Perspectives and stories
from the studio
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“No place can escape the universal truth that the stories we tell about them need to be remade all the time, for new people and for new times.”
What can university brands learn from places?
In ecology, the most extreme places on earth are undersea vents or the wastes of Antarctica. In place branding? University campuses.
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‘Love is the running towards’: homage to London Fire Brigade
Our posters for London Design Festival celebrate the heroism of firefighters and 150 years of fire brigade design
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The whimsical and deliberate work of Tiffany Beucher
With soft yet confident linework, these illustrations add a playful note to our new website
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Why new places need meanwhile’s imperfect magic
Seen as soulless, manicured or too perfect, here’s how brand new developments can win hearts
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Unreal estate: making places for the Metaverse age
We dismiss the Metaverse at our peril; find out why at Virtually Everywhere, our exhibition for London Design Festival
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Create a visual fingerprint for anywhere on earth
Try out our custom tool that generates a different image for any location
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A glossary of hostile architecture
Anti-climb paint, armrests and arrowslits are only the beginning of how urban spaces change behaviour
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Why now is the time to move on from ‘Live Work Play’
The mantra so ubiquitous that Florida used it twice. Come on, developers, surely we have more to say?
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Is your city manipulating you?
Exposing the tactics of public spaces to welcome and ward off for London Festival of Architecture
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Inspiration week
Why we’re closing the DNCO studio on 21 June for the first time in 15 years
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I AM overrun by tourists
A cautionary tale of I AMsterdam’s success
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Is New York still where love lives?
Milton Glaser’s beloved ‘I ♥ NY’ logo in the post-emoji world
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Put a bird on it!
The benefits and pitfalls of keeping Portland weird
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The campaign Toronto didn’t pay for
How Drake reminded the city what it was made of
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London’s logos, decoded
Each of our 32 boroughs has its own logo. But what does this municipal clipart tell us about the capital’s identity?
