A tribute to The Chase co-founder Lionel Hatch (1949 – 2025)

Lionel Hatch, who has died aged 75, was one of the foremost figures in British graphic design and a champion of creativity outside the capital as co-founder of The Chase in Manchester.

Forging a career in the 1970s, Hatch worked in and around ad agencies building a reputation for creativity and craft. His work often centred on ideas that engaged, informed, entertained or delighted an audience and they were always delivered in the vanguard of the craft, which, in Hatch’s case, was typography.

From an early age Hatch was a gifted typographer. Along with lettering artists such as Tony Forster and Phill Grimshaw, Hatch was part of a talented cluster who came from the North West, and garnered international recognition.

Designers who learned under him often tell stories of how, in the days of hand-assembled board artwork, Hatch, unhappy with the typography, would quickly sketch out his desired changes on lay-out paper. When it was overlaid, it would be millimetre perfect.

He was often seen in the studio, hanging lay-outs upside down to better judge the spacing. And even in the digital age, he would make sure all line breaks were perfect – be that a presentation, an email, or even a text message.

He went through various incarnations of his business, Typographics, and later operated as a freelancer. But in 1986, Hatch teamed up with Ben Casey to co-found The Chase, one of the first independent agencies outside London dedicated solely to graphic design.

At a time of deep recession, Hatch and Casey each put their houses on the line to secure the finance for the agency. Coming through this financial hardship encouraged a certain economy in their work and culture, where virtues were often found in necessity and originality was revealed in the obvious.

As is now well-known, The Chase became one of the most awarded and enduring creative businesses and showed the way for countless others to set up in Manchester and beyond. It was truly instrumental in encouraging the breadth and diversity of creative practices all around the UK which we see today.

Those that knew and worked with Lionel affectionately called him Line, and knew him to be an enthusiastic writer and painter, who loved jazz and Japanese design.

He retired in 2017. His career accolades speak for themselves, but it’s perhaps his other qualities which are his greatest and most lasting legacy.

“He showed us that success is something you define on your own terms.”

Though he had a formidable attention-to-detail and treated typography with creative discipline, Lionel was laid-back and worked without ego.

He enjoyed the abilities and potential of others, developing talent and supporting the careers of countless generations of creative people, many of whom have gone on to do great things themselves.

Mark Ross, co-founder of Manchester-based design agency, Glorious, was one such person.

“In 1986, on graduating, Lionel offered me my first job as a junior designer,” Ross remembers. “He was one of, if not, the best designer to grace the Manchester scene and beyond.

“His most endearing quality was his humility. Despite all the deserved success, and accolades bestowed upon him, Lionel remained modest and unpretentious with a calm personality, sharp sense of humour, and desire to help and support others.”

Ren Rigby, founder and chief design officer of Proto, is another whose career was shaped by Hatch.

“Lionel didn’t just design: he gave meaning to everything he created, from the smallest design detail to the deepest friendship,” Rigby says.

Lise Brian, who worked with Lionel at The Chase from her very first days after graduating to becoming an associate creative director, echoes these sentiments. “Although days could be long and deadlines short, Lionel always took the time to share his knowledge generously and kindly, wearing his many skills lightly, making us feel so fortunate to be part of it all.”

Encouraging and inspirational, Lionel was always there for those in the studio that needed him.

His quiet demeanour and soft voice resonate loud and deep through countless generations of people still.

Lionel Hatch may not be the name most people associate with The Chase, but that isn’t to understate his importance to that agency.

It is, however, perhaps the greatest example he has set for us all.

In an industry where it feels that those who shout loudest get heard, where the brazen often bulldozes the discerning, and where design is often viewed only as delivery, Lionel showed us all you don’t have to live in the limelight, that you can live by your own identity, intellect, and ideas.

He showed us that success is something you define on your own terms.

This will almost certainly stand, alongside the work, and his impact on so many people, as his greatest legacy.

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England Cricket unveils roarsome new brand to capitalise on “exciting time”

England Cricket wants to attract new audiences through a refreshed identity that unites the men’s, women’s and disability teams.

The new look, which was created by The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s in-house team and sports branding agency Matta, is rolling out this summer. It can be seen on digital platforms and social graphics, print, merchandise and in-stadium graphics.

The move was driven in part by the swashbuckling style, known as Bazball, that the men’s team play – just yesterday they lost a nail-biting match to India, widely seen as the best Test series since the 2005 Ashes.

“We’re in an incredibly exciting time for England cricket,” says ECB marketing director Jen Vile.

“We’ve got the men’s team playing really dynamic and attention-grabbing cricket, we’ve got the women’s team about to play in a World Cup on home soil next year, and we’ve got disability teams that are increasing in profile, and playing in ever more high profile stadia.

“We wanted to make sure we had an England brand that reflects this moment in time.”

Vile says the ECB wants to build on the current momentum and attract new fans to the game.

She says the new look had to reflect how the teams show up off the pitch – “their interactions with fans, their personalities, the causes they support and the work they do to promote our brilliant sport.” That meant finding ways to “showcase our players as individuals” which is an important part of engaging younger fans in particular.

But she and the team were also conscious not to alienate existing fans, or overlook the sport’s proud history.

“I don’t think it’s either/or,” she says. “We wanted to bring new audiences into the fold, but we also wanted continuity, because we have built a lot of brand equity. It’s all part of this rich fabric of a living, breathing brand.”

The aim, she says, was to “revitalise” rather than rebrand.

And ECB marketing manager Hayley Reed explains that research shows new fans are more drawn to sports that have deep-rooted traditions.

“They want to have a story they can get behind and learn about,” she says. “The design team has done a great job of remembering what we stand for, and ensuring that we pick the right bits and move them forward.”

MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket

The project started with a huge consultation exercise, gathering input from fans, players, coaching staff and other stakeholders.

One of the key challenges was to create consistency for the overarching brand, with enough flexibility to be adapted to three different teams, explains Matta’s executive creative director, Matt Campbell.

And there was more complexity, because there are also three formats – Test, limited-over and T20 – which each have slightly different personalities.

“So the women’s Test visual language is slightly different to men’s T20, versus the disability limited-overs,” Campbell says. “You’ve got to show a little bit of distinctiveness, and it pretty quickly becomes a matrix structure.”

The design system is inspired by the technical aspects of cricket, from the structure of the pitch, like the field and the middle, to the wagon wheel diagrams commonly used to visualise individual performances, or specific passages of play.

“Cricket is one of the most heavily infographic-ed sports, so there was quite a lot to bounce off,” Campbell explains.

MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket

But the team wanted to balance this data-inspired visual language with a more emotional brand motif. “We were missing an element of passion, pride and energy – from the players but also from the crowd, and how involved they get,” he says.

Inspired by the lion in the crest, the team developed a visual representation of a lion’s roar, built around the actual wavelength created by that evocative sound.

That visual device also changes according to its context, so in Test graphics it is used in quite a formal way, while for T20 it has “more immediate, explosive energy.”

The tone of voice also flexes depending on the use-case. The team built what it calls a “tones of one voice” document, and Campbell likens the TOV to a “graphic equaliser” that can be dialled up and down.

While maintaining overall cohesion, the language used should reflect each team’s specific objectives – more heritage-conscious for the men’s team, more celebratory and promotional for the women’s team, and bringing an education layer to the disability teams, without watering down the focus on skill.

MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket

There are two typefaces used in the new identity – Gotham as a sans serif and Beaufort as a serif, which speaks more to the traditions of the game, although it’s used in dynamic ways.

Reed explains the design team studied how Premier League football clubs have been leaning into serif fonts in recent rebrands, but that didn’t feel like the right direction for England Cricket.

The aim is to create a “modern classic” feel with the type – so, for example, there is a clear hierarchy with Beaufort as the secondary font, and the brand guidelines dictate that the word “England” should always be shown in Gotham.

Vile explains that as a “long-term play to grow the fanbase,” the impact of the new branding won’t be clear for a couple of years.

But, Reed says, the early indications are encouraging. Popular former players like Stuart Broad have welcomed the new branding.

And the ECB has already seen “significant improvements” in how the 19 county cricket organisations they work with are adopting and promoting the new identity.

“That was a really key measure for success, to have those counties onboarded and aligned to our vision,” Reed says.

MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket
MATTA’s refreshed visual identity for England Cricket

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BLOND redesigns revolutionary anti-hair loss chemo helmet

BLOND has redesigned a revolutionary medical device that reduces hair loss in cancer patients.

Hair loss is one of the most well-known side effects of chemotherapy.

The drugs used in this treatment attack fast-growing cancer cells, which tend to be localised. But because they travel through the blood stream, they also attack hair cells, as they are similarly fast-growing.

Cancer Research says hair loss can be “distressing and devastating” to people battling cancer.

According to academic research, 47% of breast cancer patients consider hair loss the most traumatic aspect of their treatment.

In fact, Luminate found through its R&D and trials that it can be a barrier to patients undertaking chemotherapy treatment at all.

Currently the way to try and minimise hair loss is to attach patients to a large fridge-like device in hospital for a few hours each time. This cools the scalp to constrict blood vessels and reduce blood flow to hair follicles.

The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical

But Lily is a new device created by Luminate Medical, a start-up based in Galway, Ireland.

It uses compression instead of cooling. “With a small amount of compression, we close off the blood vessels on the scalp, which stops blood filled with chemo getting to the hair follicles,” explains Aaron Hannon CEO, and co-founder of Luminate.

Lily is the first device to tackle the problem in this way.

Hannon and his team had already engineered a piece of head gear that covered the scalp and hugged the jaw and cheeks to keep it in place. But they realised they needed some product design input to improve how patients would feel about it.

“We’d focused on the scientific efficacy of the product. We didn’t optimise for perception in the early stages,” Hannon says.

Luminate had a technology investor in San Francisco, who recommended BLOND for its work with consumer products.

The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical

The east London agency was briefed to come up with a design that would feel more familiar. As all the technology was in place, BLOND founder and creative director James Melia describes their work on Lily as more of a styling exercise.

“Our aim was to make the current design more approachable and wearable,” he explains.

“It needs to be worn during the chemotherapy treatment, so it needs to not feel too scary. And it’s worn on the way home, and at home, so it’s not just for a hospital setting.”

The design also had to work for patients with different head sizes, which Melia admits made for “a tricky” brief.

As part of their research, BLOND looked at what people are used to wearing on their heads, and took inspiration from cycle helmets.

The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical

Lily’s original design had a thin shell on top, making it visually unappealing, says Melia. BLOND instead gave the helmet more volume, to improve its look.

“Our job is always about reducing volume,” Melia says of its other product design jobs. So this approach to bulk up the product was unusual.

To improve the user experience, the previous heavy straps have been ditched in favour of cushioned Velcro alternatives that are adjustable. That means the helmet fits comfortably on a wide range of head shapes and sizes.

The straps can also be removed and magnetically reattached for an improved user experience.

The anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet designed by Blond and created by Luminate Medical

BLOND added a surface pattern across the top of the shell, giving it a hard-wearing texture without it feeling too rugged, and breaking up the large form, so that it’s more familiar and visually digestible.

BLOND also designed a recyclable carry case, made of recyclable felt, for Lily.

Luminate’s goal is for a large number of patients to be able to use this all around the world. “We want to make it normal for patients to retain their hair during cancer,” Hannon says.

“Cooling treatment has varying success rates depending on the chemo, and for some more aggressive chemotherapies, this can drop below 50% of patients retaining their hair,” he adds.

“Because Lily is portable, Luminate aims for better hair retention, because patients can wear the device for longer after their treatment.”

Lily is undergoing the final stages of medical trials, and is awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the US.

Close-up detail of the anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet
Close-up detail of the anti-hair loss chemotherapy helmet

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Designers welcome crackdown on “unfair and exhausting” late payments

The UK government has vowed to tackle “the scourge of late payments once and for all.”

In its Plan for Change for Small and Medium Sized Businesses published last week, it said late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion every year, and the issue shuts down 38 businesses every day.

Now the government is planning new legislation to stamp out late payments. “Too many hardworking people are being forced to spend precious hours chasing payments instead of doing what they do best – growing their businesses,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

“It’s unfair, it’s exhausting, and it’s holding Britain back. So, our message is clear: it’s time to pay up.”

The proposed new rules will:

Introduce maximum payment terms for invoices. These will be set at 60 days initially, coming down to 45 days in time.
Make interest on late invoices mandatory.
Give the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) more powers to speed up disputes and fine companies which are repeat offenders, as well as name and shame them.
Compel big companies to report on average payment terms, and review their policies at board level.

According to the report, “This will be the most significant legislation to tackle late payments in over 25 years and will give the UK the strongest legal framework on late payments in the G7.”

A welcome change, but questions remain

The new rules are designed to support businesses with fewer than 250 employees, which covers the vast majority of design studios and agencies.

“The Small Business Plan is a welcome signal of support for the backbone of the design economy; our SMEs, micro-businesses and freelancers,” says Shamir Hale, senior policy and advocacy manager at the Design Council.

“From tackling late payments to improving access to finance, these pro-small business measures will make a real difference to the designers powering our economy.”

Writing on LinkedIn, designer Dominic Martin–Manning pointed out how late payments “can have a significant impact on whether we survive, or end up on the scrap heap.” He said he hoped the new laws would “help alleviate some of those fears.”

“Stricter rules – and the risk of penalties – will hopefully change mindsets and improve respectful practices.”

This enthusiasm was echoed by those who represent freelancers, for whom the challenge of late payments is often especially hard to navigate.

According to Leapers, an organisation which supports freelancers’ mental health, 72% of freelancers had to chase late invoices last year.

“The proposed changes to tackle late payments are very much welcomed, as too many freelancers face this issue regularly, with tangible negative impact on both finances and mental health,” says Leapers founder Matthew Knight.

“I’m especially glad to see the SBC have more powers to investigate and fine persistent late payers, more transparency around bad behaviours, and increased penalties. The end of 60+ day payment terms is also fantastic.

“Stricter rules – and the risk of penalties – will hopefully change mindsets and improve respectful practices,” he adds.

But Knight did raise some questions about the details of the proposals. He pointed out that many late payers are themselves companies with fewer than 250 employees, and so would not be subject to the increased scrutiny laid out in the plan.

He also pointed out that while mandatory interest on overdue invoices is positive, it would still be down to those owed money “to chase and chase” for this extra payment.

“For some hirers, could it put them off using freelancers, rather than sorting out their internal processes?” Knight asks. “Could also end up being seen as an additional cost of business, and cost be passed on to suppliers or customers?”

The backbone of the UK economy

Small and medium-sized businesses, or SMEs, make up 99.8% of the UK’s business landscape. They employ 16.6 million people, 60% of the total UK workforce. According to estimates from the Department for Business and Trade, around 80% of SMEs are micro businesses, with one to nine employees.

But SMEs are struggling – in 2023, only 40% reported an increase in turnover, which was down 6% from 2022.

The proposals are part of the Government’s wider efforts to kickstart the UK’s economic growth. “Through our Plan for Change, we will make the UK the best place to start and grow a business,” the plan states.

“You are not just businesses – you are the nation’s dreamers and doers, innovators, the beating heart of communities, and the backbone of the economy.

“But for too long, the odds have been against you, as previous governments let problems stack up – leaving businesses dealing with endless red tape, struggling to access finance and navigating additional trade barriers.”

Alongside the late payments legislation, the plan pledges to cut the administrative costs of running a business by 25%, make tax easier to navigate with the help of AI, help SMEs bring down their energy costs, and provide £4 billion in extra finance, including 69,000 start-up loans, “to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners.”

The Government has opened a public consultation on the plans, and Knight urges freelancers and small business owners to make sure their voices are heard.

“They should absolutely read the proposals and provide input into the public consultation, which runs until October,” he says.

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How is Taxi Studio using AI?

Taxi Studio is a Bristol-based brand and design agency which works with clients like Carlsberg, Coca-Cola and the BBC. Here the studio’s AI lead, Stu Tallis, explains how they are using AI.

You can see all the articles in this series here.

Broadly speaking, are you excited for how AI will change the design industry, or nervous?

It’s fair to say that I’m both excited and nervous in equal measure. It’s not often that advancements in technology have such a seismic impact on an industry. With AI, the impact isn’t confined to one industry, it’s every industry, globally. This is big.

AI is going to fundamentally change how we work and how human value is perceived, and that’s the key aspect we should be focusing on.

We will all be using AI tools and platforms moving forward (in fact, many of us already are, whether we realise it or not) whether that’s automating repetitive tasks, augmenting our creative process, or acting as a digital advisor.

What we need to focus on is having a clear point of view about where we as humans add irreplaceable value.

Where, without us, the work simply wouldn’t be as good. For now, one thing AI can’t replicate is empathy, understanding human emotion, or having that gut instinct that tells you, “Something about this doesn’t feel right,” and then exploring that insight to create something extraordinary.

What excites me most is that AI will open doors. New opportunities, new ways of thinking, and new creative approaches.

But I’m also nervous because AI will inevitably take over many production tasks, and that will result in some job losses. As someone with emotions and empathy, I can’t ignore that.

Still, I believe that the human ability to dream, feel, and intuit will always remain a crucial and irreplaceable part of the creative process.

Do you have an agreed policy around AI as a business? If so, how did you create it?

Yes, we do. In March 2024, after months of exploring, experimenting, and attending seminars and talks on AI, we concluded that this technology is here to stay and it was going to change everything.

At the same time, it was evolving at breakneck speed. Aggressive, chaotic, and very much like the “wild west.” New tools and platforms were launching almost daily. Clients were excited one moment and hesitant the next. Confusion and hype were everywhere.

We felt it was our responsibility as a business to set clear guardrails, both to ensure we had control of how AI was used internally, and to provide transparency to our clients so they could trust that we were using it responsibly.

With that in mind, and inspired by my love of Isaac Asimov, author of I, Robot and his famous Three Laws of Robotics, I felt we needed our own equivalent.
So, we created our Five Principles of AI, which guide how we explore and apply AI tools across our business and client work..

When did you realise AI was going to have an impact on design?

Myself and one of our co-founders, Ryan Wills, have always been keen advocates of science and technology.

In 2023, when AI really began to gain momentum and Midjourney became available to the public, we had a moment where we said, “We need to get on top of this.”

Shortly afterwards, The Dieline released a video, Exploring the Intersection of AI, Design, and Packaging: Insights and Techniques.

That was a real WOW moment for us. It opened our minds to the possibilities and quickly expanded our awareness of emerging tools that could help us visualise answers to “What if?” questions almost instantly.

It was clear that AI had the potential to augment our creative workflows, of course, always in a safe and confidential way.

Have you undergone any AI training, either as a studio or individuals? If so, what was it, and what impact did it have?

Yes, we have. By mid-2024, I felt that the design team had developed a strong grasp of some AI tools, and I could already see the positive effects on our creative output.

AI had become a natural part of the process in many ways. However, I knew there was more we could do across all areas of the studio.

From client services through to operations and strategy. I started to look for training partnerships and there were countless opportunities out there, but it was difficult to discern which were genuinely valuable and credible, versus those simply jumping on the AI bandwagon to make a quick profit.

In the end, we partnered with the Pratt Institute, which is led by industry creatives who truly understand both our business, and the future of AI. We ran an intensive course with them in January, focusing on what AI is, how to master the art of prompt writing, how to leverage ChatGPT (including building custom GPTs to automate workflows), as well as a crash course in Midjourney and Adobe Firefly.

The experience really nurtured a mindset shift. From design thinking to thinking design across the entire business.

It made AI feel less daunting and far more accessible. As a result, the team gained an accreditation in ‘Creative AI in Design’ and began experimenting and integrating these tools into their daily workflows with confidence, which was exactly the impact I’d hoped for.

How do you use AI in the studio’s creative process? What is it good for? Where are its shortcomings?

We ultimately use AI to augment our creative process; to visualise our thinking at speed. That’s our main application right now.

When we have an idea, instead of spending many hours crafting early visuals, we use AI to accelerate the visualisation stage. This means we can dedicate more time to ideation and problem-solving, which is where the real value lies.

The challenge is that these tools are still relatively new, and it can sometimes feel like a false economy – you don’t always get the results you hope for.

AI-generated images can be flat, difficult to adjust, and achieving consistent output isn’t always straightforward.

However, this is improving rapidly. I believe that we, along with other businesses, will need to invest in both training and the time required to become fluent in these tools and the new language that comes with them.

Do you think clients care if/how you use AI in your work?

Yes, absolutely. This is exactly why we developed our Five Principles of AI, to ensure transparency and build trust.

Our clients are on the same journey as we are, navigating this new frontier of AI alongside agencies like ours, so open communication has been essential from the outset.

Each client is at a different stage of adoption and has their own policies and perspectives on AI. So it’s crucial that we understand these nuances and align our teams accordingly.

This ensures everyone is clear on what can and cannot be used in the creative process when working with specific clients.

Do you use AI for any non-creative aspects of running your business? If so what, and how does it help?

Since completing our training, teams across different functions of the business have been exploring various ways to use AI.

We are also proactively working on solidifying these practices. Our focus is on identifying where AI can help automate certain tasks, streamline processes, and make us more efficient. Ultimately freeing up more time to focus on the important, high-value work.

Beyond the best known tools, what is one AI tool that you would recommend to other design studios?

I would recommend Vizcom. It’s an excellent tool for enhancing the design process, allowing you to take a hand-drawn sketch of an idea and quickly transform it into a 3D visual that can be refined, modified, and developed at speed.

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Derek&Eric heroes “the dude” logo for innocent’s brand refresh

innocent drinks has rolled out a simplified new visual identity by Derek&Eric.

The company, which launched in 1999 and was bought by Coca-Cola in 2013, felt its branding had become fragmented across its range, which includes smoothies, juices, wellness shots and coconut water.

innocent ran a pitching process a couple of years ago for the project, and chose “one of the big-name agencies,” which it declined to name.

But after a few months, the brand decided to pause that partnership because they felt “it wasn’t really working,” according to innocent creative lead, Finlay Hogg. They approached strategist Silas Amos to take on the work – whom Hogg describes as having “a unique ability to speak marketing and design” – and Amos bought in Derek&Eric to work on the designs.

The challenge, Hogg says, was to simplify a brand architecture and design approach that had become complicated and confused over time.

“Over the years we’ve launched loads of new recipes,” he says. “We tried to do everything the right way, but we could have paid a bit more attention to how everything worked together. Everything followed a different design system, and we lost the look of a market leader.”

This made it difficult, he explains, for both existing and new customers to “navigate” the range of innocent’s offerings. And Alex Stewart, creative partner at Derek&Eric says this diminished the so-called halo effect, “one drink leading to another, and that overall brand impact.”

Stewart says the aim of the new work was to “simplify and rationalise” the design system across the different products. The challenge then was to ensure every design decision reflected this key strategic aim.

“We were holding ourselves up to that at every single stage of the process,” he says. “There were times where we were going, ‘Oh, but for this range, maybe we do need to be a bit different.’ And every time we had to look at ourselves and say no, we’re going to keep strong to our principles.”

The new innocent drinks branding, by Derek&Eric and Silas Amos

This fed into what Stewart calls “a responsible brand refresh.”

“This brand has a strong history, and it’s loved,” he explains. “It didn’t need any whizzbang – it just needed to be uplifted. So how could we pull every element back to be as simple, clean, clear, and beautifully crafted as possible? We wanted the minimum possible number of elements to tell the maximum possible story.”

At the heart of Amos’ strategy was ”the dude” – the internal name for the innocent logo. The new designs place the logo front and centre, “to really let him sing,” as Stewart puts it.

“Looking back at the logo, I think it was a bit broken,” Hogg explains. “The softness was missing and the craft just wasn’t there – it didn’t feel locked up.”

Stewart agrees. “It was a product of its time – it felt like it was drawn in 1999. Which is no shade on the original designers, but it launched on one or two products. Over time, as you add more levels and brand architecture, and communication, the logo got smaller and smaller.”

The fact it was created as an italic also caused problems. “If you put something above it, it looked wonky. If you put something below it, it looked offset.”

The new innocent drinks logo, by Derek&Eric and Silas Amos

The team worked with typographer Rob Clarke and illustrator Laura Silveria to refine the core visual assets, including the logo and a new arched wordmark. Clarke worked on “hundreds of iterations” to find a look that worked for everyone.

“Those handcrafted elements made it more expressive without changing its core essence,” Hogg says. “It brought that confidence back. We described it like a piece of fruit sitting in a fruit bowl – it needed that plumpness that makes you want to pick it.”

Clarke also worked on a new hand-drawn typeface, innocent hand, and tweaked the custom typeface he had previously created for the brand, innocent sans.

The new innocent hand typeface, designed by Rob Clarke

“It was all hand-painted, scanned and crafted,” Hogg says. “We focused on every single element, because there were going to be minimal assets on every pack.”

For the colour palette, Stewart and his team delved into the archives to revive some “greatest hits” from the products’ past, and they were drawn in particular to warmer light-coloured pastels which had been replaced by a colder white in recent years.

One of the biggest challenges, Stewart says, was to create the right design system for the back of pack, which had to balance nutrition and ingredients information with the storytelling and lively copy that innocent is renowned for.

He says the team spent days trying to figure out a solution, until one designer suggested using a simple horizontal line to divide the different types of copy.

“Across the project, the hardest thing was finding the simplest solution in every given scenario,” Stewart laughs.

And the simplicity of that approach helped Hogg and his team roll out the changes, across international markets, with different suppliers.

“There was a lot of complexity,” Hogg explains. “We have a lot of different print partners, with different cutters, and different production methods. And we had to make sure the labels all look the same.” The flexibility of the new design system was useful when labels needed to be redone, as legislation changed in different countries, for example.

He says the innocent team “couldn’t be happier” with the new identity, and that it’s made internal work much clearer, given the parameters they are now being asked to work to.

And on a recent trip to Germany, Stewart was thrilled to see the new-look bottles on the shelves.

“It was brilliant to see it functioning in a different market, in a different language, and surrounded by other brands that we don’t have in the UK,” he says. “I was proud that it was still so prominent.”

The new innocent drinks branding, by Derek&Eric and Silas Amos
The redrawn innocent sans typeface
The new innocent drinks branding, by Derek&Eric and Silas Amos

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design/leader: Outlaw co-founder Elissa O’Brien

Elissa O’Brien is strategy director and co-founder of Outlaw. The Bristol-based agency works on branding and packaging for clients like Peroni, Mitchum and Gü puddings.

Design

What would your monograph be called?

100 Things I Didn’t Want to Do: Why Boundaries Maketh the Woman.

 What recent design work made you a bit jealous?

The Longbottom & Co Mary range by Derek&Eric. The design is beautifully arresting and deliciously crafted. I love all the hidden details that make you smile.

It’s clever, considered and delightfully different in a category that’s increasingly chaotic. Who doesn’t want to drink from a can showing Queen Mary in a tomato headdress?

Derek&Eric’s work for Longbottom & Co

What’s an unusual place you get inspiration from?

Daytime reality TV. It’s a perfect window into the Great British psyche.

As a strategist, it can be tempting to get swept up in exciting, yet niche, micro-trends that feel cutting-edge, but have limited relevance outside of Hackney.

Whilst there’s absolutely a place for these, nothing helps you understand the general population and its idiosyncrasies better than Four in a Bed or A Place in the Sun.

Name something that is brilliantly designed but overlooked.

Sanex roll-on deodorant. I challenge anyone to find a better piece of user-centred structural design for under £2.

It fits perfectly in the hand, the lid fits on the body when in use, and the roller ball faces down rather than up when not in use, meaning you can use all the product inside.

It’s proof that value products don’t need to feel cheap and great design is a reason to believe.

What object in your studio best sums up your taste?

A custom ‘Elissa’ desktop Henry Hoover, made for me by Rex, our design director. Why would anyone want to use a boring and technical Dyson when a happy little red chap can help you hoover your living room?

It’s a reminder that soul outshines performance every time. And it helps me keep my desk crumb-free.

Elissa O’Brien’s mini Henry Hoover

What feedback felt brutal at the time but turned out to be useful?

When it comes to experience, there’s no substitute for time. It’s not something you want to hear when you’re early on in your career and hungry for progression, but it’s true.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell popularised “the 10,000-hour rule” – if you want to truly master something, you need to practice and perfect it for 10,000 hours. So while talent and aptitude are important, experience is what really makes the difference.

What’s an underappreciated skill that design leaders need?

I think self-reflection and self-awareness are undervalued qualities in design leadership.

As a leader, you don’t just set the bar, you also set the tone. How you handle difficult conversations, setbacks, and manage team dynamics are vital to the environment you create.

You don’t always get feedback from your team, so being honest with yourself on what you could do better, and how your actions influence others, is important.

What keeps you up at night?

How to deliver exactly the right amount of strategy. Too little and things are unclear. Too much and things are overcomplicated or constraining. It needs to be just right. Like porridge.

What trait is non-negotiable in new hires?

Proactivity and a fire in the belly. It’s impossible to be everywhere at once, so people who take initiative, ownership, and bring things to the table are essential.

Complete this sentence, “I wish more clients…”

…dropped their poker faces, especially in a world of Teams presentations.

The best presentations feel like conversations, full of energy and discussion. The worst feel like presenting into the void, with no reactions from rows of tiny faces at the top of the screen.

Any agency worth their salt loves challenge and dialogue, so let us know what works for you, what doesn’t, and why. And don’t be afraid to let it show on your face.

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Totally Okay’s hand-drawn look for Crossed Wires podcast festival

Totally Okay has created a “fun and accessible” identity for Sheffield’s podcast festival, Crossed Wires.

Launched in 2024, the festival positions itself as “celebration of the podcasts you love, the hosts you obsess over, and the stories that stick with you long after your headphones are off.”

It was created by local entrepreneur James O’Hara, podcast producer Dino Sofos, whose company makes shows like Miss Me? with Lily Allen and Miquita Oliver, and Alice Levine, the writer, broadcaster and host of one of the world’s most successful podcasts, My Dad Wrote A Porno.

Radio One DJ Greg James joined as creative director this year.

The identity is built around hand-drawn elements, like speech bubbles and a device known as the “squiggle,” which come to life in print and on posters, as well as on-stage visuals and digital channels.

Totally Okay’s identity for the Crossed Wires podcast festival

Levine explains that the podcast world is well-served with industry events that “feel like conferences.” But that from the start, Crossed Wires was meant to feel very different.

“Our brief was that this is for listeners and fans of podcasts, and it had to feel really fun and accessible,” she explains.

“Podcasting is obviously quite a solo, insular experience. So we had to put across the idea that this was all your favourite acts in a way you don’t usually get to experience them – something that felt more like a gathering or a party.”

Deakin admits that the initial ideas he presented to the team “went slightly awry” based on visual metaphors around discussion and tussle, like photos of judo matches and West Side Story face-offs.

But in discussions with Levine, he realised the seeds of the identity were already there, in his very earliest explorations.

“I had these initial doddles, which I thought were too unsophisticated to use,” he says. “But they had this really rough, hand-drawn quality that we ended up keeping throughout the identity.”

He also shared visual references from nostalgic 1990s sweets, like Parma Violets and Refreshers.

Totally Okay’s identity for the Crossed Wires podcast festival

This less slick approach fitted with the Crossed Wires ethos, and its home city, which prides itself on not taking itself too seriously.

Deakin says the design and the production – wheatpasting posters outside the venues – worked together to create the desired effect.

“There was a raw, edgy quality to it all,” Deakin says. “You have the liveliness of the speech bubbles, and then these dog-eared posters which I think were essential to how things were communicated. It would have felt very different if we’d had these smooth, clean posters, and vector graphics.”

This year’s Crossed Wires expanded in scope and scale, with more shows at the main venues and a three-day fringe, run by BBC Sounds, which took over the old John Lewis building in Sheffield city centre.

Levine and Deakin were determined to ramp up the identity for year two, doubling down on the graphics and pushing the verbal identity further.

“For the first year we had to do a lot of education, because live podcasting is a relatively new development,” Levine says. “We had to explain to people what it was, and why they should come.

“It felt like we had more freedom this year, and I wanted the copy to be intriguing – a bit more of a sense of humour, and a bit less on-the-nose.”

The writing process centres on “a huge, chaotic Google Doc” and Levine, a comedy writer, says she “freewheels” by throwing lots of ideas at Deakin to see what sticks.

This year’s lines included “On stage, off script” and “Meet the voices in your head,” and Deakin says it could be challenging making them work visually, because the identity uses sentence case text.

“That adds a problematic element, of having ascenders and descenders that need to fit well together,” he says.

The typeface is Founders Grotesk by Klim Type Foundry, while a striking fluorescent green dominated this year’s colour palette, or “that bloody green” as Levine puts it.

They had to find a specialist screen printer who could create that tone, and there were complications with it working on the wheatpaste posters.

“It was a real chore to get that green, but we did, and it looked amazing,” Deakin says. “Its the main thing people commented on, and so it was worth the struggle, because it really lifted up the whole visual language.”

The on-stage graphics were another important visual element. The spaces that host Crossed Wires events are very different, from the iconic Crucible theatre to pop-up stages.

“We needed something that made it feel like a festival, particularly for those shows which are two chairs on a stage,” Levine says.

The on-stage graphics at Crossed Wires festival, 2024.

At Levine’s urging, Deakin worked with local woodworker Giles Grover to create sculptures that resemble the squiggle and the speech bubble. “I think they’re so beautiful, they way they come out of the stage floor, and seem to float and disappear,” Levine says.

After a few weeks’ respite, the team has already started thinking about the 2026 festival – Deakin says the jumbled Google Doc for their ideas is back up and running.

They both want to push the designs again next year, without losing the elements of the identity which have worked so well.

“People say they feel like the event has always been here,” Levine says. “This visual language looks so embedded, and feels so mature, that it feels like we’ve been an event that’s been running for 20 years, not two.”

Totally Okay’s posters for the Crossed Wires podcast festival
Totally Okay’s on-stage graphics for the Crossed Wires podcast festival
Alice Levine and Greg James, wearing the Crossed Wires squiggle on a t-shirt
Totally Okay’s identity for the Crossed Wires podcast festival
Totally Okay’s identity for the Crossed Wires podcast festival

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How is MOTTO using AI?

MOTTO is a strategy and design firm that specialises in the tech and innovation sectors. It is based in New York, and also has people in London, Berlin and Dallas. Here MOTTO’s co-founders, chief executive officer Sunny Bonnell, and chief operating officer Ashleigh Hansberger, tell us how the studio is using AI.

Broadly speaking, are you excited for how AI will change the design industry, or nervous?

It’s fair to feel both curiosity and caution. But those who lead innovation, engage with it. AI is already reshaping the design industry in meaningful ways. We’re seeing creative teams, including ours, explore how to use it thoughtfully to enhance ideas, not replace them. The excitement is in how it can push us to think differently, and expand what’s possible.

Do you have an agreed policy around AI as a business? How did you create it?

Yes. As a strategic brand company, we take both innovation and ethics seriously. We partnered with our legal team to create a formal policy that aligns with Motto’s values and the evolving landscape of AI use. This policy outlines acceptable use, transparency with clients, intellectual property considerations, and guidelines around data handling and creative attribution.

We wanted a clear framework that empowers our team to experiment and create responsibly, without compromising trust, originality, or human intelligence.

When did you realise AI was going to have an impact on design?

We’ve utilised AI for a few years. One of our first meaningful use cases was the development of our proprietary Motto® Perception Map, launched in 2024. This strategic tool blends our methodology with AI to evaluate and visualize a brand’s performance across seven critical dimensions.

What started as a playful experiment quickly became a breakthrough. From there, the conversation shifted from “Should we use AI?” to “How do we integrate this thoughtfully?”

Have you undergone any AI training, either as a studio or individuals? If so, what was it, and what impact did it have?

Yes, we’ve made a conscious effort to upskill across the team. We’ve built a learning and development library that includes courses like Masters of AI, AI-focused masterclasses, and specialised programs on prompt design, image generation, and AI ethics.

These trainings helped us move beyond surface-level use and toward strategic application. We’ve learned how to craft better prompts, avoid bias, and understand where AI fits – and where it doesn’t. It’s elevated how we think about creativity, not just how we execute it.

How do you use AI in the studio’s creative process? What is it good for? Where are its shortcomings?

AI is a powerful co-pilot in our early-stage process. We use it to stretch imagination – moodboards, naming explorations, storytelling prompts, visual studies, brand voice development. It’s particularly useful for divergent thinking and breaking creative block.

But we also know where to draw the line. AI is not a shortcut for craft, taste, or judgment. It doesn’t know the leadership or culture of a brand, which we’re particularly skilled at uncovering. It can’t replace human intuition, strategic depth, or the emotional intelligence required to build meaning and cultural relevance.

We use AI as a teammate and sparring partner. It sharpens our thinking, but it doesn’t do the thinking for us.

Do you think clients care if/how you use AI in your work?

Yes, and no. Most clients care more about outcomes than the tools used. But that doesn’t mean they’re indifferent. They want to know we’re innovating, using tools responsibly, and not compromising originality or ownership.

The key is transparency. When we use AI, we explain how and why. We also educate clients on where human intelligence makes the difference. It’s not about hiding the tools, it’s about setting clear expectations around the process.

Do you use AI for any non-creative aspects of running your business? If so what, and how does it help?

Absolutely. Behind the scenes, we use AI to streamline operations. It helps with internal documentation, meeting summaries, SOP development, and repurposing content.

We’re always looking for ways to reduce friction so our team can focus on high-value creative work. AI lets us scale efficiency without sacrificing quality.

Beyond the best-known tools, what is one AI tool that you would recommend to other design studios?

Krea.ai is a powerful platform worth exploring. It’s particularly strong for real-time image generation and concept development, giving creative teams the ability to rapidly visualise ideas without the overhead of traditional production workflows.

For studios exploring the intersection of motion, identity, and experimentation, it opens up new creative lanes, and it’s fast, flexible, and surprisingly fun to use.

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Stress, spinning plates and free pitching – what’s it like to start your own studio?

Despite some of the doom and gloom surrounding the design industry, every week brings news of another new studio opening for business.

The creative work is only one part of it – founders need to grapple with business models, management and personnel issues, and sometimes, as Allies Creative Studios shared recently, sniping and backbiting from other agencies.

We wanted to understand what the landscape looks like for new studios, the challenges they’re facing, and the ways in which they are positioning their offer, given how many studios are going for a finite amount of client work.

So we asked them – Lee Weaver who founded OneMay in 2022, Brett Goldhawk, who founded DesignHawk in 2023, Dominic Davidson-Merritt, who founded Studio Puzzle in 2024, Natasha Peskin, who founded Boring earlier this year, and Natalie Prout, who launched Mischief Maker with Vini Vieria just last month.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve found starting a studio?

Lee Weaver: For us, hiring has definitely been a big challenge, more so from the point of view of knowing when to. We’ve been keen to maximise opportunities to grow, but also want to do it sustainably.

It’s led to us as founders being a little overworked at times, which has been a challenge. But it feels like a sacrifice that’s worth it, rather than hiring too early and then having to reverse the decision.

And then the spinning of plates! It’s difficult at times to juggle the work, the admin, the team, networking, nurturing client relationships, updating the website, posting on LinkedIn etc etc

Transitioning from an employee to a studio founder is a big step, but a super rewarding one!

Brett Goldhawk: The first is, and always will be, about overcoming fear. It took many years to take the leap. As a managing director at an agency during COVID, and miraculously keeping them afloat, it gave me the confidence to know you can conquer anything if you put your mind to it – (and a realisation that there’s no rush to reach your goals.

The second is a little more pragmatic and that’s all things money – revenue, cashflow, projects, new business pipelines, accountancy. Understanding that when you remove all the passion, collaboration, client-focus, creativity and innovation, it’s a business and that business needs your total focus every single day.

Dominic Davidson-Merritt: Planning. Being so new and small means we love the ability to be flexible in our process – to benefit clients, the work, and us personally.

However that is a double-edged sword in terms of planning ahead. Without lots of different work streams running at one time we do suddenly find ourselves with ‘nothing to do’ as projects shift around.

So we always try to make that time just as valuable by working on the business, planning case studies, or taking some time away from our desks. We knew that starting an agency in these weird times was probably going to be a slow-burn, and we’d rather do it carefully and on our own terms, than burn out.

Natasha Peskin: Maintaining momentum. Launching Boring was really exciting and because its positioning was quite provocative, it did a good job of getting attention, one that I rode for a good couple of months.

But once the initial interest was over I was aware that I became yet another “new agency” contributing to the constant noise. I have so many ideas for PR, LinkedIn content and creative projects but between client work, and after school parenting, it does feel like an albatross around my neck. I have found it hard to find any time (or headspace) to feed the algorithm and keep Boring visible.

Ultimately, in lieu of being able to churn out viral content three times a week, our work will need to speak for itself but I worry it’s not enough these days.

Natalie Prout: It’s what we’d imagine is the classic agency start-up dilemma: splitting time between doing the work and building the business.

We’re trying to design a different kind of studio – new pricing, new processes, new standards – whilst simultaneously holding ourselves to the same high bar creatively as the industry heavyweights. It’s a lot, but that’s the gig!

What is your point of difference compared to other studios?

Lee Weaver: We have a simple mantra, do great work and be great to work with. We place huge emphasis on the latter part. Being responsive, genuinely helpful and invested in our clients’ success. It doesn’t sound like rocket science, but we know that our clients really appreciate that about us.

Brett Goldhawk: While many of the larger studios are rebranding to expand their offer and are busy introducing jazzy new slogans and complicated messages we simply care about brands selling more stuff.

It’s not about no-nonsense, it’s quite the opposite, we obsess over all things ‘supermarket’ and love the hustle and bustle of the weekly shop. So, we focus on strategic and creative projects that gets people to put brands in their basket.

That’s why we specialise in packaging design, shopper marketing and customer sell-ins. That’s quite a simple message to land with our clients.

Dominic Davidson-Merritt: I think it’s been creative value. It doesn’t sound very sexy does it?

But as we work with SMEs, that don’t have multi-million pound budgets, we are able to bring our international backgrounds, big-agency experience, and an equal-level of creativity to their projects at a fraction of the cost – compared to the big agencies that we’re not competing against – yet!

So while businesses are looking at their budgets more closely than ever, I truly believe that a small studio like us can have a winning hand to play.

Natasha Peskin: We’re a branding agency that transforms the world’s dullest industries – the darkest corners of B2B that probably causes internal teams to groan, but we find utterly fascinating. Think logistics, insurance, manufacturing, raw materials – the kind of businesses that keep the world turning.

I bring together talent who’ve spent their careers building or redefining some of the world’s best-known consumer brands, and turn their attention to businesses that need it most.

Natalie Prout: We’re a strategic-creative partnership, built to deliver both the thinking and the craft. It’s not strategy first, then design – we make together, from start to finish. That’s how we protect the integrity of the idea and make sure it lands with impact.

What is one decision you wish you’d made earlier?

Lee Weaver: Founding the studio! I first worked with my co-founder 15 years before we started OneMay. We always said we would start a studio and wish we had taken the jump sooner. It’s challenging, but the most exciting and rewarding few years of my life so far.

Brett Goldhawk: Less of a decision and more of a mindset shift. DesignHawk lives by a philosophy that we do things with a smile on our face. That may sound simple and easy to implement but it genuinely takes time to embed that outlook into every facet of the business. I wish I’d taken this approach for the previous 25+ years in the industry – it would have made for a much happier ride!

Dominic Davidson-Merritt: “Hiring” my wife as the client/new business director. It wasn’t our original plan, but the need quickly became obvious in terms of a more complete offer – something that we didn’t see a lot of other really small studios doing.

It fills out our experience from just creative to include client services, new business, and working client-side.

This way we are understanding our clients better and able to help them more. Not to mention the internal benefits of running projects more efficiently, and sharing the day to day running of the studio.

Natasha Peskin: Find a co-founder. This is my second time running an agency – the first time round I had two co-founders. With Boring, I felt so strongly about what it should be and how I wanted to grow it that I decided to build it alone.

Six months in, I realise I may have been shortsighted. As a result I’m now looking to build a very small network of incredible partners who are invested in growing the business, but still ensure I retain the control I need to build the dream I have in mind.

Natalie Prout: Protecting the value of our craft by partnering with clients who are deadly serious about bringing bold ideas to life. Saying no to briefs is so hard. But backing your vision is a call only you can make.

What is your approach to free pitching?

Lee Weaver: Free pitching has been a big part of our growth, allowing us to win projects that we maybe otherwise wouldn’t have due to being a new agency.

That being said, we are very selective about the pitches we enter, usually only when we’ve been invited, rather than open tenders. This relies on creating relationships, but we feel gives us a much better chance of success.

I totally see the arguments against free pitching. But for us, as a small studio, who don’t have clients banging our door down every day, it feels like taking a bet on ourselves, and as long as we’re selective about the pitches we choose, it’s one we’re happy to take. So far, we’ve won around 75% of the pitches we’ve entered, which has doubled our year-on-year revenue.

Brett Goldhawk: We absolutely do not free pitch, and I’m quite vocal that as an industry we do ourselves a massive disservice with little advocacy for change.

We’ll never eradicate the problem; like ants in a death spiral we’ll eventually all die from exhaustion.

Dominic Davidson-Merritt: We’ve agreed not to take on any free pitches, as our size would just make it impossibly disruptive and incredibly risky financially.

From an ethical point of view, we also believe that creativity and its commercial application is a service that should be paid for like any other.

That said, ask me again when we are quiet with nothing on and you might get a different answer.

Natasha Peskin: We’ve been fortunate so far not to have to, as we aren’t competing for huge agency briefs.

Recently I chose to invest money in delivering a couple of proposals, because I felt it was worth the potential payday, but I paid all contributors their full rate.

Importantly I made the decision to invest because it wasn’t competitive – we certainly don’t have the resources, time or cushioning to pitch against other agencies. It’s hugely exploitative, not to mention extremely stressful for all.

Natalie Prout: No-one wants to pitch for free. It’s exploitative and a real problem. However, as a start-up, it’s sometimes the only way to be considered for a brilliant opportunity. So we do it sparingly.

Our pitch rule is to show we’re capable of doing the work and being great partners, but we try not to actually do the project in the pitch. Show enough spark to open the door, but save the magic for when it counts – and frankly, ensure we get paid for it.

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