences through social media, content marketing, and personalized experiences. Conversely, a growing distrust of polished corporate messages and a saturated market have given rise to “anti-branding” and “post-branding” movements. These movements favor social good, authenticity, and a focus on product quality over brand image. Patagonia is perhaps the most visible example of this. Adding A.I. to the mix can diminish brand trust if used irresponsibly. For example, brands failing to declare the use of A.I.-generated content will cast doubt on the integrity of all their content, whether or not it is in fact A.I.-generated.

Amidst this backdrop of evolving branding ideologies, many creative professionals are gathering at OFFF Barcelona this week. The International Festival of Creativity, Art, and Digital Design fosters community around contemporary creativity, serving as a trendsetting global hub within design, art, and post-digital culture.

In the spirit of “What’s Next?” I asked five brand leaders whose agencies are represented at OFFF to share their perspective about the state of branding and what the future of the profession might look like. It was intriguing to see the array of viewpoints — the similarities and disparities — regarding the current branding landscape and what brands (and their creators) must consider moving forward. A common thread; true connections with consumers.

The following contributed their thoughts to this story: Veronica Fuerte, Founder & Creative Directress of Hey Studio; James Greenfield, CEO & Founder of Koto Studio; Radim Malinic, Founder & Creative Director at Brand Nu Studio; Max Ottignon, Co-Founder of Ragged Edge; and Surabhi Rathi, Strategy Director at BUCK.

How do you interpret the emergence of the “anti-branding” and “post-branding” trends within the current branding landscape? From your perspective, what specific insights or implications do you believe this trend holds for traditional branding strategies and practices?

Veronica Fuerte: The “anti-branding” and “post-branding” trends signal a move towards authenticity, transparency, and purpose in branding, challenging traditional tactics that focus on saturation and persuasion. Brands now need to deeply embed their values into their identity, engaging in meaningful storytelling and transparent dialogue with their audience. This requires a more nuanced approach, where genuine connections and value alignment become key to standing out.

“Anti branding can work for some, but the key thing for most is that finding the right level of originality is crucial. …Consumers are quick to see through inauthentic attempts to jump on these trends.”

—James Greenfield, CEO & Founder of Koto Studio

James Greenfield: I don’t think either anti or post branding really has much effect on the majority of the brands we see day-to-day. These trends often feel like a seismic shift when they are happening, but in reality, their impact is often overstated. Take the recent example from the start of the 2020s of leading fashion houses seemingly abandoning distinctive logos and embracing a more minimalist aesthetic. It was short lived and we’re already seeing this trend reverse, with Burberry’s recent rebranding demonstrating the continued value of a distinct brand identity. What they really wanted was the freedom to slap a hefty price tag on a T-shirt or a handbag in a flexible way so they could essentially be two brands at one time. 

Anti branding can work for some, but the key thing for most is that finding the right level of originality is crucial. While true originality might be elusive, the desire to push boundaries is essential for brand growth. It’s this very desire to stand out that fuels these “anti-branding” moments, rather than some underlying widespread political branding uprising. It’s also important to remember that anti-branding with a strong political message can only truly resonate with brands that already have a well-defined social or environmental stance.  Consumers are quick to see through inauthentic attempts to jump on these trends. The internet and our access to information means the internet is quick to punish brands it perceives to have wronged, just look at Budweiser sales in the US, so brands have to tread a little carefully and maybe know their customer more than ever? The driver for brands to change is about where and how their customer is more than what they look like when they turn up.

Radim Malinic: Have we reached the peak branding in the last few years? Having a big team to produce world-class work is no longer imperative. You need world-class ambition to produce work that can make international headlines. All you need is a small team and vision with results that align with many brand ‘deja-vu’ identity systems produced by brands much bigger with seemingly endless budgets. Producing shiny logos with animated assets, snazzy illustrations, and mood videos is no longer the stuff of dreams and hefty budgets. Take a team of five and watch the work fly. This makes our collective headway in visual excellence taste somewhat bittersweet. It also has made the branding landscape and its consumers jaded. We have been busy getting better without seeing our work’s side effects happening right before our eyes. Dog food packaging uses the same colour palette and font choices as the latest toothpaste company, bio-oil producing startup, and so on. Most of these brands rely on multi-channel broadcast instead of storytelling, which can result in greater trust and understanding. We’ve also started peeling layers of multinational brands and their campaigns only to realise things are not as we’ve been told all this time. It’s little surprise that we find ourselves in a situation where the old isn’t working anymore, and the new isn’t taking flight. 

Max Ottignon: Don’t sacrifice clarity or relevance for notoriety. Whether ‘anti-branding’ or ‘post-branding’, it’s still branding. A way of standing out and getting noticed in an ever-more competitive, noisy world. Showing up in a way that feels fresh and authentic can be incredibly powerful, particularly when pitched against an outdated, corporate approach. But lasting success still requires discipline and commitment to ensure that you’re building a brand, rather than simply making a statement. 

“Brand-building solely centered on commercial interests is outdated. Brands must reorient their “why” towards positive societal impact beyond just products.“

—Surabhi Rathi, Strategy Director at BUCK

Surabhi Rathi: At the heart of both these movements, lies a rejection of traditional branding as a manipulative tool for consumerism. It reflects deep skepticism towards branding’s roots in exploitative capitalist practices. But, they also serve as a reminder that brands hold immense cultural influence and power to shape societal values. 

And with that, we have a responsibility. 

Brand-building solely centered on commercial interests is outdated. Brands must reorient their “why” towards positive societal impact beyond just products. Clear ethical stances, environmental accountability, aligning with consumer values for the greater good – these are prerequisites, not options. Ultimately, branding should further human values, nurturing collective identities that joyfully unite us.

In essence, these movements advocate for an ethical redefining of branding’s very purpose. Brands must become purpose-driven catalysts for positive change, not vessels of exploitation. This shift is necessary in 2024.

During a time when consumer trust in institutions and corporations is declining, what do you think are necessary methods to adopt for branding agencies to stay relevant in an era where consumers increasingly value authenticity and reject traditional branding tactics?

Veronia Fuerte: To remain relevant as consumer trust wanes, branding agencies might emphasize transparency, authenticity, and direct engagement. This involves helping brands to align their actions with their messages, use user-generated content effectively, and engage in real conversations with their audience. It’s about empowering brands to embrace their uniqueness and connect on a human level.

“Storytelling with purpose is no longer just a nice thing to have. It’s the foundation of the branding landscape now.”

—Radim Malinic, Founder & Creative Director at Brand Nu Studio

Radim Malinic: I’m sure many agencies have been wrestling with ideas for how to help clients identify and communicate their genuine values, mission, and story. Storytelling with purpose is no longer just a nice thing to have. It’s the foundation of the branding landscape now. Move beyond traditional branding narratives and focus on storytelling with purpose. Help clients craft narratives that resonate with consumers on a deeper level by addressing social, environmental, or cultural issues that align with their values.

Max Ottignon: While the tactics may need to evolve, the basic foundations of brand strategy remain the same. At its simplest, our job is to frame products, services and organizations in ways that get them noticed, remembered and, eventually, chosen by a given audience. That means finding a place in the world, and in culture, that feels authentic to that brand and resonant to that audience. And showing up in a way that demonstrates a deep understanding of the community you’re aiming to connect with. Whereas yesterday that might have been a sports sponsorship, today it might be a Twitch activation or Roblox partnership. 

With the rise of social movements, such as conscious consumerism and sustainability advocacy, how do you envision the role of branding evolving to meet the changing expectations and values of consumers? What do you think will be essential for brands to effectively communicate to resonate with their target audience in this landscape?

Veronia Fuerte: As consumer values shift towards conscious consumerism and sustainability, branding must evolve to meet these expectations. This means going beyond selling products to embodying the values of societal change and sustainability. Effective communication and demonstrating a genuine commitment to these values will be crucial for resonating with today’s consumers.

“As consumer values shift towards conscious consumerism and sustainability, branding must evolve to meet these expectations.”

—Veronica Fuerte, Founder & Creative Directress of Hey Studio

James Greenfield: I’m not convinced consumers are giving traditional branding the cold shoulder. Look at the stats: Gen-Zers in the US are splashing their cash on fashion like it’s going out of style. Sure, there’s plenty of talk about sustainability and conscious consumerism, but take a stroll through any mall or supermarket and you’ll see a different story playing out.

Despite the rise of online shopping and influencer culture, the big players are still churning out the same old stuff they have been for decades. Sure, the marketing spiel might have changed, especially on social media, but the products themselves? Not so much. Ask any group of people about their favorite brands and I bet you won’t hear anything groundbreaking.

Now, don’t get me wrong—there’s plenty of buzz around products that feel a bit more off the beaten track, but often, it’s just the packaging that’s different. Take Tesla, for example. They’re all about innovation, but when you strip away the hype and the power source, they’re still pretty conservative in their design and branding.

Then there’s Apple. Their marketing might pop up in unexpected places, but there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about an Apple Store. Yet the iPhone is what the younger generation is clamoring for.

With the internet ready to pounce on any brand that steps out of line, companies have to tread carefully and really get to know their customers. Because at the end of the day, it’s not just about how a brand looks—it’s about meeting your customers where they are, whether that’s online or in person.

Radim Malinic: Brands must be transparent about their actions and be willing to be held accountable for their impact on people and the planet. Transparency will become a cornerstone of branding in this era. Consumers increasingly demand access to information about a brand’s practices, including its environmental impact, labour conditions, and social responsibility initiatives. New startups and brands often spring up to act as the antidote to the bad practices of the juggernauts of the past. Doing things right is much harder and more costly than old methods. To convince consumers who often feel a blind devotion to legacy brands is often a task of its own. We have our work cut out for us, that’s for sure.

“Don’t fake it. …We’ve probably seen the last of a mayonnaise claiming its purpose is to reduce food waste (Hellmann’s) or a co-working space purporting to ‘elevate the world’s consciousness’ (WeWork).”

—Max Ottignon, Co-Founder of Ragged Edge

Max Ottignon: Don’t fake it. 

After years of brands jumping on inauthentic purpose bandwagons, there’s been a shift towards a more straightforward approach. Perhaps in response to people having to be more careful in their spending, brands have re-focussed on what their customers really want. Not what they’d like them to want. For some, that’s making sustainability a priority. But that focus has to be backed up by action and commitment at a business level. 

I think we’ve probably seen the last of a mayonnaise claiming its purpose is to reduce food waste (Hellmann’s) or a co-working space purporting to ‘elevate the world’s consciousness’ (WeWork). The trick, as always, is in understanding what matters to your customers, and how you’re in a unique position to offer it. But if you’re tempted to fake it, don’t.

Established in 2000, OFFF has become the largest exhibition and meeting point for contemporary visual creativity, uniting the worldwide network of design and creative professionals to foster connections among innovative talents globally in an effort to share insights, collaborate, and unite.

This year, the festival emphasizes nurturing new talent through “The Next Us,” a platform enabling Barcelona’s design students to showcase their work to OFFF’s global audience.

Learn more information about OFFF Barcelona, happening now (April 4 – 6).

The real estate developers Tom and Fred Elghanayan, founders of TF Cornerstone, knew they had to beautify the view to command luxury rents. They turned to Karlssonwilker for this deceptively simple, yet incredibly complex challenge.

Over the next five years, the designers—whose client list includes an international roster of museums and other design-forward organizations—figured out how to transform the wall into a dreamy cloudscape with winged creatures flying above, a little tsunami and the city skyline below, and poetry throughout. Now, each apartment that faces the wall has a remarkable and unique view. If a unit faces the street or the Hudson River, the tenants can enjoy the mural from the building’s courtyard garden, gym, or hotel-like gathering spaces. Nonresidents can view it from across the street, where this formerly desolate part of town—home to auto showrooms and repair shops as well as the Department of Sanitation—has transformed itself to serve residents with upscale coffee shops, a Pilates studio, a preschool, even a pet daycare center.

All this took time to come about. Karlssonwilker submitted design proposals that featured fields of grass, meadows of flowers, and verdant forests. There was a lengthy exploration of robots that would scale the walls, shoot paint, and change the vista with every 100-foot climb and descent. At first, the developers felt the $2 per square foot cost to get the robots in motion was reasonable. Still, complications ranged from potential insurance liability to the need for approvals from the Public Design Commission, the Community Board, and the Department of Sanitation, whose wall it technically is. “Ideas are not always bought by the client,” explained Karlsson, “but we keep working until an idea we love is loved by the client, too.”

The designer-client discussion soon turned to this: What would be there if the wall didn’t exist? Well, there would be sky, clouds, water … and the NYC skyline—a view one would never tire of. And the color scheme? It needed to be soothing, offensive to no one, pleasurable to all.

I recently had the pleasure of joining Karlssonwilker partners Hjalti Karlsson and Vera Yuan at the property and taking a tour led by TF Cornerstone principal and SVP Zoe Elghanayan. Every client meeting should be like theirs: a relaxed discussion, a look at the past and the future, and an analysis, in this case, taking in views of the mural from apartments on different floors and discussing such issues as where to extend the mural and in what year the paint might need a touchup.

Left: Client meeting in an apartment kitchen. L-R: Hjalti Karlsson, Zoe Elghanayan, Vera Yuan. Right: The meeting continues in the garden space between the building and the wall.

When the four of us sat down to chat, my first question was, “How did you meet?” Elghanayan’s response: “Through a referral.” It’s a truism that the most exciting projects come to designers not by waiting for the right clients to discover them, not by cold-calling, and not by falling for email pitches promising lists of fabulous prospects, but by referral.

As it happened, Anne Pasternak, the director of the Brooklyn Museum, had commissioned Karlssonwilker to design an anniversary book for the organization she previously led, Creative Time. The designers invented what they called the Real-Time Recording Machine, which, driven around Manhattan on a glass-walled truck, captured snapshots of sounds, colors, and people’s comments that were applied to individual covers so that each book, like the works of the artists Creative Time champions, was a unique work of art in itself.

TF Cornerstone realized that if Karlssonwilker could come up with that, they could devise something equally original and valuable for them. They were the only design firm consulted.

“Karlssonwilker has been a pleasure to work with, and I don’t feel that way about everyone,” Elghanayan said with a smile. She is especially keen on the poetry. Tucked into the mural’s composition are 16 poems, six in the public domain, including works by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Walt Whitman, and ten written especially for the project by mambers of the Poetry Society of New York. “We collaborated with the Poetry Society to choose local poets to write up to 200 words that celebrate New York neighborhoods and their history and architecture,” Karlsson explained.

“I’m a big fan of image and text combinations in art,” Elghanayan pointed out. At TFC, we’re so inspired by the city, and the poetry adds an important dimension. It’s a story wall. I was so proud to bring the local poets here for a tour,” she added, pointing out how the art program throughout the interior of the building continues the theme of image and text. “In many ways, the mural enhances and supports the art program,” she said. “It also enhances TFC’s reputation for going the extra mile to enhance the quality of life for residents.”

“Storytelling has been an ongoing motif in Karlssonwilker’s” work, Yuan noted. “Without the poems, it wouldn’t be the same wall.”

“Hand-painting the Trade Gothic typeface was challenging,” Karlsson recalled, but we worked through it on-site with the painters.”

If the design process was lengthy, the painting process was speedy. A rigging was set up. The outlines of the mural were printed in vertical strips. Holes were popped through the outline and transferred to the wall with charcoal. A team of painters from Artfx Murals, responsible for some of the most spectacular outdoor murals around New York City, worked on it at full tilt for four weeks straight.

Every major design project begs answers to questions like: What has it accomplished for the client’s business? Has it helped raise the company’s profile or revenues and made it easier to accomplish its goals? Has it inspired others to pull off a similar sleight of hand?

“The mural has helped reduce the amount of turnover in units that would have been facing a blank wall,” Elghanayan said. “Feedback during apartment tours has been positive. In fact, bad weather appears to increase how well the mural is received, which speaks to its success as an extension of reality. Karlssonwilker accomplished a phenomenal design feat that can’t be easily copied,” she emphasized, “and if someone tried, I imagine it wouldn’t be as successful. Also, given the grand scale of the wall, I don’t think too many others would take on the beautification challenge that we did.”

If you’d like to see more of “The Mural at the Max,” visit karlssonwilker.com or drop by 606 West 57th Street and take a look for yourself. (And, on a hot summer day, swing by Karlssonwilker’s studio in Ridgewood, Queens, and get some very special ice cream.)

Header photo and additional photos in story provided by author.

It’s really exciting to just make the change you want to see.

Michelle Norris and Forest Aguar can’t be stopped— and thank God for that. The creative power couple are the co-founders of the studio Tropico Photo, where they’ve curated a distinct signature aesthetic dominated by brightly saturated colors, patterns, and vibrant vibes. Now, the duo has taken their talents and keen design eye to retail, opening their very own vintage store in Atlanta called Space Queen.

I’ve been an avid follower of Norris’s Instagram over the last few years, where she has become somewhat of a vintage-shopping, image-making, fit-finding tastemaker. The leap from her prowess as a shopper to owner of her own store feels natural and almost destined. I was thrilled when she announced her long-time dream of opening her own vintage shop was becoming a reality, and of course the images she shared of the shop’s space did not disappoint. The store officially opened its doors last weekend, and Atlanta just got a little bit—nay, a lot a bit—brighter.

Before I’m able to plan a trip to Atlanta to check out Space Queen in person myself, I reached out to Norris and Aguar to learn more about their process of designing and opening the retail space. Check out their responses below.

I read on your Instagram, Michelle, that opening your own vintage store has long been a dream of yours. Why is that? What is it about having your own store that you coveted? 

Vintage shopping has always been one of my favorite activities. I love that you never know what you’ll find and that creates an environment of wonder and exploration for me. I want to give that to others. Also, in a larger way, I think vintage and resale is more important now than ever. Not only do I love these special items, but I think that this is the path forward for fashion-loving folks to enjoy shopping in a way that’s sustainable. 

How have translated your distinct aesthetic as a creative duo into a brick and mortar retail space?

We approached it like the other projects we’ve done interior design for, leaning into our love of color and playful forms. For Space Queen, we really wanted it to feel bright and airy because the space has gorgeous skylights and lots of natural light, and then sprinkle in our bolder palette to create something playful and fresh.

What are a few of your favorite details in the store design?

The squiggles on the center table and in the archways, the vintage chandelier, and the paper flowers that I found at a yard sale in Middle Georgia.

How have you gone about curating the products for the shop?

I lean on my own sense of style and love of eclectic items. It’s a variety of pieces that are for all ages and types of folks, but they are tied together by an unusual element, whether it be a bold color, unique cut, playful detailing, or subject matter.

Were there existing stores you looked to for inspiration in designing and developing Space Queen?

I’m so inspired by Century Girl Vintage, Saint Claude Social Club, Blue Dream (all three are in New Orleans), as well as Antique Antics in NC and Seven Wonders Collective in NYC. They all have something special in their curation and presentation that keeps me coming back!

What’s been the most exciting aspect of opening your own store?

Creating something that we’ve wanted Atlanta to have. We’ve taken over a beloved building that the neighborhood has been waiting to see brought to life for awhile. It’s really exciting to just make the change you want to see.

What’s been the biggest challenge?

Completing a renovation at the same time as figuring out the logistics of a new business.

What advice would you give someone looking to open up their own store?

Wait for the right space. The availability of this really wonderful building that suits all of our needs really inspired us to take the leap, and know that we could do something magical because it’s the perfect place.

Since its founding, National Geographic, or NatGeo for short, has evolved into a multifaceted platform spanning print, digital, television, and more, exploring science, geography, history, and culture. NatGeo seeks to inspire curiosity, foster understanding, and champion conservation efforts worldwide through its articles, documentaries, educational initiatives, and photography.

The globally recognized magazine, which has over 84 million monthly readers, unveiled a significant design refresh this month. This transformation, revealed in the March issue, marks the debut under Editor-in-Chief Nathan Lump and Creative Director Paul Martinez, who assumed their roles in 2022. With Lump’s rich editorial background, including publications like TIME and The New York Times, alongside Martinez’s creative expertise at Travel + Leisure, the duo brings a bedrock of experience to the publication.

The key design and content highlights include:

• New sections, including “In Focus,” a selection of full-page images from National Geographic’s photographers in the field, amplify the focus on photography and visual storytelling.
• Short-form content is now interspersed with in-depth features to create a more varied and dynamic reading experience.
• A larger typeface for an easier read – an intentional update taking reader feedback into account.
• And a subscriber-only cover that features more artful, intimate visuals.

I reached out to Lump and Martinez, eager to discuss the driving forces behind this redesign and their plans for holding 130+ years of tradition, while addressing the evolving needs of print and digital audiences. Our conversation (condensed for length and clarity), is below.

The redesign marks a significant shift in National Geographic‘s visual identity and content structure. What was the inspiration behind deciding to introduce new sections like “In Focus” and the added emphasis on visual storytelling?

NL: We’ve had an emphasis on visual storytelling in our pages for many decades, so while I don’t see our recent adjustments as a particular shift in that direction, we are continually looking for ways to heighten for the reader what is special about what we do. The core of our mission is helping readers to discover and better understand the wonder of our world, and for me, a lot of what I wanted to accomplish with this refresh was to showcase the true diversity of the subjects we cover and what we’re learning about them – from animal behavior to science to history and more. Our new recurring story types are designed to do just that. “In Focus,” a handful of pages at the start of the book, is in many ways a microcosm of that wider approach: we are fortunate to have relationships with great photographers around the globe who are always at work, and this column brings readers a selection of their recent images from out in the field, across the full spectrum of topics of interest to our readers. 

PM: A segment such as “In Focus” truly emphasizes one of our strengths: photography. Placing this at the forefront is not just about captivating the reader with compelling images but also about swiftly propelling them into the heart of the magazine. This seamless transition leads directly into our initial main feature, where we aim for readers to immerse themselves in a deeper narrative.

How do you balance honoring the magazine’s rich heritage of storytelling, particularly through its iconic photography, while also pushing boundaries in today’s media landscape? In what ways does the redesign reflect the evolution of storytelling mediums and audience preferences?

NL: I am extremely conscious of our legacy and of the incredibly loyal, devoted readership we are fortunate to have, and of course that makes you be very deliberate and thoughtful when you make changes. But legacy can also lead you to be too conservative and hold you back from making genuine improvements in the service of your audience. My feeling is that as long as you retain your commitment to telling meaningful stories that align with your brand and meet your reader’s expectations of quality, you have permission to adjust as long as you are putting yourself in the reader’s shoes and thinking about what will serve them best. I thought a lot about what it means to innovate in print as we approached this work and tried to ask myself whether traditional conventions still held true. Years of working on digital content and products have grounded me in UX thinking and research, and I drew on that in this process. Our decision to radically simplify the book structure—essentially, almost the entire magazine is one unnamed “section” that consists of shorter and longer stories mixed together—stems from an understanding that digital and social environments have conditioned us to consume content in more free-flowing and serendipitous way. The story selection and flow are still highly curated, as any great magazine should be, but it allows for more variation and surprise that we think makes the overall experience more pleasurable and engaging.

Design plays a significant role in ensuring that readers do not encounter difficulty with the content.

Paul Martinez, Creative Director

The decision to incorporate more short-form content alongside in-depth features is interesting. How do you navigate maintaining depth and substance while catering to shorter attention spans in today’s digital age?

PM: Many of our decisions revolved around the concept of pacing. Our strategy involved interspersing shorter stories among the longer ones to create a dynamic flow of peaks and valleys for the reader. We discovered that grouping all the longer features together risked reader fatigue, so placing shorter pieces between them offers readers a chance to engage swiftly with the content.

From a design standpoint, we aimed to signal to the reader when they were transitioning from a longer feature to a shorter story. To achieve this, we developed a consistent template for the shorter stories, facilitating a smooth exit from and entrance into the longer features. Additionally, we sought to engage the typographer more in introducing the features to signify the beginning of a substantial story.

Typography plays a crucial role in readability and accessibility, and your decision to introduce a larger typeface reflects a commitment to improving the reader experience. How did you approach this aspect of the redesign, particularly in response to reader feedback?

PM: Ensuring readability is a constant and top priority. Design plays a significant role in ensuring that readers do not encounter difficulty with the content. Moreover, from an aesthetic perspective, we aimed to provide sufficient space for the increased type size in the body copy and captions to breathe. By augmenting the white space in the layouts, we were able to strike that delicate balance and hopefully improve the reader experience.

The subscriber-only cover featuring more artful and intimate visuals is a bold move, especially in an era where digital content often takes precedence. What motivated this decision, and how do you see it contributing to the magazine’s relationship with its most loyal readers?

NL: I am conscious that our relationship with subscribers is a personal one—they’ve invited us into their homes—and that the experience of receiving a printed magazine in the mail and diving into it on your sofa is quite particular relative to other ways that you encounter content in other environments and platforms. On a traditional newsstand, you need to shout, as it were, to gain a potential reader’s attention. In digital, it’s much the same—you have milliseconds in someone’s scrolling to grab their attention. When they’ve subscribed, they’ve already indicated an interest in your content and a willingness to engage. That’s not to say that the cover doesn’t need to provoke engagement, but when you hold a magazine in your hands at home, you are quite literally up close and personal with it. That allows us, I think, to showcase artistry and to be quieter in our choice of image when it’s appropriate, and we deliberately went minimal with type, in a nod to the old National Geographics with type-only covers that essentially served as a table of contents. Our goal is still to intrigue or to move the reader in some way, but we can take a different approach that we hope delivers something tailored to the subscriber’s mindset now that they’re ready to sit down and read.

How do you navigate the preferences and consumption habits of print readers versus digital consumers, and what lessons can other content creators learn from your experience? Any advice for media companies looking to strengthen connections with their audiences in an increasingly digital landscape?

NL: Like many publishers, we know that our print and digital audiences are quite distinct, and while they share some common affinities, they are not mirror images of each other. For many years, at other titles, I tried to achieve nearly total platform convergence—with all content designed to flow seamlessly between platforms—but I no longer think that’s the best approach. Increasingly, we take a fluid approach to our content creation, with some stories designed specifically to satisfy the needs of either print or digital (or social) audiences, and then selectively, those stories migrate to other platforms, often with modifications and sometimes in a different medium. It’s more bespoke and requires more care, but if you build the intention into your production process from the outset, you can ensure you’re generating the right type of material and minimize the effort required after the fact. This is an essential part of being responsive to audience preferences. What will work for a certain type of reader or user in one place will not necessarily work for another reader or user somewhere else. My goal with all our storytelling is to maximize the reach and impact of our work, and the way that works is by recognizing how preferences and behaviors vary based on where someone is and their mindset. The through line, of course, is quality – personally, I find this thinking and the process it informs so much more creatively energizing than when I started my career, although it is undoubtedly more complicated. You can’t do everything all the time, so it’s also important to be mindful of who you are most focused on reaching and strategically what you are trying to get out of building that relationship. I think that today, in digital environments, in particular, success is a lot about super-serving more specific audiences and interests. In some ways, we’ve always done this with our printed magazines, so we’re well positioned to thrive wherever we may be because we think consumer-first, fundamentally, and build that into everything we do.

Diana Kasay, co-founder and CEO of Readymag, underscores the importance of creating environments where women can flourish and contribute to shaping the future of design. The ReadyLaunch Grant is poised to ignite the passion projects of its recipients, providing a platform for their creative endeavors.

Central to the relaunch is a showcase of 37 influential women in design from the 20th and 21st centuries, including luminaries such as Paula Scher, Kazuyo Sejima, Charlotte Perriand, Debbie Millman, Norma Merrick Sklarek, Tea Uglow, Jessica Walsh, and Ilana Goor. With a commitment to inclusivity and horizontal representation, the project aims to recognize and celebrate the diverse contributions of women in the industry.

In addition to the ReadyLaunch Grant, Readymag offers resources tailored to support female and non-binary designers. Each grant package includes a fellowship valued at $2000 alongside free one-year access to a Female Design Council membership, enrollment in the Female Design Council Mentor Match Program, and assistance securing media coverage. From networking to funding and mentorship, the company’s dedication to empowering creators underscores its mission to foster a more equitable design landscape..

Inspired and excited to learn more, I spoke to Alya Datii, Readymag’s head of brand marketing and the producer of both editions of Designing Women, and Lora Appleton, executive director and founder of the Female Design Council (FDC).

What insights or feedback from the initial launch of Designing Women influenced the decision to relaunch the initiative in 2024 with the ReadyLaunch Grant?

AD: Designing Women 2019 was the first time Readymag spoke on behalf of our brand on a social issue. For companies like ours, any take is risky; a vibe check with the user community might transform it because not everyone will agree with us – and not everyone did in 2019. We were anxious and more careful with our language than we are now, but the initiative came from personal experiences, from a place of honesty and a feeling of responsibility. As a female-led business, we couldn’t compromise our beliefs to be more likable. The risk paid off. Of course, there were hurtful and dismissive comments, unfollows, and unsubscribes, but supportive reactions outweighed the bad stuff.

Years went by, and every Women’s History Month, design media and influencers repeatedly highlighted the project. In 2023, we finally realized that Designing Women needed an update—if it’s still getting attention, that means it’s needed, and if it’s needed, the program must reflect our current beliefs. The 2019 project, albeit not intentionally, mainly focused on cis women and was whiter than the actual design field. In the 2024 version, we aimed to do a better job of being equitable.

Our reason for adding the ReadyLaunch Grant is simple: as Readymag grew as a business, we became strong enough to reinvest more in the community.

At the current rate of progress, it will take 131 years to reach full parity.

Global Gender Gap Index 2023

Could you elaborate on the process of making the Designing Women project more horizontal and inclusive? How did your team identify and prioritize the challenges and needs at the intersection of gender and design?

AD: Readymag’s marketing and design teams are primarily female, and we’ve experienced many of the issues the project addresses firsthand. We sat down and listed our problems, experiences, needs, and demands at the intersection of our work and gender; then, we reached out to people outside of our circle for input. From there, we picked the blank spaces we could try to fill as a сompany. We decided to continue archiving the impact of female designers, using our platform to highlight other initiatives tackling gender issues, and setting up a grant which prioritizes designers from underrepresented communities. In 2019, adding a ‘Resource’ section was an afterthought. This time, we based the relaunch on studying and contributing to the visibility of the work already done in the sector.

The ReadyLaunch Grant supports many project types, including newsletters, zines, YouTube channels, and podcasts. How do you envision these projects contributing to combating gender inequality in the design industry?

AD: One of the central issues that affects the career choices and paths of women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people is underrepresentation. It’s hard to take professional risks, launch passion projects, and tackle social issues while facing discrimination and working the second shift.

We expect the ReadyLaunch grant to help the project authors pursue their true passion. Many exceptional projects deal with gender equity, but it’s hard for them to sustain their work from a financial and time perspective. Our grant can enable them to pay themselves, pay their team, or cover other expenses, at least for a while.

Many exceptional projects deal with gender equity, but it’s hard for them to sustain their work from a financial and time perspective.

What excites you most about the relaunch, and what do you hope this initiative will achieve?

AD: To be honest, the response has already exceeded our expectations. In the first few days, we’ve received dozens of amazing proposals from all over the world. I hope we’ll be able to do the very difficult job of selecting just four winners well and that we will connect more applicants with resources that can help them implement their projects.

Besides practical outcomes, we hope Designing Women will continue making design herstories visible and inspiring other companies to take a stance on gender inequality. The current situation is a systemic and institutional failure that no single person, activist group, or company can overcome alone. However, businesses can influence their networks and use their platforms to make at least a small but positive impact.

With a curated list of over 20 organizations and initiatives tailored for female and non-binary individuals in design, how does Readymag approach collaboration and community-building to create a more supportive and inclusive industry environment?

AD: We understood how much work had already been done by activist initiatives and recognized that our responsibility as a business was to use our platform to shine a light on the work of others. In the reboot of the project in 2024, we’re taking this responsibility to a new level: we made the project much more horizontal by referring people to sources that deal with gender equality issues professionally. People need a lot of different resources: mentorships, subscriptions to services, educational courses, and trips. We’re very open to partnerships for resources and are not looking for the usual cross-promo; our main goal is contributing to the community.

The current situation is a systemic and institutional failure that no single person, activist group, or company can overcome alone. However, businesses can influence their networks and use their platforms to make at least a small but positive impact.

With the Female Design Council’s commitment to advancing female and non-binary representation in the design field, how do initiatives like Designing Women and the ReadyLaunch Grant contribute to its broader efforts?

LA: The FDC Mentor Match program started in 2020, and since then, it has served over 250 aspiring designers, architects, and applied artists by connecting them with successful design industry professionals. This direct relationship allows mentees to receive real-world advice, directions, and counsel to lead them toward their professional goals. A key element of our mentorship program is that it is also open to mid-career professionals interested in transitioning or pivoting into a different specialty. We are committed to keeping this a free program so that it’s accessible to anyone, regardless of financial means.

A key element of our mentorship program is that it is also open to mid-career professionals interested in transitioning or pivoting into a different specialty.

In what ways does the Female Design Council Mentor Match Program support emerging designers, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, in navigating design industry challenges?

LA: The FDC Mentor Match program started in 2020, and since then, it has served over 250 aspiring designers, architects, and applied artists by connecting them with successful design industry professionals. This direct relationship allows mentees to receive real-world advice, directions, and counsel to lead them toward their professional goals. A key element of our mentorship program is that it is also open to mid-career professionals interested in transitioning or pivoting into a different specialty. We are committed to keeping this a free program so that it’s accessible to anyone, regardless of financial means.

How does the Female Design Council approach collaboration and community-building to create a more supportive and inclusive environment within the industry?

LA: The FDC has been “doing the work” since Day One. Everything we do is community-driven and inclusive, and we are very mindful and focused on ensuring access and representation. We offer in-person and virtual networking events, a free mentoring program, and 25 gratis memberships annually to designers of underrepresented backgrounds. Those are a few examples, but a spirit of inclusivity and collaboration infuses everything about our mission and programming.

Applications for the ReadyLaunch Grant are open from March 4 to May 8, 2024, inviting aspiring designers to seize the opportunity to propel their projects forward. With this initiative, Readymag continues to champion diversity and inclusion within the design community, reaffirming its commitment to empowering creators.

The phantom of liberty haunts all contemporary culture.

Fans of Real Review will know this magazine likes to think outside the box. Take, for example, the innovative extra vertical fold that runs down the magazine, giving it essentially a quadruple-page spread. But the latest issue looks very different to the publication we have come to know and love, thanks to its large, empty spaces, which make a brilliant and striking statement on the war in Gaza.

“The phantom of liberty haunts all contemporary culture. At the last moment before this issue went to print, every non-text element (photo, diagram, drawing) was removed from the layout and replaced with an html accessibility description, also known as an ‘alt text’. What this reveals is the medium of communication itself; and what remains is an aesthetic ghost of the original,” writes Real Review‘s editorial staff.

The lead story of the issue is an interview with writer and cultural critic Shumon Basar, who accuses Israel of “normalising ultraviolence by layering horrific images on top of obscene images every single day, like rubble on top of rubble.” Indeed. We have been overly saturated by images of the war, making it too easy to simply look away. But leaving a white box with the alt text instead of the actual image encourages the reader to think more deeply, drawing upon everything we’ve already seen and possibly skimmed over in other media and adding to the power of Basar’s words.

Elsewhere in the magazine, the missing images assume different power. For example, an article on humour and protest, based upon the 2013 book Can Jokes Bring Down Governments, was initially accompanied by pictures of lolcat memes from 2013 and 2023. Sure, we’ve all seen plenty of lolcats, but I’d like to see the particular images the designer chose to contrast with one another across the decade divide. And besides, who doesn’t want some funny cats scattered through their cultural criticism? In this case, the absent images don’t add anything to the story; instead, they become a reminder that something here has been lost. 

See my full review and walk through the issue below.

Steven Watson is the founder of Stack, the independent magazine club that delivers a different title every month to thousands of readers around the world. He lives in London with his wife and two sons, and is running out of shelf space.

Unlike traditional grant programs, Chicago’s Cultural Treasures goes beyond providing financial assistance. Instead, the initiative is rewriting the narrative of equity in the arts by offering tailored support and capacity-building to ensure the preservation and advancement of BIPOC-led initiatives for generations to come.

Administered by IFF with the Chicago funders group, the effort serves BIPOC arts and culture institutions that have long operated as neighborhood anchors, tradition-keepers, and community-builders to help ensure that experiences are broadly shared and heard. IFF champions nonprofits across the Midwest to shape more equitable and vibrant communities through community-centered lending, development, and real estate solutions.

Tara Townsend, President of IFF’s Social Impact Accelerator, shared the importance of how uplifting and investing in BIPOC-led initiatives not only honors the richness of Black history but also actively contributes to a more inclusive and equitable future. 

(This conversation was edited for length and clarity).

How do you ensure that initiatives such as funding, capacity-building, and technical assistance meet the needs of arts organizations and contribute to their long-term sustainability?

When the funding collaborative reached out to IFF – knowing they needed a community partner with relevant expertise and credibility in BIPOC communities – we, in turn, knew that the initiative could only be successful if it were deeply embedded within the community it serves.

IFF accepted the role because we saw it as an opportunity to support the long-term financial resilience and sustainability of BIPOC arts organizations. As administrators, we designed the grant program, developed an open nomination process to select the participatory grant committee, and facilitated the grant committee in developing decision-making criteria to review the proposals and ultimately make the funding recommendations.

The grant committee members, comprised of a diverse group of community members, civic leaders, and artists embedded in Chicago’s rich arts and culture scene, all appreciate how art fits into the community fabric in the Chicagoland area. The Committee was given near total control over the process, from design to decision (with IFF as an organizer and facilitator), ceding a great deal of power to the communities the initiative intended to serve.

The Grant Committee’s process wasn’t so different from other grantmakers. However, they were different deciders who made different decisions. Examples are focusing criteria on BIPOC-rooted art forms rather than more common criteria focused on BIPOC representation and acknowledging cultural expressions that traditional forms of grant support have historically passed over.

Beyond the critical general operating funding, capacity building and technical assistance were also co-created with the arts communities to meet their needs. Grantees had the opportunity to self-select which offerings they wanted to pursue, enabling IFF to meet each organization where they were in terms of their current capacity and future priorities.

We intentionally designed this, to the best of our abilities, to genuinely meet the needs of the organizations and their communities.

Capital alone cannot provide long-term sustainability, but capital paired with resources like financial management, peer learning, real estate consulting, and more does.

Tara Townsend

Chicago’s Cultural Treasures aims to address both immediate challenges and long-term systemic issues faced by BIPOC arts organizations. Can you share some specific strategies or programs that exemplify this balance?

When IFF agreed to administer ChiTreasures, it was with the understanding that we were not just administering grants. IFF works at the intersection of finance and facilities, ensuring nonprofits have what they need for long-term sustainability.

All of the programs that IFF administers focus on providing technical assistance in addition to capital. Capital alone cannot provide long-term sustainability, but capital paired with resources like financial management, peer learning, real estate consulting, and more does. So, while our involvement in ChiTreasures differed from other work we engage in, it still follows this program model: providing unrestricted grants – in this case, a total of $14.4 million – with access to workshops and resources in fundraising, board development, marketing and communications, financial management, and facilities planning and support. All of these are identified as key needs to help strengthen organizations and manage grant funds for sustained longevity.

Being named a Chicago Cultural Treasure significantly impacted organizations’ sustainability through grants and resources. It also broadened recognition of types of cultural treasures that have historically been overlooked for traditional forms of grant support. We hope that it opened up opportunities for Chicago’s arts and culture organizations—especially those deep in communities rooted in BIPOC culture—to receive additional support.

Beyond this, one of our commitments is to share the learnings and recommendations gathered from the initiative to support long-term changes in funding for organizations rooted in BIPOC arts and culture.

By design, ChiTreasures was not a standard grantmaking initiative. It was a race equity initiative for Chicago’s arts and culture sector.

Tara Townsend

The initiative recognizes the compounding historic inequities faced by BIPOC arts organizations. Could you discuss how Chicago’s Cultural Treasures specifically addresses these inequities? 

By design, ChiTreasures was not a standard grantmaking initiative. It was a race equity initiative for Chicago’s arts and culture sector. By ceding decision-making power to members of the community and by using an LOI (letter of intent) process, as opposed to a standard grant application, we aimed to disrupt the “regular” ways of grantmaking in hopes of countering historic inequities. The LOI process allowed us to explore organizations without using standard metrics for arts funding, which focus on artistic excellence rooted in Western European cultural standards and financial strength, which would naturally disadvantage these organizations due to decades-long histories of underfunding.

The initiative revealed—by the fact that over 140 letters of intent were received—that there are no hidden treasures; they had been buried by years of un-investment. And revealing that was one important step in the initiative’s success.

Since this unprecedented infusion of grant dollars, Chicago’s arts and culture organizations, especially those deep in communities and rooted in BIPOC culture, have received additional support, and we hope it continues. Two years after the grants were made, the funding collaborative and IFF continue to meet and work towards more equitable cultural funding practices.

Our hope is that the initiative’s collective impact will be the ongoing disruption of historical trends in funding for BIPOC-led and -focused cultural organizations as anchors in equitable community development.  

As President of IFF’s Social Impact Accelerator, you oversee various initiatives. What unique challenges or opportunities does Chicago’s Cultural Treasures present? How does the focus on BIPOC arts organizations shape your strategies and approach?

The Social Impact Accelerator (SIA) was created in 2018 to deepen and grow IFF’s impact by scaling what works, innovating new solutions, and driving systems change.

What sets ChiTreasures apart is not how the IFF team operates but the elements that were intentionally designed to make it a unique initiative. For one, the funding collaborative operates to shift funding decision-making and distribution powers to the community.

Another challenge was operating under a participatory grantmaking model and ceding power to the community members. Still, IFF is committed to doing things differently in order to ensure different results and long-term change.

The initiative revealed—by the fact that over 140 letters of intent were received—that there are no hidden treasures; they had been buried by years of un-investment.

Tara Townsend

With sustainability a key goal of Chicago’s Cultural Treasures, how do you measure the long-term impact and success of the support provided to BIPOC arts organizations?

We know that funding from philanthropic sources has been limited for BIPOC arts organizations. This requires these organizations to depend on other revenue sources that may be more fluid, like earned revenues from performances, resulting in uneven cash flows throughout the year. When organizations do receive funding, it is often program-specific or one-year, which limits their ability to plan for the long term.

So, to understand sustainability, we look at an organization’s revenue sources, whether it is reliant on just one source, and how much liquidity it has to weather leaner times. We also look at whether organizations receive more general operating or multi-year grants to understand whether philanthropy is adopting practices that lead to more sustainability for their grantees.

That ties into the initiative’s long-term influence. Observing how the funding landscape continues to evolve, specifically with BIPOC arts organizations, will enable us to evaluate the progress made. 

IFF is committed to gathering and sharing what we have learned and monitoring what unfolds in the future to support a positive change for more treasures across Chicagoland and beyond.

Imagery courtesy of IFF.

The New York City-based design studio Nik Bentel Studio has recently paid homage to Wes Anderson’s aesthetic and his beloved filmography by creating a handbag replica of a pastry box from Anderson’s 2014 feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Nik Bentel is no stranger to the clever and creative handbag game, having previously “broken the internet” with his Pasta Handbag in 2021. Bentel’s Box Bag, however, represents the first product creation by Bentel to be inspired by a film. “As a studio, we’ve already explored reimagining paintings to foods, but we have not yet explored stories told in films,” he told me. “Our mission is to tell stories through objects that are big, small, and in between. Films are one of the best ways we humans currently have to tell stories, and what better story to choose an object from than a cult classic film like The Grand Budapest Hotel!”

Bentel’s Box Bag is a spot-on 5-inch-square recreation of Mendl’s patisserie box from the film. The pink pastel exterior is made from genuine leather and lined in suede, with a delicately decorated rich pink serif that reads “Bentel’s” instead of the original “Mendl’s,” accompanied by ornate swirling flourishes. A blue ribbon encircles the box with a bow at the top, which cleverly serves as the bag’s handle. As a limited edition item with only 300 units released, each bag comes with a metallic identification card for authentication.

Bentel told me that while this is the first product from his studio inspired by a film, it certainly won’t be the last. “I would love to reimagine the worlds of more films!” he said. Bringing concepts from the silver screen into the realm of physical objects feels like exciting new territory for Bentel and his team. “Being able to tell stories through objects opens new doors to storytelling because there are no language barriers. All of one’s senses are activated when you hold an object in your hands. In designing an object, we get to think about every aspect: the presentation, touch, smell, etc. It’s not just a visual experience. You have so much more ability to add depth and detail with an object than many other mediums.”

The question remains: What would Wes Anderson himself make of Bentel’s Box Bag? Bentel hopes he’d appreciate the interpretation from a fellow craftsman. “I hope that he sees the project and appreciates it as a unique take, inspired by the films he creates!” said Bentel. “I also hope he appreciates the attention to detail, or at least the detail that a small studio can include in such a project.”

What struck us was Splinter’s graphic quality. The font plays with the limits of legibility, presenting itself as a sort of futuristic dot matrix with opportunities for patterns and graphic flourishes.

Splinter’s visual presentation aside, we love the ride-along on Goyal’s process, which she outlines in the Splinter Diaries. The series is for Universal Thirst Gazette, an online resource for designers, researchers, and students to encourage discussion and interest in Indic type (and type generally).

In her first installment for the Splinter Diaries, Goyal lays out her initial exploration of a grid-based system and how to render the shirorekha (or the horizontal line above the characters), diacritics such as matras (vowel modifiers), conjuncts (adjoining consonants), and symbols such as the kana (क, ठ, with a central vertical stem).

Top: found lettering, the title of a book by Hindi author Devendranath Sharma. The creator of the cover design is unknown;
Bottom: the digitized version.

For now, Splinter supports the basic Devanagari character set and some support for Hindi conjuncts and Marathi and Nepali glyphs. The typeface will expand as it develops to cover the Latin upper case, followed by other Indic scripts. Find Splinter on FutureFonts.

Namrata Goyal pursued her love of type at TypeAtCooper in New York and TypeMedia at the Royal Academy of Art in the Hague, Netherlands (her thesis explored newspaper type and multi-script typography). At Universal Thirst, Namrata primarily focuses on North Indian and Latin scripts. She also publishes independent projects on FutureFonts.

A selection of my students’ work is featured throughout this piece, with their permission.

I started reading Comey’s book after watching the Netflix show Comey Rule. But perhaps I should explain why this book made an impact on me. Words, arguments (not in the sense of fighting but preparing a compelling point), and rhetoric are very attractive to me. The better we can express our points, the better our eloquence, charisma, and credibility. Comey’s book does not disappoint in that sense. The writing is superb. At times, it drags, but it is generally a very well-written memoir of his time as the FBI director and how he got there. Comey worked under three Presidents: George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. Three different leaders with a common denominator: James Comey.

Bashing these three leaders and expanding on their weaknesses would have been easy. Comey’s measured and cautious observations of them reveal quite a bit about his integrity. Especially when he refers to Obama. Comey was a Republican appointed by George W. Bush, another Republican, as an Attorney General. Obama, a Democrat, appointed him as the FBI Director. Comey’s descriptions of Obama as a person and leader are remarkable. There is a formidable sense of respect and admiration, considering they represented different political interests. That is why I stuck with the book. If someone from an opposite party can see and speak highly of an opponent’s character (assuming there is a good character to praise), that person can reason beyond their biases. Yes, it is true that Comey was not running against Obama. Still, not many can speak about, let alone write about, the honorability of an opponent.

Civil discourse is something that we have lost in this country. I grew up in the time when a handshake was as good as any written document to seal a deal. And when your word was everything. Differences of opinion were handled with grace, for the most part. Sometimes, there were unusual and out-of-hand situations, but the norm was civility. Somehow, while growing up in Puerto Rico, that changed. Tempers flared, and voices were raised. So much so that when I came to the US, I never talked about politics with anyone. When I met my husband’s parents, I was shocked by how much they talked about politics. It took me a long time to get used to it.

There is a recollection in Comey’s book I found particularly remarkable when it came to Obama. In the chapter titled “The Washington Listen,” Comey recounts his speech in Chicago regarding the relationship between law enforcement and the African American community. Two days after the speech, Obama requested to meet with him. Inadvertently, Comey had added controversy to the controversy—to put it mildly. My read on the narrative was that Comey, like many Caucasians, was not able to fine-tune his read and feelings about the state of affairs between the police and the African American community. In Comey’s words, he “was trapped in his own perspective.” Thus, he came across differently than he might’ve wished. As an FBI director, what he said carried weight—in the context of having an African American president, the weight of how and what Comey said weighed even more. How Comey describes the conversation between himself and Obama was remarkable to me. Obama expressed he called him “to understand what you are seeing and thinking.” After carefully listening to Comey, Obama explained how the African American community perceives some of the terms and words Comey used. He credited Obama for helping him see beyond his perspective. More importantly, he remarked about Obama: “President Obama would never have considered such a conversation if he did not have enough confidence in himself to show humility.”

What made the civil discourse between Comey and Obama possible? Empathy, humility, willingness to listen, and freedom to disagree. It sounds so easy. Yet, it is so difficult. Even in the media, there is little reporting. There is, however, editorializing—words sprinkled here and there to sway opinions and kindle disgust. Both camps are guilty: the left and the right.

Now, what does this have to do with my students’ project of redesigning the dollar bills¹? Quite a bit. One of my most important goals is for my students to feel free to disagree while protecting civility. We must engage in conversations to nurture and articulate ideas that inevitably will become personal as they engage in the process of designing them. I want my students to protect each other’s space so that they can speak their views. And yes, I disagree with a good number of them sometimes. Occasionally, I have had to apologize for a word or a comment out of turn. I do not mind doing that because I am focused on a bigger goal: mutual respect, civility, and trust. More importantly, if I am willing to be vulnerable, it is very likely that my students will follow suit with their work.

When we started our project, the conversation was profound. We spoke about the nation’s politics, economy, and international practices. We discussed everything we could think regarding the United States as a nation of power. That included the good and the bad for Caucasians, Asians, African Americans, and Latinos in the class. This discussion brought many ideas and thoughts about what to highlight about the country. One design featured a plastic see-through window so everyone could see themselves in the currency when the bill was held up (see the banner picture designed by Jonathan Taylor). Others highlighted women such as Sybil Ludington, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Barbara Jordan, the first Southern African American congresswoman, and other topics important to them: marine life, national parks, the Wright brothers, and Native Americans, for instance. Their projects were so good that when I was grading them, I was filled with emotion at how much improvement they had made. This brings me back to why Comey’s book resonated with me. It is not only about people but also about how we all contribute to the larger picture: a place where diverse points of view enrich, polish, and shape each other while keeping our core values. Maybe I am idealistic. Probably so. But I hold on to it because it is worth having a class where everyone puts forth their best work based on a simple premise: it matters and makes a difference.

Alma Hoffmann is a freelance designer, design educator, author of Sketching as Design Thinking, and editor at Smashing Magazine. This is a slightly edited version of an essay originally posted on Temperamental amusing shenanigans, Alma’s Substack dedicated to design, life, and everything in between.

Banner mage courtesy author, work designed by Jonathan Taylor.

1. Project is originally found on AIGA Design Teaching Resources ↩︎

Though partnering with young ballers like Bellingham, Adidas has recently been looking to the past for their slate of new releases. There’s nothing subtle about the brand tapping into the power of nostalgia within sports design, and a recent leak shows that Adidas is plotting to unveil a logo of a silhouetted Bellingham not unlike the quite literally iconic Michael Jordan Jumpman logo from Nike.

This news has already elicited a litany of polarized hot takes, so I sought a few more from trusted sports design correspondent Todd Radom. As a prolific sports designer and branding expert, Radom’s hot takes are more than just hot: they’re credible. I threw a few questions his way about this logo news, and he was happy to offer some insider insights.

“You come at the king, you best not miss.”

Is Adidas creating their own version of a famous logo from their direct competitor, a design diss track? How is this sort of thing typically received in the sports design world?

“You come at the king; you best not miss.” There’s no missing the connection and the brash statement here. It’s hard to quantify the global impact of the Jumpman logo, which is now 36 years old.

I’m not sure I’d equate this to a “diss track,” but I would say that the messaging here is unmistakable. Sports fans (and, in this case, sneakerheads and streetwear fans) will know what’s happening here, which is essentially a glomming onto long-established brand equity. The sports design world will likely split into two groups: Here in America, many might well view this as a copycat exercise, more or less, while the rest of the world may well chalk it up to football being the global sport that it is, regardless of the phenomena that Jordan, the NBA, and the Bulls provided more than a generation ago.

Visually speaking, what do you think of this (reported) Jude Bellingham silhouette as a logo? For me, it’s not as compelling or active as the shape of Michael Jordan dunking.

Agreed! A static image cannot compete with the otherworldly silhouette of an airborne Jordan. Can you believe that he could fly like that? How aspirational. Tack on all those years of accrued equity, and this new logo pales in comparison in many ways. Any of us can raise our arms in victory, but few, if any, of us can be like Mike.

Any of us can raise our arms in victory, but few, if any of us can be like Mike.

Adidas is leaning heavily on reviving old designs and products right now (bringing back Predators cleats is at the top of the list). What are your thoughts on appealing to nostalgia and relying on reboots (no pun intended) instead of being more forward-thinking and innovative and creating entirely new designs?

I say it all the time: we live in unsettled times. Nostalgia is like a big heaping bowl of mashed potatoes— it makes us feel good. It reminds us of better and simpler times (even if they weren’t, shhh!) And when it comes to sports, it can remind us of past glory, uncomplicated and easily received. All that said, I love a nostalgic approach when appropriate; I’ve built part of my career off of that. But the world doesn’t stop moving, and new consumers and enthusiasts deserve stuff that reflects their own worldview and sensibilities. Besides, everything that’s new now will be considered “retro” in 20 years or so.

The world doesn’t stop moving, and new consumers and enthusiasts deserve stuff that reflects their own worldview and sensibilities.

Bereal’s work, encapsulated in The Black Yearbook, offers an intimate portrayal of the joys, challenges, and truths encountered by Black students navigating higher education. The book challenges our societal narratives with honesty and depth, and in the process, Adraint Bereal opens our eyes.

I was fortunate enough to ask Bereal about his educational and creative journey in bringing The Black Yearbook to life; below is our interview.

(Interview edited for clarity and length).

Left: The Black Yearbook cover, Right: headshot of author Adraint Bereal

Bereal’s profoundly personal project began with his alma mater, the University of Texas. Through a collection of portraits, personal statements, and interviews, he provided a window into the lives of Black students in a predominantly white environment. Inspired by his initial exhibition, 1.7, a raw and candid portrait of the experiences of Black men at UT (1.7% of the student population), Bereal expanded his vision. He embarked on a nationwide exploration from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to predominantly white institutions and trade schools.

What sets Bereal’s approach apart is his commitment to showcasing more than just the trauma often associated with Black narratives. Instead, he amplifies stories of resilience, joy, and triumph amidst adversity, challenging societal perceptions and stereotypes.

In visiting schools for The Black Yearbook, what was a pivotal moment or encounter during your travels that deeply resonated with you and shaped your understanding of the complexities within the Black student experience?

AB: Traveling far west to Alaska to conclude my travels was such a reflective moment. The four to five months of travel were filled with the constant noise of trains, planes, and cars. My best friend accompanied me to Alaska, and it was the most peaceful moment I had experienced. Because The University of Alaska-Juneau is a relatively small campus, I interviewed only two students, which left me with a lot of time to relax—something I hadn’t really been able to do. On our second day in Alaska, my best friend and I hiked to see the Mendenhall Glacier, after which we found ourselves running back to our taxi in a snowstorm. The conversations with the 116 students were kind of like this – enthralling, and before you know it, you are caught in the middle of a storm trying to seek shelter. Work like this requires courage, and I learned I have no shortage of it while running into a storm head first.

The heart of The Black Yearbook lies in its dedication to honest dialogue. Each profile is a testament to the individuality of Black college experiences. Through stunning photography and compelling narratives, Bereal captures the essence of each interviewee, allowing their voices to shine through.

What struck me most about Bereal’s work was his design approach. Every page of The Black Yearbook bursts with energy and creativity, reflecting the diversity and vibrancy of the Black college experience. It’s a refreshing departure from the monolithic portrayal of higher education, offering a multifaceted representation that celebrates the richness of Black culture and identity.

You weave together interviews, photographs, and illustrations to capture the multifaceted narratives of Black students navigating the educational landscape. How did you approach the storytelling process to ensure that these narratives were accurately represented and celebrated in their fullness, capturing moments of joy and triumph alongside the challenges and adversities?

AB: Creating a book like this requires a lot of openness, and that’s at the core of each conversation. I went into each meeting with little to no expectations, knowing that the conversation could be as short as a few minutes or as long as a few hours. Had I approached this in a measured and solely quantitative way, I may not have been able to cut through surface-level conversations to reach a more personal and lived experience. Patience is a virtue.

The Black Yearbook has been described as both radical and reverent, offering a space for Black students to see themselves reflected while challenging societal prejudices. How can creative projects like yours contribute to conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion within educational spaces, and what do you hope readers, particularly Black students, take away from your book?

AB: The Black Yearbook continues work previously done by artists and scholars such as Toni Morrison, Monroe Work, and W.E.B. Dubois. The increase in digital technologies has created a lack of physical media to preserve Black existence. We must be the architects of our narrative, and that is what I’ve done. I’ve created a lasting document of existence to preserve our stories for future generations. Understanding – that’s the takeaway.

In a society where mainstream narratives often overlook or stereotype Black experiences in higher education, The Black Yearbook serves as a powerful corrective. Bereal’s work challenges us to reframe our perceptions and embrace the complexity of Black college life. It’s a testament to the resilience, strength, and beauty of the Black community and a reminder of the importance of amplifying diverse voices in the narrative of higher education.

Some have clutched their pearls at the buildings’ makeover, considering the graffiti vandalism and calling the state of the buildings an eyesore. Meanwhile, others have welcomed the transformation, making the point that the real tragedy is that three 53-story billion-dollar apartment buildings have sat dormant in the city’s center for five years and that artists bringing life and flair to the buildings is beautiful.

It became a staple in Los Angeles, and I am grateful and honored to be a part of it.

Fleat, graffiti artist

One of the graffiti artists who took his talents to these buildings happens to be a friend of mine. He goes by the moniker Fleat, and has been doing graffiti in LA and beyond since the mid-90s.

Fleat was introduced to graffiti by his uncle, a graffiti writer in LA in the late 80s and early 90s. “He was really inspiring because he was a graffiti artist, not just a tagger,” Fleat says. “A lot of people in LA just vandalize, but he was an actual artist.” Fleat was about ten years old when he first picked up the can, and he’s been painting ever since. He’s not only making his mark in his hometown of West LA and Venice Beach but also all over the world, traveling to Guatemala, Greece, Taiwan, Barcelona, Colombia, and the Philippines. He networks with local artists in each destination, usually meeting them at art stores while getting supplies. Through these connections, he finds places to paint and other graffiti writers to collaborate with. “It’s just a beautiful thing; they treat me well everywhere,” he shares. “The feeling is out of this world. I never thought I would feel this good over graffiti.”

One of the graffiti artists Fleat has met through his work is a prolific writer named Pemex, who recently visited LA from Northern California, where he’s based. His trip coincided with this massive graffiti moment gripping the city, and Fleat and Pemex couldn’t miss it. They hatched a plan for the excursion, gathering old paint Fleat had kicking around from previous projects, and then set out on a mission to the buildings late one night.

By the time of their outing, artists had utterly transformed the buildings, each writer claiming a window, leaving their tag behind in bold letters up above. “It was already grilled, but there were open spaces,” says Fleat of the state of the buildings when they arrived. They scouted out two open windows near one another at the top of one of the buildings and dove in. “Getting inside the property is probably a quarter of the battle. In graffiti, somebody has always cut a hole out somewhere,” explains Fleat. “We saw a few people coming out, and they told us there was a hole nearby.”

Once inside, it was go time. Fleat and Pemex began their long journey up the stairs of the building, dripping in sweat under the weight of their clothing layers and bags of supplies. “It was really tiring,” says Fleat, always mindful of the risks inherent to doing graffiti. “When you do things like this, danger is lurking. Anything can happen.” The duo reached the 49th floor, and Fleat claimed the first blank window. He walked through the empty unit, out to the balcony, and got to work. “I’ve never been that high before. I’ve never felt the air that high. And it was one of those rainy, gloomy nights.”

Fleat talked to himself as he worked to stay motivated and inspired and to remain calm. When he works, he cuts out all distractions to stay focused; he doesn’t even listen to music. “It’s conducting business at 100%,” he explains. “There’s no room for error.” It took Fleat roughly an hour and a half to complete his piece, which features his moniker in vibrant letters that blend down from pink to purple to black, all outlined in bright yellow.

Fleat tells me that the end of every piece feels like a dream come true, and this one was no different. “That’s how I treat every piece,” he says. “It goes deep. I get really emotional; I get overwhelmed with happiness.” Being part of this project, in particular, has been especially meaningful to him. “It became a staple in Los Angeles, and I am grateful and honored to be a part of it,” he reflects.

But what’s to become of this public art piece? There are reports that the LA City Council has just voted to allocate $4 million toward efforts to remove the graffiti and secure the building from future tagging.

The fleeting nature of graffiti is part of the deal, though, and artists like Fleat are at peace with that. “It’s just part of it. It’s already incorporated in the culture, but it won’t be there forever,” he says. “I’m not tied to any of my pieces; some kid might go over it, somebody might run a line through it, anything.” With this reality at the core of the art form, graffiti artists find value more in the moment of creation than in their finished product. The art is in the experience of execution—finding the hole in the fence, trekking up the 49 flights, bracing yourself against the windy gloom with the paint can in your hand. Once finished, the piece takes on a life of its own and belongs to the next artist, whoever (or whatever) that might be.

Dr. Lanteigne is a Principal of Research at Steven Winter Associates (SWA), where she’s developed a new resource aimed at helping practitioners embed equity in the design of the built environment. Introducing the Building Equity Standard (BEST). Aided by her background in public policy, Dr. Lanteigne created BEST as an antidote to the Universal Design school of thought. “The truth is, considering all people at once doesn’t genuinely enhance the lives of anyone,” she says. Because while it might sound like a swell idea, designing for “everyone” is impossible, considering the innumerable differences within the human race. Humanity can’t be treated as a monolith, where we flatten and simplify nuance and variety between humans in the name of equality. Instead, we should strive for equity within design, where marginalized identities are acknowledged, celebrated, and specifically designed for.

Upon hearing about BEST, I was eager to speak with Dr. Lanteigne directly to learn more. She recently gave me a primer on her research and opened my eyes to some of the pitfalls of Universal Design and the ways BEST attempts to address those gaps. Our conversation is below.

(Interview edited for clarity and length.)

What’s your background in the field of equitable and inclusive design? When did you first realize that Universal Design isn’t the solution?

I’m unique in the architecture world because I have a background in public policy; I started my career doing disability policy work. I was essentially given a portfolio of all of these cases of non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It became apparent that compliance and accessibility were really important, and non-compliance was a huge problem.

From there, I just snowballed into understanding not only the legal requirements but how little they do in terms of affording accessibility. I learned about the idea of going above and beyond what was required by law and code to enhance experiences for people with physical disabilities, sensory disabilities (hearing and vision), different cognitive abilities, and how people process information. That interest early on in my career made me curious as to how we create spaces that go beyond disability inclusion, looking at marginalized groups based on gender, LGBTQ identity, race, religion, or if you speak English as a second language. So, how do our environments shape our experiences, and then what are the design strategies to achieve those more equitable environments?

I took an illuminating disabilities studies course in college where my professor framed disabilities as socially constructed. People are only disabled because the world around them isn’t built for them, which is what creates an inability. Learning that definition was mind-blowing to me.

I love that you just shared the Social Model of Disability with me! Not many people know of it or even understand it. It describes a key shift; it’s not an inherent problem with the person. It’s how the environment is designed (or not designed) to adapt or support people of different abilities.

Can you give an example of a Universal Design concept that typifies how most of our designed world doesn’t meet marginalized people’s needs?

The curb cut is the most classic example of Universal Design (which is boring, but it gets the job done). It’s a classic example because its intent is to support people in a wheelchair and people with mobility issues, but at the same time, it also supports somebody pushing a stroller or people carrying rolling luggage, bikers, and young children. The premise of Universal Design is that one design strategy can be cross-cutting, so it supports disability inclusion, but it’s also beneficial for everyone.

This terminology is like “design for all” or “design for everyone,” which started in the 1970s and 1980s, maybe a little before, but we still see it today. The reality is that one design certainly can’t benefit everyone. Realistically, that’s impossible when we look at this from an equity lens—which is just beginning in architecture. Right now, there’s this idea of one design for everyone versus having an equity perspective, which is making sure that we’re prioritizing marginalized groups’ and marginalized communities’ needs. Those are two different things.

Universalism says one for everyone. Equity says we’ve got to shore up these gaps and make sure we’re designing spaces for overlooked groups that have been underrepresented in design forever. We’re just beginning to see spaces that say, This is designed by and for the LGBTQ+ community. That’s important to me because I identify as a member of that community. These places use design strategies that reflect a safe space; we surveyed the community, and that’s reflected in that design. We’re not going to say it’s also designed for everyone. It’s a nuanced difference, and it’s still hard for the architecture industry to get behind because there’s that “usefulness” of architecture that people want to fall back on. This idea that, yes, it’s for a specific group, but it’s still good for everyone. That’s an interesting, ongoing debate. I don’t think Universal Design is wrong or bad. Equity is just a different way to look at it.

Can you point to an example of a design or concept created with the BEST framework?

BEST is still really new, so it has yet to be applied. However, the research I did to develop it is based on four case studies that tapped into various marginalized communities, listened to what those communities were saying, and summarized and synthesized that into this resource.

One of those case studies was the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian American Experience in Seattle, Washington. The architects and the museum worked hand-in-hand with the AAPI community in Seattle to make sure they were designing a culturally safe and celebratory space that also captured the Asian immigrant experience. So, you see a lot of very specific design strategies in that project. For example, artwork that captures both the beauty and difficulty of the Asian immigrant experience. The community also wanted to maintain certain aspects of historical design that they felt told the narrative and story of immigrant experiences, so there are a lot of historically preserved artifacts and pieces. And then something as little as the community wanted a celebration room. Before the museum, there wasn’t a space to gather and celebrate, so they included this beautiful, celebratory space. These strategies directly reflect what the community said they wanted and needed.

Another one of the case studies was the memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza. The team there has been working to revitalize the Harvey Milk transit stop in the Castro District for many years and surveying the community to figure out how this space can not only work to honor Harvey Milk as a civil rights and LGBTQ+ rights leader but also how can it better celebrate the community.

This project is still ongoing, but really interesting design elements there speak to supporting ongoing activism for LGBTQ+ rights. As an example, there’s a pedestal at the corner that the community wanted to keep to elevate and raise the voices of the LGBTQ+ community physically. It’s a unique strategy that might not apply to all projects, but it fits here. These kinds of unique design projects are what I built BEST around, and I hope it will be used to create in the future as new projects begin to adopt it.

What are your long-term goals for BEST? What’s your dream scenario for seeing BEST implemented across the architecture industry?

Right now, it’s in a piloting phase, which is exciting, and we are actively looking for the right partners to begin building this. Those partners can look very different. They can be university academic partners, community-based organizations, or tenant representation organizations. A broad brush of stakeholders is going to help expand BEST.

My ideal hope, whether it’s with BEST or whether it’s just with equity in general (though I hope it’s with BEST), is that we get to a point where equity is considered an integral part of the design process, just like sustainability is, and just like how healthy building is beginning to be. Right now, we’re very far away from that. I hope that as BEST continues to grow, it will become a resource that is robust enough to be an industry-adopted standard, like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), like WELL, like Enterprise Green, etc.

The central idea behind the updated brand is encapsulated in the phrase “Do right by nature,” highlighting NYBG’s commitment to studying, protecting, learning from, and enjoying nature. It serves as a call to action and recognizes NYBG’s leading role in environmental stewardship.

The new brand voice mirrors the tone and spirit of New York and the Bronx, embodying optimism, empathy, and purpose. It aims to convey NYBG’s enthusiasm for the natural world, promote inclusivity, and demonstrate expertise.

A redesigned logo emphasizes the NYBG abbreviation in a bolder, more contemporary style, blending the essence of New York City with the Garden’s natural beauty. The typography, featured in our 2024 Typography Report, draws inspiration from hand-drawn natural forms, symbolizing confidence and impact.

Curious about the strategy behind the project, I spoke with Jane Boynton, senior creative director, and Ana Camargo, lead strategist of Wolff Olins. NYBG’s CMO, Michael Crowley, also weighed in. Our conversation is below (edited for length and clarity).

With a vision of deepening community connections while expanding environmental action, what specific elements of the brand refresh aim to strengthen local ties while also addressing global environmental concerns?

AC: The former identity, while elegant, had some cues of a “white box gallery” — where maybe not everyone feels welcome, and not everyone feels seen—places where you usually can’t touch the art. The Garden is such a sensory experience. So we wanted to make sure that in the evolution of the brand, we created a platform in which many different audiences could feel welcome, connected, and seen in the brand. Addressing those issues locally helps us tackle them from a global perspective.

We also wanted to reclaim the fact that this is a New York cultural institution and own that with pride. So, as we thought about the tone of voice being more approachable and empathetic, we also wanted it to be deliberate. We wanted it to be a straight shooter, like New Yorkers are, and residents of the Bronx.

We want NYBG to feel like everyone can own it, from the neighbors to the trustees, the board of directors, and the investors. We created the brand to flex according to all those audiences, from the neighbors to the people who visit the Garden physically, the people who visit online, the people who do research connected to the Garden, and the trustees.

The brand refresh includes a new logo that unites the spirit of New York City with the natural beauty of the Garden. How does the new logo, with its references to natural forms, reflect the personality and impact of NYBG?

JB: The old logo already stood for the ongoing impact on preservation the brand was actively doing and its participation within the local community. So we didn’t want to throw those associations away. We’d like to think that we took the previous logo and amplified it.

Our big, beautiful idea for the New York Botanical Garden is this concept of doing right by nature. Unpacking that idea, the ‘do right’ refers to the active state of the organization, the call to action, the study of nature, the protection of it, the enjoyment of it, and the learning from it. That ‘do right’ is expressed through the boldness of the letter forms. They evoke a sense of confidence that speaks to the organization’s impact and leadership. 

The boldness also speaks to nature. Think about when nature is at its best, and it’s thriving, it’s lush, and it’s rich, and it’s full of form. It’s not skinny. That boldness speaks to where we want nature to be in that thriving state. That boldness is also a nod to the spirit and attitude of New York and the Bronx. We are New Yorkers, and our boldness and confidence in that sense of being direct is part of what identifies us.

Bringing all of these things together, we’re hoping the new logo unites that iconic spirit of New York with the natural beauty of the Garden, paired with the active nature of the people behind the organization fighting against climate change and biodiversity loss.

AC: What I also love, of all the things that Jane has already mentioned, is the ‘doing’ – the action – and the ‘by nature’, which has this beautiful idea of side by side with nature. It’s not behind nature. It’s not in front of nature. It’s not that nature is leading, and we need to follow. We wanted to convey a symbiotic relationship. Because I think part of why we’ve gotten into this environmental mess is because humans have forgotten that we are nature.

Doing right’ is everything the Garden does: taking that perspective of the plants and doing right by them, speaking for them, researching them, and bringing their wisdom and intelligence to life.

The photography is from nature’s perspective, ranging from intimate to immersive shots. How does this POV contribute to telling the story of NYBG, and how does it create a more engaging and immersive experience for visitors?

JB: This element in the toolkit was already working hard for the client. The Garden really invests in photography. They have a photographer on staff and an incredible library of stunning images.

So, our task was more about how we can better align the photography moving forward with this idea of ‘do right by nature.’ Photography offers the opportunity to amplify that wonder in nature and its ability to teach, guide, and inspire us

For the style of the photography, we drew on a diverse set of different angles and perspectives, which allowed us to capture more surprising and unexpected views of all the plants, people, and the place. And more specifically, it’s from nature’s angle or perspective. What would nature’s perspective be if we’re embodying ‘do right by nature’? How would a bird see the Garden? We put nature behind the lends to try to capture the spirit and vitality of this wonderful place and how being here can shift all of our perspectives.

AC: This is a really important point. It’s also part of the evolution we considered because if we’re thinking about that shift, to remember that we’re all part of nature, photography that focuses on the plants and the fungi, it’s easy to forget that we’re part of the same system. As Jane said, that was a vital element to bring the people back in to make all those audiences feel seen and part of that environment.

How do you see the updated brand identity actively contributing to and supporting ecological initiatives? How can a strong brand presence influence public perception and participation in sustainability efforts?

AC: Our client was already doing so many amazing things. Our job was to take those actions, enhance them, and amplify them. As we expand the brand to be more empathetic, welcoming, deliberate in how it shows up, proud, and more New York and the Bronx, that platform can strengthen the brand’s presence and put more weight behind it.

Then, NYBG can use that weight behind its sustainability initiatives. We wanted to make sure that more people care about the environment and engage in sustainability initiatives as they’re drawn into the new brand.

Sometimes, when you see brands or NGOs showing up, the discourse focuses on the things that you need to lose for the planet to gain or for the planet to thrive. We wanted to make sure that NYBG communicates in such a way that doesn’t revolve around what any of us has to give up for the planet to continue functioning. It’s about what we can all gain in a more sustainable life, in a more conscious way of being on this planet. We wanted to bring more folks into that conversation through beauty, abundance, and through that lens of what is there for all of us to gain.

What was the most interesting thing you experienced working through this rebrand with the New York Botanical Garden while developing this project?

JB: I represent a lot of the general public in the area in that I didn’t realize there was all this incredible research and rigor behind the organization. I only saw NYBG as a place, as an experience to visit the train or the orchid show. I didn’t realize that behind all of that are these incredible climate and science research efforts. And it’s very inspiring. It’s what makes NYBG unique and different. And to Ana’s point, it is the reason to get people to care. And so that was a big, eye-opening moment when I understood the full breadth of this organization.

AC: So it’s not just a visual transformation by any means. It’s a way to signal to the world all of these amazing things NYBG has been thinking about and putting into practice as an organization and will continue to accelerate over the next few years.

How does the ‘Do right by nature’ idea translate into practical initiatives or programs within the NYBG’s mission and activities?

MC: ‘Do right by nature’ reflects NYBG’s longstanding commitment to plants, fungi, and the natural world. Since our founding in 1891, our mission and activities have centered around three pillars — science, horticulture, and education — that bring plants and people together. We’re helping nature to thrive so that humanity can thrive.

Branching Out, our strategic plan for 2024-2030 includes longstanding NYBG programs and new initiatives to help us achieve five goals, all of which serve people, plants, and the planet. Bronx-centric programs serve our local community through projects such as Bronx Green-Up, which supports hundreds of community gardens, urban farms, and school gardens across the borough, and Bronx Neighbors, which provides free access to our grounds for residents. As a cultural destination in NYC, we help people to find peace and well-being in our natural oasis. Educational programs bring children close to nature from a young age to incubate the environmentalists of tomorrow. And our scientific research programs are re-centered through a lens of environmental action, focusing our diverse efforts around goals addressing the dual climate and biodiversity crisis.

What initiatives is NYBG undertaking to more fully engage with climate and biodiversity crises? How does the new brand inspire public engagement and action towards a sustainable and biodiverse future?

MC: New initiatives include the program for Urban Conservation Strategy, a research and engagement platform that will engage with local and international non-profit and research partners to advance urban resilience and assist decision-makers across New York City— and in cities around the world. The Bronx River Watershed Health & Resilience Program will be a collaboration between our scientists, horticulturists, and local partners to develop local outreach and plant-based strategies to improve our local ecosystem. We will prioritize high-impact research collaborations across various areas where our researchers have expertise, including nature conservation, restoration, and sustainable agriculture. We are committed to pursuing botanical and fungal research with applications that will serve the planet. The new brand foregrounds NYBG Science with its own style treatment, which draws attention to the incredible research conducted by our scientists. Overall, our new positioning as “plant people” creates a more cohesive identity for our entire staff and programs, uniting science, horticulture, and education experts to apply all of our resources to the broader mission of doing right by nature.

The new brand identity is described as an active, bold, and welcoming presence that connects and inspires. How does the brand aim to foster a sense of connection to nature and the NYBG mission among diverse audiences, including current and future generations?

MC: Every aspect of the new brand identity—from the logo to the color palette to the brand voice—was designed to celebrate science and nature and to create a more welcoming and vibrant experience for our guests. The refreshed logo takes inspiration from iconic New York City designers and institutions, but you’ll also find nods to nature hidden within. The logo and our new custom typeface, NY Botanical Gothic, are full of organic shapes and draw inspiration from posters from the environmental movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. We also created a special logo treatment to represent NYBG Science, signifying our scientists’ microscopic view of the plant world.

The colors we use in our new branding are inspired by nature and named after various plants and fungi. Our vibrant color palette is more welcoming and, in combination with the bold typeface, draws visitors in to learn more. It’s a reflection of the biodiversity found on our grounds and represents our diverse city and the borough we call home. After all, the Bronx is NYC’s greenest borough! Our brand reflects the Garden’s 133-year history while looking ahead to a bright and botanical future. NYBG is so many things for so many people – a place of respite in a concrete jungle, a place for cutting-edge scientific research, a place to experience art and culture – and our new brand embraces each of these roles, not just for today, but for the generations of purposeful plant people that follow.

The recently released 2024 PRINT Typography report speaks to an intense balancing act between legacy and future impact of typefaces. This renewed identity for NYBG is evidence of this consideration, with a custom wordmark that is a confident, bold, and impactful embodiment of the organization’s call to action.

Indian block printing was put on the map in Jaipur by a craftswoman named Kitty Rae in the 1960s. Known as the “Godmother of Block Printing,” Rae was pivotal in introducing and popularizing this craft in the West. She ran the oldest block printing facility in the region called KIN Fabrics, located in the heart of Jaipur, peddling furniture fabric. In 2016, an American named Sarah Zellweger came upon KIN, a moment marking the genesis of SZ Blockprints.

After Rae’s passing, Zellweger maintained contact with her daughter, Manju, and granddaughter, Yuva, who had taken over KIN. Working closely with Manju and Yuva and KIN’s puraana blocks, Zellweger honed her eye and skill in creating her own Indian block print patterns and then ultimately launched her label SZ Blockprints out of the KIN studios. SZ Blockprints keeps the 4th-generation block printing studio alive, continuing Rae’s legacy in craft and spirit. All of their clothing is small batch, with every piece produced block by block, with each pattern fitting together like a puzzle.

Central to SZ Blockprints is their dedication to the Jaipur creative community. They provide long-term employment opportunities to over 120 skilled and dedicated local artisans, and each of the tassels used in their designs is hand-made in a women-run tassel business in Jaipur. This attention to detail and handcraft emanates from each SZ Blockprints’ design and garment and is the heart of what makes Indian block printing so singular.

Completely captivated by Indian block printing as an art form and the SZ Blockprints’ story, I reached out to Zellweger to learn more. Her responses to my questions are below.

The entire process is so human, so flawed, and that is why I think I fell in love with it.

What is it about the technique and look of Indian block printing that you find so captivating? Why have you dedicated so much of yourself to standing guard for this ancient technique? 

I find the element of imperfection to be really captivating. Each piece is a museum-quality mini artwork created by a master craftsman in their element. It’s the small details, the differences of mere millimeters, that have a huge emotional impact on the overall feeling and presence of a print. The entire process is so human, so flawed, and that is why I think I fell in love with it.

Why do you think Indian block printing has endured when other fashion trends and styles have not? What sets Indian block printing apart?

Indian block prints are timeless, and I believe that’s why their prominence and endurance are limitless. The prints and process both derive from a life source that is so personal to the people who played a part in the creation of the print— the artisan who carved the wood block, the artisan who mixed the dyes, printed on the fabric, washed the fabric by hand and foot, etc., etc. The popularity of Indian block prints isn’t driven by trend; it’s driven by the innate wondering and longing for person-to-person connection.

The popularity of Indian block prints isn’t driven by trend, it’s driven by the innate wondering and longing for person-to-person connection.

Do you see Indian block printing as a much-needed antidote to the ever-growing world of fast fashion? 

Absolutely. The fast fashion cycle is so careless and really skews the reality of what it means to select, purchase, and care for a garment. At SZ Blockprints, we are the absolute antidote to this harmful and destructive cycle and thrive on our distance from fast fashion.

What’s the most challenging part of the Indian block printing process? 

The most challenging part is it is a wild and unpredictable process and art form. I wouldn’t describe it as challenging per se, though; it’s more of a lesson in letting go. Weather, mood, health— it all plays an essential part in the dance of the actual printing.

How does it feel knowing you’re keeping Kitty Rae’s legacy alive? 

Firstly, I could never imagine taking credit for any of this, specifically keeping Kitty’s legacy (and prints!) alive, as any sort of solo mission. Every single part of the business and the design process is a collaboration. On an emotional level, Kitty’s family are my partners with whom I have grown the business, and we deeply trust one another. Our vision, which continues to refine and evolve, is symbiotic and flows together. There is an ease in these relationships, which can only be described as “meant to be.”

While the games and drama therein were, of course, the most important aspects of AFCON and the Asian Cup, the various kits sported by the countries participating in each were a close second. Seeing what sorts of kits each national team rolls out for these major tournaments is always a delight, with some in the past even transcending sportswear and making a splash in the greater fashion landscape.

So what of the kits that debuted in AFCON and the Asian Cup this year? I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites below.

AFCON

Mali Away

As a proud maximalist, I’m predisposed to gravitate toward flamboyant and bold kit designs that don’t play it safe. The Mali Away jersey is, without a doubt, the splashiest of the AFCON bunch, and I’m not mad at it one bit!

Nigeria Home

The Nigerian Super Eagles have done it again with yet another stellar kit. Never shy of graphic patterns and textures, the Nigerian Home kit sticks to that trend and then some.

Tanzania Home

I enjoy the retro, classic flair to the Tanzania Home jersey, featuring a bulky yellow collar that reminds me of my first-ever soccer jersey as a kid in the ’90s. The subtle pattern in the blue fabric modernizes the otherwise vintage feel.

Algeria Home

The Algeria Home kit is simple yet striking, with three jagged teal stripes down the side. The asymmetrical stripes elicit movement and speed, but it doesn’t feel like the design is trying too hard, either.

Ivory Coast Home

I’m a sucker for Creamsicle orange, so I can’t help but put the Ivory Coast Home kit on my list. Puma is rightfully letting the color do the heavy lifting here, accenting it simply with crisp white trim and numbers.

Guinea-Bissau Home, Away, Third, and Fourth Kits

The entire kit line-up for Guinea-Bissau deserves some love! The designs act as a cohesive collection, though each is distinctly different. The geometric patterns on each at once allude to woven tapestry aesthetics and early-generation computer graphics.

AFC Asian Cup

China Away

The electric teal of China’s Away kit might be too reminiscent of toothpaste for some, but I’m here for it. Subtle polka-dots speckle the jersey, and the red-orange of the accents is an unexpected color pairing that pays off.

Jordan Away

It’s all about the sleeves for me when it comes to Jordan’s Away jersey. The rest is pretty pedestrian, but I like making a bold choice with one section of an otherwise traditional red kit.

Australia Home

Classic yet vibrant, Australia’s Home kit makes my list for the subtle dual-toned yellow pattern in the jersey and the always-charming kangaroo and emu coat of arms.

India Home

I’m a fan of this soothing blue hue of India’s Home kit, embellished with a subtle animal-print-like pattern for some visual intrigue. The red stitching is also a nice detail, which pops nicely in contrast to the blue.

South Korea Away

The South Korea Away kit is one of the most polarizing kits of both tournaments, but I support any jersey that starts a conversation. The abstract markings and color palette remind me of the carpeting at old movie theaters, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing! In a world where derivative and cookie-cutter designs are all too common, it’s refreshing to see a kit that takes a big swing. Making contact with the ball is beside the point.

We must create space in the global conversation about design and visual culture for these important perspectives.

Are we missing a title you’d recommend? Have a suggestion? Let us know.

*My criteria for choosing my top African American Designers were simple: a) I must love their work, and b) they must be older than I (born in 1966).

I do not intentionally exclude well-deserved and talented younglings. But I wrote this article as a call back to my younger self, to recognize that the path before me was designed Black and beautiful.

Now, read on and shine on.

Charles Dawson (1889 – 1981)

Best known for his illustrated advertisements, Charles Dawson (Charles Clarence Dawson) was an influential Chicago designer and artist through the 1920s and 30s.

He was born in 1898 in Georgia and went on to attend Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute. After two years, he left when he became the first African American admitted into the Arts Students League of New York. Dawson abandoned the pervasive racism of the league when he gained acceptance to the Art Institute of Chicago, where, in his own words, their attitude was “entirely free of bias.” During his time there, Dawson was heavily involved and went on to become a founding member of the first Black artists collective in Chicago, The Arts & Letters Collective.

After graduation, he went on to serve in the segregated forces of WWI, where he faced combat in France. He returned to find a changed Chicago: one racially charged due to a slowed economy and trouble finding jobs. In 1922, Dawson began freelancing, producing work for other black entrepreneurs. Five years later, Dawson played a major role in the first exhibition of African American art at his alma mater called Negro In Art Week.

Dawson took part in two different Works Progress Administration programs under Roosevelt’s New Deal, including the National Youth Administration, where he designed the layout for the American Negro Exposition, a piece composed of 20 dioramas showcasing African American history.

He eventually returned to Tuskegee, where he became a curator for the institute’s museum and passed away at the ripe old age of 93 in Pennsylvania. Dawson will always be remembered for his great contributions to African American art, design, and advancement.

Aaron Douglas (1899 – 1979)

Known as a key artist in the Harlem Renaissance, Aaron Douglas was a pivotal figure in developing a distinctly African style of art through his blending of Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles with connections to African masks and dances. His illustrations, published in Alan Locke’s anthology, The New Negro Movement, showcased his detachment from European-style arts and evolution into his own style, clearly communicating African heritage.

Douglas graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1922 with a BFA. He then taught high school art before moving to New York two years later to study under German artist Winold Reiss.

He became the most sought-after illustrator for black writers of his time after his covers for Opportunity and The Crisis, dubbed “Afro-Cubanism” by leading art critic Richard Powell. Among his other notable covers and illustrations are his designs for Carl Van Vechten’s Nigger Heaven and God’s Trombone, James Weldon Johnson’s epic poem.

Douglas was well-versed in Harlem nightlife, where he spent many nights gaining inspiration for his designs and depictions of the black urban scene. His murals, adorning the walls of various institutions, cemented his name as a major artist of the Harlem Renaissance. His best-known work is a series of murals called, Aspects of Negro Life, which Douglas created for the 135th St. branch of the New York Public Library.

He later left New York to become chair of the art department of Fisk University in Nashville, where he resided until his death in 1979.

Leroy Winbush (1915 – 2007)

One week after graduating high school, Winbush left Detroit for Chicago to become a graphic designer. His inspiration and mentors at the time were sign designers on Chicago’s South Side. He began creating signage, flyers, and murals for the Regal Theater, where he rubbed elbows with some of the most famous black musicians of the time.

Winbush then went on to join Goldblatt Department Store’s sign department, where he was the only black employee. In 1945, after years of working for others, Winbush started his own company, Winbush Associates, later Winbush Designs. Here, he landed accounts with various publishing houses, doing layouts for Ebony and Jet, among others. His ambition and charisma eventually helped him gain acceptance as a black designer and entrepreneur.

Later in life, Winbush began teaching visual communications and typography at various Chicago universities. He concurrently mastered the art of scuba diving, a feat that helped him land a position as part of the crew tasked with creating Epcot Center’s coral reef.

Winbush was adamant in his desire to be remembered as a “good designer,” as opposed to a “Black designer,” but was well aware of the influence he could have on the progression of the Black community. He designed a sickle cell anemia exhibit and exhibitions of the Underground Railroad for different Chicago museums to illuminate Black history, past and present, to the public. His accomplishments throughout his lifetime make LeRoy Winbush a notable African American graphic designer worth checking out.

Eugene Winslow (1919 – 2001)

Born in Dayton, Ohio, into a family of seven children, Eugene Winslow’s parents stressed the importance of education and encouraged their children to study the arts. Winslow attended Dillard University, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He then served in WWII as part of the revered Tuskegee Airmen.

After the war, Winslow nurtured his lifelong artistic interest by attending The Art Institute of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Winslow then went on to co-found the Am-Afro Publishing house based out of Chicago, where in 1963, they published Great American Negroes Past and Present with Winslow’s illustrations. That same year, he also designed the seal commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation for the Chicago Exposition. Throughout his career as an artist, designer, businessman, and entrepreneur, Winslow always sought to promote racial integration wherever possible.

Georg Olden (1920 – 1975)

Born in 1920 in Birmingham, Alabama, to the son of an escaped enslaved person and opera-singing mother, Georg Olden was a revolutionary designer who helped pave the way for African Americans in the field of design and the corporate world.

After a brief stint at Virginia State College, Olden dropped out of school to work as a graphic designer for the CIA’s predecessor, The Office of Strategic Services. From there, the connections he made helped him land a position at CBS in 1945 as Head of Network Division of On-Air Promotions. Here, he worked on programs such as Gunsmoke, and I Love Lucy and eventually went on to help create the vote-tallying scoreboard for the first televised Presidential Election in 1952.

Praised in his day and posthumously, Olden appeared multiple times in publications such as Graphis and Ebony. In 1963, he became the first African American to design a postage stamp. His design showcased chains breaking to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. By 1970, he had won seven Clio Awards for creative excellence in advertising and design and eventually won the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) award in 2007. Celebrated for his talent, charm, and business intelligence, Olden was a revolutionary African American graphic designer who made advancements in the industry and for all African Americans.

Thomas Miller (1920 – 2012)

Born in Bristol, Virginia, the grandson of enslaved people, Thomas Miller’s talent, hard work, and ambition helped him become one of the first Black designers to break into mainstream graphic design.

Miller graduated and earned a Bachelor of Education with a focus on the arts in 1941 from Virginia State College. Soon after, he enlisted in the army and served in WWII, achieving the rank of First Sergeant.

After the war, Miller was determined to learn about commercial design. He gained acceptance to The Ray Vogue School of Art in Chicago, where he and fellow student Emmett McBain were the only African Americans besides the janitors.

After graduation, Miller searched for jobs and denied one offer in New York because he worked “behind the screen.” Unwilling to tolerate the company’s overt racism, Miller passed on the offer and eventually joined the progressive Chicago studio Morton Goldsholl Associates. It was here that Miller, as chief designer, worked on high-profile campaigns such as the design for 7-Up in the 1970s. As a supporting member of the design team, he also worked on the Motorola rebranding, the Peace Corps logo, and the Betty Crocker “Chicken Helper” branding, earning accolades for himself and the company.

Miller also freelanced, starting when he served in WWII and continuing through his work with Goldsholl. Through his independent work, Miller was commissioned to create a memorial to the DuSable Museum’s founders. This job resulted in one of his most well-known pieces, the Thomas Miller Mosaics, now featured in the museum’s lobby.

Miller’s hard work, dedication, and artistic talent helped him pave the way for many African-American artists and designers to come.

Emmett McBain (1935 – 2012)

Emmett McBain, born in Chicago in 1935, is lesser known than some other designers I’ve profiled. But McBain made major contributions to the advertising and design world and for all African Americans through his successes in the business world.

Emmett McBain, a true visual thinker and communicator, attended The American Academy of Art and the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he became a talented watercolor artist. Post-graduation, McBain worked for several notable agencies and firms as a designer, art supervisor, and creative consultant before co-founding Burrell McBain Incorporated. This advertising agency, which later became the largest African-American-owned agency in the States, aimed to serve their accounts while gaining the trust and loyalty of the Black community. McBain was key in running the agency, landing valuable accounts, and constantly developing new and fresh ideas. His former partner, Thomas J. Burrell, praised his leadership skills and ability to think outside the box.

McBain left Burrell McBain in 1974 to focus on independent art and design in his Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood, where he later passed away in 2012 at 78.

The University of Illinois at Chicago has a collection featuring his works entitled Emmett McBain Design Papers. You’ll find print ads, record album covers, and transparencies of Billboards, all McBain designed.

Archie Boston (born 1943)

Known for his blatant self-deprecation and humor, Archie Boston was a pioneer in challenging the racism of the 1960s and 70s through his designs and attitude.

One of five children, Boston grew up poor but well aware of the importance of education. In 1961, his artistic talent landed him acceptance to Chouinard Art Institute. While at university, he interned with the advertising agency Carson/Roberts, where he cemented his desire to work in design and eventually returned to the agency years later.

After graduation, he worked at various advertising and design firms before forming Boston & Boston with his older brother, Bradford. It was here that they created provocative pieces showcasing their race, as well as creativity, in pieces such as “Catch a Nigger by The Toe” and by selecting the Jim Crow typeface for their logotype.

For the majority of his career, however, Boston was an educator. He landed a position as a full-time lecturer in the art department at California State University, Long Beach, before creating their design department and eventually becoming head of the visual communications design program. He influenced countless young designers there, inspiring them through his encouragement and standard for excellence.

Emory Douglas (Born 1943)

The former Revolutionary Artist and Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party, Emory Douglas’ career in commercial art has been centered around civil and equal rights propagation from its beginnings.

Douglas’ first exposure to design came when his crimes landed him in the Youth Training School of Ontario, California. Here, he worked in the print shop and learned about typography, illustration, and logo design. Later, Douglas enrolled in commercial art classes at the City College of San Francisco after running into a former counselor from the center who encouraged him to do so

During this time, Douglas became active in the Black Panther Party after being introduced to the founding members, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Douglas offered up his design skills while watching Seale work on the first issue of the party’s paper, The Black Panther. He was well aware of the importance of having illustrations and artwork to help reach the many illiterate members of the communities the party was targeting. Much of his art and illustration for the paper initially focused on Black rights, but it soon expanded to include women, children, and community figures alongside the party’s focuses. While working on The Black Panther, Douglas coined and popularized the term “pigs” in reference to police officers.

In the 1980s, the Black Panther Party, as Douglas had once known it, was mostly dissolved by law enforcement efforts. Later, Douglas moved to care for his ailing mother and continued to pursue some independent design. His revolutionary artwork helped to educate and agitate repressed and suppressed communities of the time.

Sylvia Harris (1953 – 2011)

Noted for her unwavering desire to help others, Sylvia Harris was a graphic designer, teacher, and business owner who used her research and skill set to reach far and wide.

Born and raised in Richmond, VA, Harris experienced the desegregation of the 1960s directly. This experience provided the foundation for her interest in social systems and their effect. After receiving her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, Harris moved to Boston, where she worked with various creative types. Through her work with WGBH and Chris Pullman, she realized the design field’s breadth and depth. After much prodding from her mentor, Harris enrolled in Yale’s Masters in Graphic Design program.

Two Twelve Associates was created with two of her former classmates in 1980 after graduation. Here, Harris began to explore how to use and grow her skill set to develop large-scale public information systems. Her work with Citibank set an early precedent for human-centered automated customer service.

In 1994, Harris left Two Twelve to create Sylvia Harris LLC, where she changed gears and began focusing more on design planning and strategies. Harris helped guide some of the largest public institutions, hospitals, and universities with systems planning. As creative director for the US Census Bureau’s Census 2000, Harris’ rebranding efforts helped encourage previously underrepresented citizens to participate.

Harris was awarded the AIGA medal posthumously in 2014, three years after her untimely death at the age of 57. Harris will always be remembered for her contributions to the design field and far beyond.

Art Sims (Born 1954)

From his first foray into the art world with the “Draw Me” test from magazines and TV of the 50s and 60s, Sims excelled. He attended Detroit’s Cass Technical High School, known for its dedication to the arts. From there, Sims gained acceptance to the University of Michigan on a full scholarship. During the summer between his junior and senior years, Sims landed a job with Columbia Records to produce a series of album covers. After graduation, the Sunshine State called his name, and Sims headed to LA.

Sims scored a job with EMI, but he was ultimately let go for pursuing freelance work. He went on to work for CBS, where he continued building his independent portfolio. When he was let go this time, Sims was prepared and already had the office space for his firm, 11:24 Advertising Design.

After seeing one of Spike Lee’s films, Sims knew he had to work with the director. He went on to design posters for Lee’s New Jack City, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and most controversially, Bamboozled.

Ever the entrepreneur, Sims is developing a greeting card line and writing screenplays while teaching graphic design to African American middle schoolers. Art Sims is the epitome of talent, drive, and ambition, someone every graphic designer should know.

Gail Anderson (Born 1962)

Known for her uncanny ability to create expressive, dynamic typefaces perfectly suited to their subject, Gail Anderson is a designer and teacher with an impressive tenure in the field.

Born and raised in New York, Anderson’s ever-burning curiosity about design began with the teen magazines of her adolescent years. It was cemented while studying at the School of Visual Arts in NY. Here, Anderson began to develop her methodologies and no-holds-barred approach to design.

After college, Anderson eventually landed at The Boston Globe for two years, working with those responsible for pioneering the new newspaper design of the late 1980s. Moving on to Rolling Stone in 1987, Anderson worked seamlessly with AIGA medalist Fred Woodward, where their creative process always included lots of music, low lighting, and late nights. Her work with Woodward was always exploring new and exciting materials and instruments to create Rolling Stone’s eclectic design. They utilized everything from hot metal to bits of twigs to bottle caps to create their vision.

After working her way up from associate to senior art director, Anderson left Rolling Stone in 2002 to join SpotCo, where her focus shifted from design to advertising. At SpotCo, she’s been the designer behind innumerable Broadway and off-Broadway posters, including that of Avenue Q and Eve Ensler’s The Good Body.

Praised as the quintessential collaborator for her inclusive, expressive, and encouraging attitude towards working together, Anderson also admits that many of her “high-octane” designs occurred at night, solo. Whether it’s her collaborative work, solo projects, magazine layouts, or theatrical posters, Anderson designs work with and for her subjects, always emphasizing their highest potential.

The Unknown & Overlooked Designers

They are many, often invisible, but we feel the impact of their work throughout history, and we should acknowledge them. Many African American graphic designers worked behind the scenes and did not receive credit for their work due to the racist norms of the times. 

These include:

• The logo creators for the uniforms of the Negro baseball and basketball leagues;
• Trail-blazing entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker, Annie Malone, Carmen C. Murphy, Mae Reeves, Anthony Overton, Frederick Patterson, and many more;
• The unknown graphic designer who painted the bold and sobering “A MAN WAS LYNCHED YESTERDAY” flag, hung by the NAACP from their New York offices whenever they learned of a hanging;
• Those presently active (Black Lives Matter) are creating banners, posters, signs, and media protesting discrimination of all kinds. Graphic design, after all, is about communicating a message effectively.

The truth of all history cannot be understated. As a designer of the African diaspora (African-Jamaican-Canadian), I believe in knowing those who paved the way. These men and women boldly pushed past racial inequality with their talent and perseverance to help create the way for all.

Glenford Laughton is founder of Toronto-based agency Laughton Creatves, a design studio that believes design is a highly-collaborative endeavor (hence the missing ‘i’). This article was written and researched by Glenford Laughton and originally published on the Laughton Creatves website. Republished with permission of the author.

Sources: AIGA, The Design Observer, The University of Chicago Library, Atlanta Blackstar, The History Makers, Wikipedia, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Design Archive, and The Root.

While initially exciting, the Air India facelift took an unexpected turn by opting to sideline historical nuances in favor of positioning the airline within the ‘global market’. The rebrand seems to turn away from what could have been a very significant change. Travel is a market that feels akin to quicksand, undergoing constant change, where preferences oscillate between consumers and corporations, and budgets redefine scopes overnight. Designers face the intricate task of delicately balancing brand legacy with the desire for a new and innovative approach. The Air India rebrand prompts us to explore not only the transformation of a logo and wordmark but also the deeper implications of cultural distinction being turned into consumable morsels for the West in the name of progress. 

Founded by JRD Tata, an industrialist, entrepreneur, and India’s first commercial pilot license-holder, Air India (originally known as Tata Airlines) established itself as an independent company in the country’s aviation sector, launching its first aircraft in 1933.If you came of age in India during the early ’90s, the aviation scene was characterized by simplicity, with only a handful of airlines dominating the skies. Among them stood the Maharaja mascot of Air India, first conceived in 1946 by Bobby Kooka, Air India’s commercial director, and illustrated by Umesh Rao, an artist at J. Walter Thompson. Characterized by a potbelly, distinctive oversized curled mustache, sharp nose, striped turban, and a calm expression, he stood as a symbol of the nation’s hospitality etched into every Indian’s memory forever. The identity before the rebrand showcased the Flying Swan silhouette and the Konark wheel within, complemented by a deep red wordmark and Devanagari script. It marked Air India’s distinctive presence in the aviation sector and encapsulated an era when air travel was a novel and privileged experience—a time when aviation in India was synonymous with wonder and wealth.

Initially establishing itself as an independent entity, Air India bloomed in India’s aviation sector before being acquired by the Government of India in 1948. After operating under government ownership for roughly 70 years, Air India was reacquired by the Tata Group in 2022. In December 2023, Tata announced the rollout of a new global brand identity for Air India, led by the London, UK, office of Futurebrand in collaboration with its Mumbai counterpart. The rebrand also seems like a valid step to distance itself from the negative pushback accumulated during decades of government management. But, the agency charged with redesigning one of the oldest airlines in India was left with a research task that must have been both daunting and exhaustive.

Air India’s historic fleet of iconic Boeing 747s, nicknamed “Your Palace In The Sky,” featured interiors curated by Tata himself. The fleet epitomized luxury travel’s golden age, with the renowned Maharaja Lounges and a first-class cabin adorned with Indian motifs, vibrant bandhani print uniforms, Gupta period art, murals from the Ajanta caves, and Kashmiri textile patterns. The white facade and red ‘jharokha’ windows became a signature. Air India was known for amalgamating heritage and meticulous design.

While the history of the aircraft featured so many elements to draw inspiration from, the new identity seems to limit itself. The updated logo and livery feature a revised color palette, and typeface and the airline’s mascot now assumes a predominantly subdued role confined to the premium classes. As a component of the rebranding effort, the airline has launched a fresh website and app, along with initiatives such as round-the-clock customer service, full lounge access for premium passengers, and a revamped loyalty program.

The logo underwent a major overhaul, replacing the previous red swan and Konark Chakra with a gold window frame symbolizing a ‘Window of Possibilities.’ The wordmark appears impressive along the entire length of the fuselage. While the custom type family designed in collaboration with Fabio Haag Type, Air India Sans, is a crisp addition to the identity. The new visual system features deep red, aubergine, and gold hues, along with a chakra-inspired pattern and the main element i.e., ‘The Vista’ graphics.

Inspired by the 747’s jharokha window, the Vista graphics use the window as a framing device. Though neatly executed as an animation, the gradients and chakra patterns seem force-fed into the system. The sarees, designed by celebrity designer Manish Malhotra, are sharp and don’t dilute the essence or authenticity of the uniform but rather transform it.

While the new identity aims to position Air India as a globally recognized brand, some critics argue that it might have diluted its distinct cultural elements. Introducing a more minimalist logo, featuring a gold window frame, deviated from traditional symbols like the red swan and Konark Chakra, potentially disconnecting from the airline’s rich heritage. The shift in the mascot’s role, with the Maharaja appearing predominantly in premium classes, signaled a departure from its historical international prominence. 

The public reaction to the Air India rebranding in India has been a mixed bag. While some individuals appreciate the airline’s efforts to change its image, others have criticized the changes for potentially disregarding cultural nuances. Positive feedback emphasizes the modern and vibrant aesthetic, considering it a step towards aligning with global standards. However, there are concerns about the potential loss of the airline’s distinctive identity and whether the rebranding adequately honors its rich history.

When comparing Air India’s rebranding with other global airlines, it becomes evident that the pursuit of global standards often leads to a certain level of homogenization in identity. In an interesting development, the new branding of Air India bears a resemblance to another airline, Vistara, also owned by Tata. This similarity is not coincidental, as Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines have agreed to consolidate Air India and Vistara by March 2024. This consolidation highlights the challenge of maintaining distinct brand identities while aligning with global standards in an industry marked by increasing convergence.

In an article titled ‘Are rebrands starting to look the same?’ writer Elizabeth Goodspeed phrased it right “While designers might debate the intricacies of truly unique branding, beneath these immediate concerns, there’s an underlying truth: what’s seen as popular often holds a key to broader appeal and effectiveness.” The tension between global aspirations and cultural preservation is a challenge faced by many companies seeking international recognition. Air India’s rebranding reflects a broader trend where the quest for global standards (aka recognition from the West) poses challenges in maintaining cultural nuances. Air India’s rebrand underscores the delicate balance required to navigate growth strategies while preserving the unique cultural fabric that defines its identity.

Roshita Thomas is a writer, designer, and business development manager. She previously worked with Porto Rocha as the Operations and New Business Associate and as the Editorial Assistant for Oculus Magazine with the American Institute of Architects. She graduated with a Master’s Degree in Design Research Writing and Criticism from SVA shortly after which she worked with Buck alongside the resourcing team.

Banner image licensed from Unsplash+

For his approach to typographic and graphic design that incorporates cultural and political histories to create socially relevant visual identities and campaigns, Morcos receives a 2024 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Design.

Representing Language, Representing Ourselves

Morcos’ passion for Arabic typography grew after he moved to the United States from Lebanon—first to pursue studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and then to build a career as a graphic designer in New York. “I was drawn back to my native language, culture, and stories I see myself in. Designing in Arabic from New York City is perhaps an act of resistance,” he says, “but also an act of reaching out, inviting others to engage, utilize, and be inspired by it.”

When you design a font, you’re designing a tool for people to express themselves.

Wael Morcos

“Our language is as much auditory as it is visual. When you design a font, you’re designing a tool for people to express themselves,” says Morcos. “I consider typography the most potent tool in a designer’s arsenal. It has the ability to amplify the meaning of words and to advocate for representation.”

Morcos describes typography as a product of the time it was created and also as having a life that extends well beyond. “Arabic typography needed our help to be reimagined, redesigned for a modern context for modern lives,” he says. His fonts have been distributed through institutional channels like Google and other publishing platforms, bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, “carrying on with how we represent our language and therefore ourselves.”

Amplifying Arab American Stories

As an immigrant, Morcos finds himself drawn to create work that resonates with him personally and connects his nostalgia for Beirut and Lebanon with his life in the United States. He recently championed the development of Mizna’s I Want Sky, a literary journal that shines a spotlight on the experiences of LGBTQ+ Arabs. Through a fusion of multi-script typography, lettering, and illustrations, Morcos illuminates the narratives of a diverse queer community that yearns for understanding—drawing inspiration from the legacy of illuminated Arabic homoerotic poetry and speaking to the contemporary struggles and triumphs of this community.

Committed to amplifying Arab American voices, Morcos is a co-founder of 1on1 projects, a Brooklyn-based collective that works to elevate the stories and experiences of Arab and Muslim Americans through arts, performances, and programs. “You miss a lot of your old self and all the support system you took for granted back at home,” he says. “I try to use my design practice to re-create some of these contexts that are important for me.”

About The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Design

The Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Design celebrate immigrant professionals in graphic design, industrial design, and product design whose work has profoundly impacted their specific field and design, design thinking, and practice more broadly in the United States.

The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Design specifically recognize immigrant designers age 38 and younger whose work represents an essential contribution to their field and exemplifies the potential for design to change and shape how people interact with their world. In 2024, the Vilcek Foundation awards 3 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Design, recognizing industrial designer Juan Carlos Noguera (b. Guatemala) and artist and designer Maryam Turkey (b. Iraq) alongside Morcos.

Learn more about the Vilcek Foundation and the 2024 Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Design at Vilcek.org.

Wael Morcos is a 2015 PRINT New Visual Artist.

Traditionally filled with money and given as tokens of good wishes, red packets are integral to Chinese New Year celebrations. The Year of the Dragon holds special significance, symbolizing success, honor, and dignity — believed to bring growth, progress, and abundance.

The Secret Little Agency created the Long Bao to celebrate this auspicious year. A play on words, the name is derived from the pronunciation of the Chinese character for dragon, which is ‘lóng’ or ‘loong.’

This dragon year, we decided to extend the red packet and make it long-er.

The Secret Little Agency

Nodding to a rich tradition, The Long Bao also serves up some humor and a contemporary aesthetic, making the symbol of good fortune a unique gift.

This limited edition creation captures the Chinese New Year’s essence and exemplifies The Secret Little Agency’s commitment to creativity and innovation. Founded in 2009, The Secret Little Agency remains the only creative agency in Singapore to be named both Independent and Creative Agency of the Year multiple times in the last decade.

With only 1000 pieces available in this exclusive run, the agency plans to distribute them to friends and partners in Singapore and worldwide. Intrigued? Request your own Long Bao with an email to The Secret Little Agency.

To maximize the impact of the new identity, Repslabel orchestrated a comprehensive campaign that works across various elements, including digital publications and promotions. The conceptual campaign pays homage to Baroque composers, utilizing graffiti to shroud their identities in secrecy, infusing Les Boréades with an enigmatic quality that focuses squarely on the music itself. This strategic approach enhances the ensemble’s artistic presence and showcases the adaptability and creativity embedded in their revitalized visual branding.

The newly crafted identity is flexible and designed to adapt seamlessly across various media over time. The typographic approach carries a distinct personality, communicating information with clarity and impact. The grid structure provides versatility, accommodating different visual and typographic elements based on the integrated content. A simple yet powerful color palette adds sophistication and allows for harmonization with diverse graphic styles.

Repslabel’s ‘Go for Baroque’ approach, combining contemporary graffiti in contrast with the highly ornate and elaborate style of Baroque, is music to my ears.