JKR

“You had me at hello” – buy it here.

For our second year running, we have produced an anthology of the jkr Design Gazette, rounding up all of its trend analysis and observations and adding a lot more new thinking on top.

Last year’s attempt (“Is Brad Pitt a Fishfinger?”) was described as “well informed and brilliantly observed  - essential reading” that “might become a branding classic” by Grafik magazine. Bloomberg Business Week called it “entertaining and thought provoking”. The only trouble was we limited “Brad Pitt” to a thousand copies, most of which went to our clients. We are offering this year’s equivalent for sale on Amazon, with costs kept as low as we could manage.

What do you get for £7.99? Fifty two observations from the past year, all freshly hashed up. And a big essay which endeavours to discuss our postmodern design era without getting too intellectual. There’s also a brilliant introduction by IPA president and TED Talker Rory Sutherland.

Here’s a teaser:

(Non-flash users, please click here)

“The Blue Lady” is fully illustrated throughout (I would love to say “lavishly” but this is a black and white book, aimed for the satchel and journey to work, not the coffee table). The Gazette itself is enjoying between four and six hundred visitors a day at the moment (two thousand on a great day) and for those of you who come back regularly, may I take this moment to say a heartfelt thanks! In light of this, the first 5 readers to email amymaw@jkrglobal.com will receive a complementary copy*.

“I needed convincing” – buy it here.

*Please email your name & postal address, with “design gazette” as the subject.

This year, the McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes team decided they wanted to take over the Christmas aisle, introducing some new characters to the brand.

Briefed to redesign the classic “yard box”, jkr created a family of McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes Christmas characters including an elf, penguin, snowman, reindeers and a Santa that utilises the brand’s key equity of orange peel in a fun and festive way. The design aimed to bring the McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes family to life, to engage retailers and consumers alike.

“McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes have a very loyal consumer base who love the product and the cheeky, unique brand personality, which we were able to capture in the characters” says Donna Trist, Design Director, jkr. “Being able to use the product itself as the nose of the reindeer and orange peel to make a penguin is a testament to the iconic nature of the brand and the strength of its equities.”