Designer · Other
Perky Bros created a restrained visual and verbal identity for Southall, a 325-acre farm, hotel, spa and dining resort outside Franklin, Tennessee. The system combines a simple table-shaped logo, harvest-referencing diamonds, Arts and Crafts-influenced icons, customised Grifo S typography and Marr Sans, with tactile letterpress and laser-cut physical applications. Emily Gosling views the identity as appropriately quiet and permanent, designed to support rather than compete with Southall's land, food and hospitality experience.
BP&O examines Pentagram's packaging and identity work for LBTY, Liberty London's beauty and fragrance line. The design uses the Liberty archive's historic prints, colour-saturated uncoated paper and foiled branding, while an oversized cap creates a distinctive bottle silhouette without bespoke glass tooling.
Creative Boom features Tom May’s new book, *The 50 Greatest Designers: The People Who Have Created Our Environment*, which explores 150 years of design history across disciplines and continents. The book aims to highlight overlooked figures, especially women and non-Western designers, and make design history accessible to a broad audience. Published by Arcturus Publishing, it combines engaging storytelling with rich visuals to inspire designers and readers alike.
Steven Heller revisits Thomas Maitland Cleland’s 1940 essay 'Harsh Words,' a sharp critique of modernist design and functionalism delivered at an AIGA event. The article contextualizes Cleland’s neo-classical stance against the rise of modernism and industrial design, highlighting his defense of craftsmanship and typographic tradition. Heller reflects on how Cleland’s arguments still resonate in today’s debates about originality and technology in design.
Steven Heller revisits Thomas Maitland Cleland’s 1940 essay 'Harsh Words,' a scathing critique of modernist design and functionalism delivered at an AIGA event. The piece highlights Cleland’s defense of craftsmanship and ornamentation against the rise of industrial and modernist aesthetics, showing how his arguments still resonate in today’s debates about technology and design standards.
In this BP&O Voices essay, Mark Paton reflects on the role of design in addressing climate change and sustainability. He argues that creativity and collaboration are essential tools for inspiring belief in renewable energy and sustainable living. Drawing lessons from history and contemporary thinkers, Paton calls for a new creative movement that aligns design with ecological responsibility and human empathy.