The bomb
Reviewed by Emily Gosling
Based in what’s been optimistically named London’s ‘Design District’, New Genre is a pretty youthful studio that’s racked up an impressively broad range of projects and clients in its short life. Just shy of two years old, the studio has thus far worked across fintech, a non-profit art organisation, a pub, a beauty brand, and a campaign for Jamie Oliver Group-founded youth activist movement Bite Back.
Such a wide-ranging miscellany of work could be dismissed as unfocused, but in New Genre’s case, it’s pretty strong stuff across the board – perhaps an agency finding its feet, rather than one without direction. I’d argue that its strongest work to date, however, is in good old fashioned FMCG – a classic branding and packaging project that shows off the studio’s knack with deftly selected typography, superb illustration, bold colour, punchy messaging and playfulness.
Said project saw New Genre create the identity for Chilli Bomba, a pretty unusual-sounding “gourmet” range of candy that’s billed as “equal parts sweet, spicy, and savoury,” and promises to break “the monotony of the overtly sweet candy-land”.
Based in LA, the small-batch-produced candies are mainly aimed at adults; and according to New Genre, the core of its strategy “quickly became” Candy for rebels’…
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Collections: Logotypes
We’re currently rebuilding our ‘Collections’ pages to provide a better browsing experience based on key assets. This will give you a decades overview of the brands featured on the site from 2011-present. These are currently a work in progress. If there’s anything that you think we should prioritise, drop a note in the comments section.
→ Discover logotypes
Instacart
Wolff Olins
The guidelines designed by Wolff Olins define the Instacart logo in terms of symbolism. Arrows symbolising ease of adding items to cart and carrot root representing enjoyment and nourishment. And execution in terms of impression. Clean, straight lines convey efficiency and soft curves evoke enjoyment of food. This is all well and good in a client presentation, but is it a good logo? It scales well (large format signage down to tiny app icons) and it’s distinctive in its synergy of arrow and carrot–a bit of universal basic and a carry-over from the previous ID. Colour helps this all along. So, yes.
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Ice Cool
Reviewed by Anna Marar
It’s been years since millennials were first accused of buying too many avocado toasts and expensive coffees. The stereotype of young people loving handmade, refined and artisanal products holds true in their spending patterns, and today, that generation has matured into business leaders, reshaping the world’s mindset to align with these priorities. As consumers, Gen Z seem to be picking up the torch, holding many of the same values, especially prioritising authenticity and ethical standards in the places they choose to shop. This shift has propelled the remarkable popularity of small brands across many different industries, outpacing the growth of their larger counterparts in recent years. Anecdotally, I’ve found that for my generation, it’s hard for large brands to hold that elusive ‘cool’ factor.
Petri Putila, owner of K-Citymarket Pirkkala, partnered with the Helsinki-based agency Werklig to create the Pirkkalan range, aiming to bring ‘artisan culture to the middle of a hypermarket’. With designers Anni Koskimies and Mikko Reponen, the goal was ‘to create the look and feel of a local store’, putting the focus on ‘quality and service’. The naming of the brand is straightforward, derived from the location…
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Now on Brand Archive:
NYBG by Wolff Olins, 2024
Brand Archive is a new research tool from the team behind BP&O. Discover a long history of corporate identity design, from the 1960s to present day. Using our custom built filter, discover individual assets from signage, to packaging to liveries, drawn from over 700 brands.
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Thank you for subscribing to the BP&O Newsletter. If you’re interested in other design-related resources and tools, also check out these from the same team:
Brand Archive – Research tool for brand designers.
LogoArchive Website – Searchable modernist logo archive & research tool.
Logo Histories – Stories behind great historical logos.
LogoArchive Shop – Vintage design books & LogoArchive Zines.