Ryvita rebrand

Founded in 1925 by John Edwin Garratt, Ryvita was brought to life when the world was a far simpler place – and consumer choice was much more limited.

The rye-based crispbread is one of those brands that many of us grew up with, but was typically viewed as as a ‘diet’ option for weight conscious mums.

Since Ryvita’s heyday, society’s relationship with health and wellbeing has shifted significantly, with a huge amount of choice springing up in the health food category. As a result, Ryvita has struggled to stay relevant in the ‘healthy alternative’ landscape.

The team behind the brand approched London-based branding agency Springetts to challenge traditional perceptions of the crispbread and reignite its relevance among consumers.

Through a combination of bold typography, accessible photography and a more playful tone of voice, the new brand looks to bring a new energy to the brand while remaining recognisably Ryvita.

springetts.co.uk

Africa best design work

Art and design publisher Counter-Print has released From Africa, the seventh book in its popular From series, which has so far brought us work from Japan, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Switzerland and South Korea. Each book is a celebration of the design culture belonging to the different countries and regions.

The book emphasises Africa’s cultural diversity, and huge mix of design influences. As Counter-Print co-founder Jon Dowling writes in the book’s intro, “its many, diverse countries are sources of vibrant design and African influences are seen in art and culture around the world. However, there is no one ‘African style’ and we should refrain from generalising a continent of such vast scale.”

In his introduction, Dowling also comments on the tendency to stereotype the stories of the continent, which extends to its design output which has too often been represented by “ethnic prints, earthy colours and textures”.

B&Q poster campaign

Shot by photographer James Day, who is known for his work for the New York Times, New Yorker and Wallpaper, the new B&Q ads are simple yet beautiful.

Each features a mobile phone with a B&Q product bursting from it, including paint, a roll of wallpaper and a bloom of flowers. The only text accompanying this is the brand’s web address, which alongside the image of the phone is enough to send home the message that you can order all these products digitally.

McDonalds BIN IT

This campaign is Belgium’s take on the theme, created by TBWA, which puts bins centre stage. “We want to make trash bins as popular as the burgers,” says Jeremie Goldwasser, creative director at TBWA.

The campaign, which will run on posters, social and in McDonald’s restaurants across Belgium, puts the spotlight on rubbish bins, bathing them in light and pairing them with witty copy.

“We asked Studio Wauters – McDonald’s’ permanent food photographer – to photograph the trash bins,” continues Goldwasser. “The challenge? Making bins look just as attractive and tempting as their burgers. We then applied the typical copywriting and design expertise to the bins, resulting in appetising design and quirky names such as the Big Bin, the Bin Deluxe and the Bin Royal.”

Here’s comes the Sun

Created by Base Design, the new campaign for the eyewear brand Ace & Tate puts the emphasis on why you need sunglasses, rather than what they look like.

It’s a bold move for an eyewear business to create an ad campaign featuring absolutely no specs or shades, but the campaign is surprisingly evocative. It features pleasingly unretouched portraits of people screwing up their eyes as they’re caught in a beam of sunlight, accompanied by a simple tagline: Bring on the sun.

Base Design’s partner and ECD Thierry Brunfaut says the posters embrace a “universal feeling” of being dazzled by the sun. According to him, the campaign is the next stage in Ace & Tate’s ‘brand evolution’, as the eight-year-old business faces up to an influx of new competitors.

That’s not to say its personality-free, however. “The visuals speak for themselves; they embody a sunny spirit and cheerful mood,” says Brunfaut. “The brand strikes that ‘Dutch Design’ balance: be thorough and serious about what you do, but stay offbeat.”

And Base Design’s approach seems to be paying off, with the campaign widely praised on social media, and also apparently winning Ace & Tate its second best sales day the weekend after launch.

Huch “relaxed luxury” branding

The studio was briefed to name and brand Huch, which will offer a collection of cabins in the Australian countryside, all intended to reconnect visitors with nature and offer “relaxed luxury in the wilderness”.

Each space is designed to offer the comfort of a hotel room, but without creating a negative impact on the environment – something Christopher Doyle & Co wanted to reflect in the Huch identity.

The brand revolves around the Huch wordmark, which incorporates the form of a classic pitched-roof cabin inside the H – a shape that’s also used as a frame for photography.

This, paired with a sans serif typeface, and a colour palette of warm reds, sunny yellows, and foresty blues and greens creates a welcoming feeling to the branding.

Coca Cola real magic

Described as the ‘hug’ logo, the new wraparound appearance of the identity was inspired by its positioning on packaging including cans and bottles. The new campaign was created by Wieden + Kennedy London with KnownUnknown, a global network of independent talent, brought in by Coke to craft the visual look, including all photography, animations and illustrations.

It is part of a wider launch by Coca-Cola of a new tagline, Real Magic, the first change for the brand in five years since the arrival of its Taste the Feeling tag in 2016. While it links to the brand’s most famous line, It’s the Real Thing, the new copy also aims to highlight the need to connect in troubled times.

This is perhaps a lot to ask from a soft drink, but the simple but striking new posters, combined with the bold use of upbeat illustration and photography makes the work stand out.

Alongside the print campaign there is also a TV spot, created by BETC London and directed by Daniel Wolfe, which stars three well-known gamers: DJ Alan Walker, Team Liquid’s Aerial Powers and Average Jonas.

Pentagram identity for a new craft platform

Astrid Stavro’s team at Pentagram have unveiled the new typographic identity created for Maker Mile, which launched as part of Venice Design Week 2020. The new platform (not to be confused with the east London initiative of the same name) aims to promote the tradition and development of craft in the platform’s home city of Venice, with subsequent editions set to spotlight cities around the world.

Although the identity appears simplistic at first glance, the execution is quietly playful. The horizontal bar of the L is dramatically elongated, cleverly containing linear detailing within the wordmark itself that stretches along posters, signage, book spines and even adds an enticing spin to wayfinding.

The concept is brought to life in animations, where the L is stretched out like a tape measure, shunting the E along to the edge of the image. Another variation sees the horizontal bar form the outline of various objects that allude to the platform’s spirit of all things craft.

Expanding the wordmark evokes the idea of forward-thinking direction, while also creating the sense that, like a physical strip or ‘mile’ in many cities around the world, the platform is a destination worth visiting.

Tea that perfect any time of the day

Every day should begin and end with a good cup of tea. 

Thankfully, Four O’Clock is a a cut above some of the generic tea brands on the market. Utilizing a rich navy that stays consistent across flavor variants, each rectangular box sports stylized images of the flavors contained within the tea, with cinnamon sticks breaking and chai leaves blooming. 

Each variant features a color strip that denotes that the tea’s flavor will be rich and tranquil. The bright colors are inviting and pair beautifully with the elegant serif font that makes up the logo. Our favorite element is a small touch-a simple tea leaf emerging from the letter “R.”

We worked closely with the company’s founders, mother and daughter, to elaborate the brand strategy and creative development of this new design. Bold, curious, generous, pure and creative the Four O’Clock brand is Obsessed with taste. The black/dark color was part of the Four O’Clock brand equity. We changed it to a blue/black more unique tint and added vibrant, appetizing and bright colors to not only convey the idea of bold flavors and generosity, but also make the brand color blocking more distinct and visually attractive.

McDonald’s ad for Moving Day

Moving house is hard work, with one of the main goals being the moment when you’ve finally got inside your new property and can enjoy a takeaway meal to celebrate. This will be a familiar feeling the world over, but is particularly pertinent in Quebec, Canada, where traditionally most residential leases come to an end on the same day, July 1.

This means an average of over 100K households in the province pack their belongings and move into their new homes on what Quebecers refer to as ‘Moving Day’. Tapping into this event was a recent campaign from McDonald’s Canada, created by Cossette ad agency, which repurposes the contents of moving vans to look like McDonald’s meals, which can be ordered via McDelivery.

The posters also aim to tell different Moving Day stories, which helped define the objects that were featured: The fries execution was inspired by a young man moving into his first apartment in a trendy Montreal neighborhood; the Big Mac execution featured a family with kids moving into a suburban home; and the Egg McMuffin spot highlighted a young couple moving into their first home.