News category
We launched our updated logo for Creative Conscience at the annual awards a few weeks back. In order to combat small scale digital media we decided to integrate the globe symbol within the typography and added our stencilled activist lettering along with a splash of extra colour. Graphical fluff perhaps, but with a very real purpose – to help inspire designers and creative thinkers to use their talents to create positive environmental & social impact.
As a certified B Corporation we now publish an impact report every year. This reviews our progress against a set of impact goals around: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. It also sets out our ambitions for this year and how we plan to continue to create positive impact.
While we were delighted to have improved our B Lab score since we first certified as a B Corp almost four years ago, we still believe there is more we can be doing both in the way we run L&Co and for the clients we work with.
In the midst of the COVID 19 crises, Estonia’s Tallink | Silja Line asked us to refresh their cruise and fast ferries design systems based on the repositioning work completed by our friends at Hensley Partners. We created two clearly defined design frameworks for their cruise and fast ferry fast brand communications respectively.
Due to their historic biases and the cost of repainting ships, the two cruise names Tallink and Silja Line continue to be used while we worked on aligning their design systems for all communications. We then created identity guidelines to cover everything from outdoor advertising to onboard screens and menus. We performed a similar task for the fast ferry business Tallink Shuttle and finally created a set of retail guidelines to cover the entire business.
Simplifying and aligning the communications for both brands has avoided unnecessary costs, and the clearly defined Tallink Shuttle brand has helped the business emerge from the shadow of the pandemic.
PUNCH Torino wanted to create two distinct subdivisions to help them target specific automotive manufacturing sectors. Known for their design and engineering capabilities, separating these out from their electronic engine management systems and revolutionary hydrogen engine designs was important.
Based on this clear strategic pathway, set out by our friends at Hensley Partners we were tasked with defining each of the two new businesses while sitting within the existing PUNCH design framework. Our solution was to create a lead illustration for each along with supporting colour palettes.
This redefinition has given PUNCH Hydrocells clear visibility and enabled it to push ahead with its ambitions to ensure hydrogen combustion engines can provide a real alternative to the fossil fuel intensive automotive industry.
We recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of Creative Conscience, at a charity fundraiser and auction at Spiritland Kings Cross.
Founded by Chrissy Levett with support from Barlow and the L&Co team and an amazing network of helpers and volunteers, Creative Conscience has been the catalyst for more than 6,000 creatives from 96 countries to deliver 5,000 high impact projects that improve the health of the environment and society. In addition to our annual awards we have run events, workshops, talks and courses and influenced the wider creative community to take on some of society and the planet’s greatest challenges.
It was an inspiring evening which included a typically rousing speech by one of our ambassador’s Sir Jonathon Porritt, an art auction run by Mark Shayler and a call to action from Chrissy.
To cap the evening we had entertainment from Danielle from Crazy P, DJ statesman Seb Fontaine and rising stars Javi Rodriguez and D’Oli Disco (yes, his real name). Guests left with a pledge to make at least one change that would positively impact our world and a goody bag of ethical, low impact (of course) goodies.
We have just completed the #36daysoftype challenge to create an alphabet (and numerals) in 36 days, designing and posting a new character on 36 consecutive days. Starting with sketches and creating several alternatives for each letterform to enable us to avoid too many repetitions when we start to create words and sentences. It has been a reminder of the craft that lies at the heart of our studio, as well as an opportunity to create some contrasting personalities. Now to have some fun with our new friends…
The London Portfolio from Riverside Capital, introduces a range of properties to potential investors. All developments are designed as post-pandemic workspaces and to the highest environmental specification, incorporating roof terraces and natural air flow as well as flexible hybrid work areas. We created a photo montage as the lead piece of the visual identity and produced a film and brochure – printed in two continents – that sets out the offer to potential investors.
William Wates Memorial Trust was set up to celebrate William’s life through supporting organisations that help the most disadvantaged young people to fulfil their potential. 2020 and the Covid crises brought huge challenges to the charities supported by the Trust as well as their main fund-raising activities.
We were asked to design their 2020 annual review to reflect these challenges. Borrowing Aristotle’s quote – “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails” the report sets out a collection of inspiring case studies from the charities supported by the Trust – stories of tenacity and generosity of the human spirit. We hope William would be proud.
At times of crises, information graphics can be used to powerful effect. The four projects we have been involved with all use graphic design to cut-through the noise and re-assure the viewer. ‘Death by numbers’ (above) is a graphic we created, looking back on 2020 and comparing deaths from Covid with other annual causes.
HCA Healthcare (below) run London’s leading private hospitals. For most of lockdown their facilities became part of the NHS with equipment supplied to the Nightingale Hospital London. The challenge they faced coming out of lockdown was to encourage people back into treatment centres – many with more life-threatening conditions than Covid-19. We designed a safety campaign, to re-assure patients that HCA facilities are among the safest in the world that has been rolled out across their London treatment centres.
He!p? (below) is a typographic social media post we designed to illustrate a positive message, a lovely idea that we simply passed on.
Defeated (below) is a project to dispel fear around the world in the wake of the pandemic. Creative Conscience teamed up with Nicole Yershon to launch a brief for creative students asking for ideas on a positive campaign based around Covid-19.
The winning idea was by recent graduate Megan Williams, who studied creative advertising at Leeds University and focuses on the number of recoveries based on live data from Johns Hopkins University. As part of the Creative Conscience team we collaborated with Voodoo, Broadsign and Orb, the campaign was successfully launched in Ireland and will go out worldwide on available digital advertising screens.
Launched at September’s UN Climate Action Summit, G9 Ark seeks to reverse global warming by restoring 500 million hectares of our planets’ ecosystem.
G9 Ark is working alongside the UN to create a global project to coordinate the efforts of private capital, companies and citizens seeking to protect and preserve our planet as part of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Regeneration.
Funded by Ark Rewards, customers will be incentivised to choose products and brands that care about the environment through earning carbon offset points.
We have worked with the G9 Ark team to create the brand identity for this ambitious project:
We wanted an endorsement that in time will become as familiar as the Fairtrade logo as it proliferates across everything from coffee shops to eco-friendly clothing.
– Stephen Fern, G9 Ark Chairman
The G9 Ark social network is due to launch in January 2020.
As a keen supporter of sustainable, environmental and socially valuable causes, and a member of the B Corporation® community, we declare a climate emergency.
We are aligned with Extinction Rebellion’s view that this involves three key elements:
We acknowledge the scientific facts behind this existential crisis and aim to be bold in our ambitions to embrace new practices and business models that offer solutions to the climate breakdown.
We pledge to become a net carbon neutral business by 2025 or sooner. We will work with our partners, clients, friends and wider community to drive wider economic change and create new solutions together to urgently reduce carbon emissions.
Working closely with our friends at Hensley Partners, we recently completed the fourth brand identity audit for one of Dubai’s two leading mobile network providers – du. The objective was to assess how effectively the du design system is being implemented.
We analysed almost 2,500 assets from digital applications such as the website and social media posts to physical stores, advertising campaigns and corporate communications. Each piece was assessed against the brand identity guidelines to give a binary value for elements such as the use of the logo, imagery, colour, typography and written content.
We then prepared a report that we discussed with the relevant internal stakeholders and the agencies responsible. Based on this we created our final presentation and report which gave both a percentage value to the assessment as well as a list of observations and recommendations.
The outcome gives du a clear dashboard to enable them to focus their energies on areas of improvement to ensure their brand remains one of their most valuable assets.
Driven by our belief that business should be a force for good in the world – 12 months ago we set out on our journey to become a certified B Corporation or ‘B Corp’. It’s been a tough but fascinating process to comply with B Corp’s exacting standards across a range of categories.
Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement that meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are more than 2,400 Certified B Corporations® in over 150 industries and 60 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.
It feels great to be in the company of these businesses, working together to update the old capitalist model that pursues (short-term) profit at all costs. Amongst our new peers are enlightened organisations such as Patagonia, Cook, Ben & Jerry’s, Method and more recently Havas London have become the first major agency to qualify.
The question is, what does it mean for L&Co? Well, the certification (B Impact Assessment) process was not just about ticking boxes, it forced us to think about all aspects of our business. For example, we have adopted a more rigorous vetting process for our suppliers and shifted our banking to the leading ethical bank Triodos. We have even rewritten our Articles of Association to give equal weight to shareholders, staff and the community we operate in.
Our next step is to focus on creating real positive impact. In 2018 almost 20% of our income came from organisations that were driven by a positive social or environmental purpose, and we plan to grow this over the next two years to at least one third.
The bottom line for us is no longer just about profit, it’s about people and planet too. And while we intend to wear the B Corp logo with pride, it’s the next two years that we should be judged on.
Our work with Creative Conscience culminated this year in the design of the impact report, a 40–page document the charity publishes detailing its achievements over the past 12 months.
Working in collaboration with CEO Chrissy Levett with input from some of the Creative Conscience ‘graduates’ we created the document to highlight the past year’s achievements with the help our bold hand-stenciled type and Chrissy’s hand-written commentary. The report also highlights six ‘impact projects’ that Creative Conscience has supported over the year.
The impact report has been printed by our partners at Darwin Press using a variety of old leftover paper stocks, and last year’s poster as a dust-jacket.
Every once in a while a project comes along that puts all our other work in perspective – this small group of inspiring professionals dedicate themselves to recruiting foster carers for displaced children. They work tirelessly to match children and young people who are in desperate need of a family life with careers who can provide a home and support. The name says it all, and the creative output of some of the children and young people provided the backdrop for our simple logo.
In order to support the recent refresh of the AXA brand identity, we were asked by AXA PPP Healthcare to create a library of images with specific relevance to their range of healthcare products. The challenge was to balance the overall style set by the new AXA style guides with subject matter relevant to healthcare – some areas of which can be quite sensitive in terms of subject matter. We helped define the subject matter, wrote the guidelines and sourced a set of images to form part of the AXA PPP Healthcare library.
London Bridge Hospital is one of the city’s leading private medical centres and an international destination for a range of specialist medical services. They asked us to design their primary piece of printed marketing collateral to sit prominently above their various specialist brochures. The new piece had to appeal to both patients and medical professionals, giving an overall flavour of the hospital as well as a more detailed medical perspective.
We decided on an oversized magazine format to allow space for specialist areas such as cancer care and stem cell transplants, as well as cater for the luxury of single image spreads. Working alongside photographer Mark Mercer, we were privileged enough to be invited to shoot a major heart operation as well as being given access to patients and staff throughout the hospital.
Collaboration is in our DNA, it’s one of our values and what the ‘& Co’ bit of our name stands for. So when our friends at MBLM in New York asked us to help them on a project we jumped at the chance. Working on a new brand identity for a recently merged Anglo-American business, we were able to provide a European flavour to add to the design mix. The design team, lead by Claude Salzberger in the US and located in both London and New York, were able to share ideas and visuals through various applications, inspiring, surprising and challenging one another as we progressed. The results so far have enabled us to co-create a brand identity that we believe will be more successful than either of the two studios could have created independently.
Watch this space.
At L&Co we develop strong, long term relationships with many of our clients. We don’t just create a brand and move on, we continue to guide clients to maintain and evolve their brands. Although guidelines are a vital part of the mix and tether the brand identity, as markets change so brands have to evolve to maintain their edge. We have worked with Riverside Capital for over seven years, during which time we have produced a range of digital and printed collateral. Our latest piece is a low-run brochure containing everything from marketing prose to technical investment speak and accompanying info-graphic, illustrations and photography.
Made In Hackney is an award winning community kitchen and cookery school. Since launching in 2012 they have helped over 6,000 Londoners gain vital food skills, and they are continuing to grow. In November they launched their latest crowd funding campaign, with the aim of raising £45,000 to help build a new kitchen and cookery school. In turn, this could help 10,000 more people gain skills to lead healthier happier lives.
We’re proud to have supported Made In Hackney’s crowd funding campaign through our partnership with Creative Conscience, by designing a wonderful reward for their backers – an interactive, festive recipe book written by plant-based chef Anton Petrov. Well done to our intern Medeea Lascar for helping to bring the interactive, festive recipe book to life.
The Made In Hackney crowdfunding campaign was highly successful, blowing their £45,000 target out of the water and raising a total of £76,693.
