Breakfast, Birbs, and Brand Writing

A subversive charity campaign, design systems for beautiful spaces, and more.

Dec 28, 2023

Title: The Monthly Shell-Out — Two months in a row?!

I had really great feedback from some readers about The Monthly Shell-Out. So here’s your 2-minute monthly round-up of cool things from the end of this year — starting off with an amazing breakfast in Manchester, but probably not the kind you’re thinking of.

The Most Sought-After Breakfast in the City.

1 in 74 people in Manchester are experiencing homelessness.1 For the city’s oldest homelessness charity, MikeSian’s clever copy takes celebrity-endorsed headlines of gentrified Manchester brunches, and contrasts them with the circumstances of those that are less fortunate. An excellent campaign that caught my eye for the perspective it offers and departure from traditional awareness/fundraising. You can learn more about Lifeshare and donate via their website.

New Phone, Who Figma?

Basically everyone’s covered this by now, but feel free to join in with the collective sigh of relief from 4 million users — Adobe’s dropped their acquisition of Figma due to regulatory pressure from the UK and EU.

While Adobe’s deep pockets could’ve added some exciting new integrations, I agree with the majority of UX chatter — monopolising the entire design industry was unlikely to make the world a better place.

“Something something capitalism. Something something free markets.”
- Someone that knows more about business than me.

UK National Landscapes rebrand.

For the 15% of readers from further afield, the UK’s Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are conservation areas, ultimately protected for being special places. But change is afoot — AONBs are now National Landscapes, and London agency Nice and Serious is behind the rebrand.

In a move reminiscent of my childhood Scouting badges, a cohesive illustration style and colour palette create a national identity out of previously fragmented branding. It’s a classic design move, but one that makes complete sense for the brief. It’s the NYC Transit Authority design system, but with more cutesy birds and trees — I can’t wait to see these out in the wild 🐦👍

The best brand writing of 2023.

Or at least according to Carissa Justice of The Subtext, anyway.

If you’re after a longer read today, this article is a great rundown of some great marketing copy from both new and refreshed brands in 2023. Marshmallow from Ragged Edge is a personal favourite, and I’m glad to see it recognised for its charm. And googly eyes 👀

Conclusion

And that wraps up this year — mine has certainly had a lot of learning and self-development in it. I hope to share some more of that in 2024, along with some personal projects that I’ve been planning in the background.

Finally, while it isn’t always glamorous and saving the world, UX does have the power to make someone’s day a little brighter. You might’ve seen the clip below before, but it’s the feel-good energy that I’d love to take into next year.

In an industry that’s very growth and career-focused, maybe taking time to recognise our ability to make people smile should take a front seat. What do you think?

Best wishes,
Tom 🐢

Feel free to share this with friends or colleagues or pets, if you think they’d like it.

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https://mhp.org.uk/homelessness-in-manchester/