Studio LP

Exhibited at Somerset House in London, No Comply explores the phenomena of skateboarding and the impact of its culture and communities on the UK over the past 45 years. Bringing together film, sound, art, fashion, design, photography and archive material, No Comply unpacks the dynamic story of skateboarding in the UK, through three enduring themes that define the subculture’s ethos: the city as playground, skateboarding communities and DIY culture.

Studio LP was commissioned to design the identity for the show as well as all 2D elements within the space, including interpretation, vinyl and digital display. There were several concepts that fed into our design. Firstly, we wanted to convey the poetry of skateboarding; the rhythm, sound and motion, through the expression of the typography. Voices of skateboarders flow through the space; winding, jumping and gliding across walls and surfaces. Secondly, we wanted to capture the unique style of UK skateboarding, by using municipal colours and fonts, and materials that would reflect DIY skate builds and urban environments, including cement, scaffold, grip tape and plywood. By painting the space, labels and vitrines in grey, we built a city within the gallery that would feel like our own skateable landscape.

Photography © Tim Bowditch

Taking place at London’s Design Museum, ‘Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street’ uncovers the footwear phenomenon that has challenged performance design, inspired subcultures and shaken the world of fashion. Studio LP were tasked with creating all 2D elements within the show, including signage, labelling, infographics and reproduction.

Using the themes of the show as our starting point, we created an identity that was inspired by both fashion and street culture, and sports and performance graphics, to tell the story of sneaker innovation throughout time. The design was also underpinned by the concept of bringing the lesser known aspects of the sneaker manufacturing process to the forefront. This was achieved by combining bold, expressive typography with a custom designed monospaced font inspired by logistical environments, and using grids, marks and other graphic elements, commonly found in pattern-making and athletics tracks, for infographics and large-scale wall graphics. The concept was also taken through to our choice of materials, which included fabric found in sneaker construction for banners and space division, and labels made from 100% plastic using post-consumer waste.

Images courtesy of Design Museum

The Fostering Sustainable Practices project, led by Centre for Sustainable Fashion, is the culmination of two and a half years investigating creative practices in design-led fashion micro and small enterprises (MSEs) as an evidence base for change towards a more sustainable fashion industry. Working directly with more than forty fashion MSEs including Bethany Williams London, Finisterre and RÆBURN, who demonstrate sustainable prosperity in and through fashion. ⁠

Studio LP were brought onboard to create the identity for the overall project and design the various outputs, which included the Fashion Sustainability In Action interactive guidebook, final project report, digital assets and more.

Our design intention was to create a system that could distill vast amounts of research and information into clear and concise communications, whilst speaking to multiple audiences in and around the fashion, sustainability and business sectors. This was achieved through a modern and minimal approach, utilising grid patterns, full bleed imagery and simple iconography.

Photography © Rejina Pyo

‘The Lost Species Handbook: Vol 1’ is an illustrated guidebook exploring the social and symbolic bonds we once shared with animals, and reveals how humans have contributed to the decline of Britain’s wildlife since the Middle Ages. Featuring original illustrations by visual artist and researcher, Prof. Lucy Orta and texts from historian Prof. Sophie Page, the book is accompanied by a folder of educational materials and a template pack for participants of the Lost Species Workshops to create their own marvellous creatures.

Inspired by medieval manuscripts, the book features hand-drawn illustrations and decorative flora, alongside historiated initials and extensive margins.

Design and art direction for Oall Hates’ ‘Tranceporter: The Remixes’ EP. Released in 2021 on Of Paradise Records, the EP gathers exciting new producers to reinterpret tracks from Oall Hates’ seminal EP ‘Tranceporter’, released in 2020.

Designed as an evolution to the original artwork, the producers are represented by an individual computer generated crystal, created by Skandar McClane. Final collateral includes record artwork and launch campaign assets.

Campaign identity for Fashion Means Business 2020, a digital takeover hosted by the Fashion Business School at London College of Fashion, showcasing the output of the school through curated talks, seminars, online exhibitions and more. Our approach was to create a vibrant identity refresh, leading with animated assets that are made from deconstructed icons which represent each course within the school; creating new and experimental forms from something that already exists.

Of Paradise Records is a London-based record label that specialises in alternative dance music. To fit with the label approach, which is underpinned by a strong passion for discovering unknown artists with a unique sound, we created a flexible identity system with an air of mystery that is built to evolve and change. The tone of which leaves the viewer intrigued and eager to explore. Final outcomes include branded collateral, packaging, digital assets and merchandise.

Based in Düsseldorf, ELEMENTS is a leader in the technology field, providing high-performance media storage and server systems within the post-production and broadcasting industries. We were tasked with creating and implementing a social media strategy that would engage a new audience and widen awareness of the company.

Using their tagline ‘Human-centred media storage’ as our starting point, we wanted to focus on the human aspect of the company and highlight the connection between the technology and the user. Through storytelling we can share experiences of ELEMENTS clients and the work they produce, have conversations with industry leaders, find moments in history that shaped the industry and build a meaningful relationship between the team at ELEMENTS and their audience.

Exhibition design for ‘The Real Thing’; exploring aspiration, ownership, authenticity ⁠— and the disruptive creative power of fashion bootleg. The exhibition showcases the work of artists and creative collectives who use bootlegging to raise the questions of globalisation, capitalist consumption, identity and sustainability.

Using the curator’s own collection of bootleg shopping bags commonly found in Eastern Europe, we created a streetwear inspired identity with reversed type to convey a subtle sense of non-authenticity. The use of deep green; linking to associations of wealth, envy and ambition.

Collateral included labels and wayfinding, digital assets, invitation and exhibition guide.

Book design concept for Condé Nast’s Sustainable Fashion Glossary; a guide to the language of fashion sustainability. Printed with vegetable-based ink, using fully recyclable materials and materials made from post-consumer waste. The book builds on the well-known look-and-feel of the Condé Nast brand, but modernises it for a contemporary, design savvy audience, whilst addressing a serious subject matter.

Editorial design for the annual MA Costume for Performance showcase at Sadler’s Wells. This show exhibits some of the most exciting and innovative work in the field of costume and dance, and we design the collateral with this in mind. For this programme we used a vivid 2-colour print to show the duality between the story of the character we see on stage, and the hidden story within the character that the costume conveys. Printed onto Fedrigoni Milk by Park.

Identity and exhibition design for ‘Mode Medium Message’; a showcase of graduate work from London College of Fashion’s School of Media, Communication and Performance. Based around the theme of ‘process’, we created an identity with a sense of movement, conveying an idea of collaboration and cross-disciplinary working.

Work is no longer a guarantee of material security. And powerful new technologies, like artificial intelligence, mean the future of work could be even more unequal.

Focussing on practical interventions, thoughtful policy change and bottom-up movements, the Future Work Centre carries out research to ensure that everyone has the chance to flourish in a vocation of their own in this age of technological change.

Studio LP were tasked with creating an identity for the initiative that would highlight connected communities and the integration of digital technologies into our worker economy. Using the idea of beehives and the complex activities that occur within them as our starting point, we built a graphic language around a honeycomb design that is first used to create our ‘c’ icon and then throughout as pattern, infographics and other graphic elements. This combined with a clean and considered type treatment forms a confident identity system that appeals to a wide audience and distills complex concepts into digestible content.

Exhibition catalogue for ‘Why What Who’; a touring collection of fashion artefact works exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Buenos Aires. The catalogue features work from 24 selected international alumni and staff from LCF’s MA Fashion Artefact Course.

November 13 – designed as part of the Fedrigoni 366 project. Inspired by Woodstock, an 80% recycled paper from Fedrigoni and the material on which it is printed on – our 13 was designed with a rather psychedelic aesthetic in mind. It was also designed on a 13×13 grid, just for fun.

Established in 2008, Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) carries out research exploring ways in which fashion can be implemented to drive change, build a sustainable future and improve the way we live. To celebrate their tenth year, we were asked to create an anniversary campaign, which would be used across events throughout the year. We also designed a publication, which showcases key projects completed in their ten years and outlines their mission moving forward.

Pigeons & Peacocks magazine is a platform for emerging talent, new taste makers and future voices of the fashion industry. We designed the tenth anniversary issue, ‘Borders, Boundaries and Blurred Lines’; featuring work which contemplates what the future has in store for a post-Brexit culture.

Exhibition identity, print, digital assets and environmental graphics for ‘Break Factor’, an immersive installation exploring textiles in performance. A collaborative project, bringing together the disciplines of set designer Sarah McNabb, fashion designer Louise Gray, sound designer Shervin Shaeri (Mutant Jukebox) and dance artist Alethia Antonia.

‘Fashion Means Business’ is a three-day exhibition of digital fashion works, interactive workshops, talks and demonstrations, exploring the world of fashion business, hosted by Old Spitalfields Market and London College of Fashion. Studio LP were tasked with the show identity and all 2D design elements, which included environmental graphics, signage, screen graphics, marketing and packaging.

Working with 3D designers InterestingProjects, they created an immersive installation made up of zones representing four core themes, and a main stage that brought these themes together. The design enabled activity to continue through from day to night and engaged not only the direct audience, but also members of the public passing by. This was achieved through multiple AV touchpoints at various scales, which could enable large presentations, group workshops and individual learning.

Record sleeve design for ‘Immanence’, the inaugural release on Romance Records from dub techno producer ZZZZRA.

A highlight in the calendar, the annual MA Costume for Performance showcase at Sadler’s Wells exhibits some of the most exciting and innovative work in the field of costume and dance. For four consecutive years we have designed the identity and printed programme for this event. A dramatic, large format publication sets the stage for typography to dance across its pages.

Exhibition identity, print and environmental graphics for artist Rainer Ganahl’s ongoing project ‘Comme des Marxists’. Presented in the UK for the first time, this ongoing project investigates the relationships between daily life, culture, economic systems and political structures. This exhibition formed part of a year-long celebration for the Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s 10 year anniversary programme around sustainability held at Arcade East.

Art direction and design for gala fundraising evening set on the stage at Sadler’s Wells. Exploring the point at which fashion and dance coexist, we wanted to bring the unique partnership between London College of Fashion and Sadler’s Wells to life with beautiful and elegant photography focussing on the interaction between the body and material.

Pigeons & Peacocks magazine is a platform for emerging talent, new taste makers and future voices of the fashion industry. Issue 9 centred around the theme of ‘Post Internet’, focussing on ideas around digital culture and the future of fashion.

Identity, print and exhibition design for two-part show initiated by Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam and co-produced with Fashion Space Gallery. Don’t Stop Now: Fashion Photography Next explored ideas and themes found in contemporary photography. Presented in two parts, part one took on the themes of Materiality and Play whilst part two focused on two of the most prevalent approaches in contemporary fashion photography – Artifice and Authenticity.

The Annual is a showcase of work from Design Technology Womenswear and Menswear courses at London College of Fashion. We produced a two-part, large format lookbook focussing on beautiful photography and simple graphic detailing, letting the work speak for itself.