Fighting Suicide one cup of tea at a time

UnLtd is a social organization that connects the media, marketing, and creative industry with charities working with at-risk children to ensure every young Australian has the opportunity to fulfill their potential. Recently, the non-for-profit organization wanted to create a product that could help these children in ways like never before. Enter Mood; a tea made to positively impact mental health for a generation that needs it the most. 

Maud, the creative agency based in Sydney and Melbourne, Maud had to get creative to develop a tea brand for a generation that’s not typically known as tea drinkers. The vivid and playful color system helps create a dynamic identity that pulls these consumers in, and the range of expressive typography keeps them there. Each flavor and blend is descriptive of a range of moods. For example, the Sweet Lullaby is a blend of Rooibos, Licorice, and Vanilla flavors intended to calm, comfort, and relax you. The color palette for this specific blend is made up of soft blue, purple, and pink hues, featuring an illustration of a person in their pajamas watching whimsical sheep bounce through the stars above. 

The Sydney-based artist Elin Matilda created the whimsical illustrations featured on each of the tea’s packaging, and they couldn’t be more positively mood-altering. Each of the blends, named by Maud, include Happy Days, Get On Up, Be Kind, Unwind, and Sweet Lullaby, feature a fitting illustration on the packaging paired with perfectly descriptive color palettes. 

It’s clear that the art direction and packaging were designed with one purpose: to uplift children going through tumultuous times in a subtle yet utterly thoughtful way. As a result, each tea’s packaging shares reasons to be hopeful, with authentic stories of positive change, with all profits going towards enhancing the mental wellbeing of others.

And

And emerged in response to the question “How might we create a gender neutral brand identity for a line of period products?” Through extensive market research and brand discovery process, the identity of And began to take shape as an inclusive, high quality product line committed to meeting the needs of people with periods and disrupting outdated gender norms in the industry. And, inspired by the word ‘androgynous,’ is for him and her and them and you—And is for all of us. 

Gender dysphoria is defined as distress caused by a discrepancy between a person’s gender identity and their anatomy. For some trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming people, the experience of menstruation can trigger intense feelings of gender dysphoria, as many associate menstruation with femininity. This association perpetuates harm, as not all women menstruate and not all people who menstruate identify as women. The menstrual care industry plays an important role in redefining gender norms by exemplifying inclusive representation.

Laytown

Laytown is a village in County Meath, Ireland, overlooking the Irish Sea. Inspired by this village’s location, the branding for Laytown Soda Co is all things tropical. Designed by Jack McKeon, the color palette for the drinks is cheery and bright, everything you hope to feel while by the sea. Furthermore, the t-shaped logo doubles as an illustration of a beach umbrella, furthering the seaside theme. It’s evident that Laytown Soda is a brand that’s all about influencing a lifestyle that promotes a slow pace and 100% happiness.

A student project with Creative Direction from Dublin-based illustrator and designer Conor Merriman, the hypothetical Laytown Soda Co, based in County Meath, Ireland, put an emphasis on flavour over fizz. Their drinks offer fruity refreshment without being overpowered by an excessive sparkling sting.

The logotype, inspired by Laytown’s seaside location, features wavy letterforms and the letter ‘T’ doubling as an umbrella (or parasol considering how changeable the Irish weather is).

McDonald’s Canada ad

It’s surprising what we might have missed during the pandemic. There’s the obvious stuff – hugs with friends and family, the chance to talk over travails and triumphs face to face – and then there’s the small moments that might have even been a bit annoying, but now they’re prevented, you want them back.

The spot is the latest in what appears to be a burgeoning trend in advertising of taking a musical theatre approach. Directed by Max Sherman, it certainly makes the most of the ridiculousness of turning an ad for fries into a power ballad.

Credits:
Agency: Cossette
Director: Max Sherman
Production Company: OPC

Breeze rebranded

Leeds City Council has run Breeze for the past 20 years, offering activities, events and discounts to under 19 year-olds across the city. To coincide with the launch of a new membership app, it commissioned Kiss Branding to refresh the identity of the platform, to take in a diverse audience of toddlers, kids and teens plus also parents and tourists in the city.

Kiss Branding created a contemporary campaign featuring bright and bold typography and illustration, created in-house. “We landed on the concept of ‘Freedom’s a Breeze’ as a core brand idea,” says Poonam Saini, creative director at Kiss. “Breeze makes finding activities and discounts in Leeds ‘easy breezy’ so it was important that our new brand embodies this sense of simplicity and contentment.

“The swooping logo and typography, playful yet refined colour palette along with contemporary, inclusive illustrations come together to create a brand worthy of the Breeze offering – a world away from the typical ‘town council’ identity they had previously.”

The Art of Lettering

The book, published by Formist Editions and featuring the work of type designer and Klim Type Foundry founder Kris Sowersby, asks, “When is a letter not a letter?”

Running to a hefty 800 pages, and filled with double-page spreads of giant letterforms, The Art of Letters aims to question and explore the relationship between art, function and form when it comes to type design.

In the foreword, designer and Formist director Mark Gowing says the idea for the book came from discussion around what turns an “abstract form” into part of a wider language system, as well as “the relative absurdity of these timeless and ubiquitous forms”.

The Art of Letters treats each of the glyphs drawn by Kris Sowersby – a largely self-taught type designer who set up Klim Type Foundry in 2005 – as a standalone piece of work, big enough to fill a single page.

As well as a chance to appreciate the carefully designed shapes of individual letterforms, the book itself is quite the work of art with black edged pages and a gold foil-stamped dust jacket. The introduction is, naturally, set in a custom typeface as well – Brotunda, designed by Sowersby and Gowing together, and inspired by the medieval rotunda script.

Art of Letters is published by Formist Editions, priced $90; formisteditions.co