The Clearing

Thank you Marketing Week and Amrit Virdi for the shout out for our work with Barnardo's in their latest article about the power of a rebrand within charities. Since the rebrand launched in 2024, we’re thrilled to see Barnardo’s go from strength to strength, exceeding campaign targets and jumping ahead in support and other key brand metrics. Great partnerships lead to great work and we couldn't have done it without Navneet Evans and the rest of the team 🙏 “You can’t underestimate the power of brand in the role of a charity and in this sector, because improved awareness and recognition can open up opportunities in the most unlikely of places - it might just be the thing that gets you over the line to unlock that corporate partnership.” [Navneet Evans, Head of Brand and Marketing at Barnardo's] Check out the full article (subscribers only) and our case study in the comments below.

It was Digital Cleanup Day over the weekend (who knew!), and what perfect timing to launch ‘Trash Talks’: our swift-kick-in-the-pants sustainability programme that’s actually a lot sweeter than it sounds. Each month we’ll be setting a series of fun challenges to reduce our environmental impact. Our first challenge? A digital decluttering showdown where we battled it out to see who can delete the most carbon from their inboxes and get thinking about the impact our digital presence has on the planet. We’ll be sharing a new challenge each month, so follow along and see if you want to get involved yourself. After all, everything's a competition. Especially this. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled to hold us accountable - we'll be sharing our results on here throughout the year. Read all about Trash Talks through in the link in the comments.

A big thanks to the year 10 students at St George's School for letting us close out their careers week talking about life in the creative industry. We chatted about the different kinds of careers you can go into, what you might (or might not!) study, and all the different roles you get in a studio like ours. Hopefully we'll see some of them in the future 🤞

Shapes, textures and patterns from the cutting room floor

It's World Book Day! 📚 We’re celebrating with a little throwback to a project we loved working on – creating a new brand for The Book People. The brand identity captured that feeling of stepping into another world and used illustrations and words to bring book lovers to life – just like in books themselves. Have a read of the full case study in the comments below. Oh, and if you’re nearby Borough Market today, why not pop in to the studio to join in on our second hand book swap.

It’s our 15th birthday 🎉 There’s so much we’re proud of and thankful for - our amazing team (whether you’re past and present), our brilliant clients and countless projects. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of our journey so far, and here’s to the next 15 years ⏰ ✈️ 🥳

Typography and tone can be a match made in heaven, but what happens when they’re not? Designer Oliver Bielby-Smith has a way with words. He’s written a whole article about them. Take a walk through some stunning typography examples to get a better feel for how type and tone are inextricably linked – and imagine just how different The Shining would be if Jack was the one being hunted. Click on the link in the comments for the full article.

Some of our favourite typographic sketches from recent projects 📌

Spotted in The Guardian 👀 Since 2020, we've been working with Ueshima Coffee Company's team to craft its brand identity, tone of voice, and packaging, helping Japan's no.1 coffee brand shine. So we're pretty damn thrilled to see it get a shout-out for our "classy, calligraphy-adorned packaging." To try it for yourself, look out for our designs (and bespoke haikus) in Waitrose, Sainsbury's and on Ocado. Thanks to Clare Finney for featuring our design in her article for The Guardian: "‘The classiest gift I’ve heard of’: What to bring to a dinner party (that isn’t wine or chocolates)" Check out the full article and our case study in the comments.

Naming projects get a bad rap as unruly opinion showdowns with damning legal limitations. If that's been your experience, your process was probably the problem. Eva Munday, our brand language director, explains why naming can be so tricky and how to prevent it turning into a chaotic free-for-all. For the full article, click on the link in the comments