Global Brand Design Agency | News and Insights

Behind the Work: M&S Plant Kitchen

Following the launch of our branding for new plant-based range at M&S, Plant Kitchen, we caught up with Coley Porter Bell Creative Director Steve Irvine to find out more about the work. What inspired the idea for Plant Kitchen's design? M&S came to us with a brief to create a new vegan range to launch in January. Working in sprints, we Read more

Inside the WPP Adobe Designathon

By Ben Gale, Junior Designer at Coley Porter Bell and winning team member WPP Adobe Designathon is a competition held within the WPP network, in partnership with Adobe, that aims to develop the skills of the creatives within the network, while simultaneously providing a platform for Adobe to gain vital feedback and understanding about its Read more

Coley Porter Bell Wins WPP Adobe Designathon

Last November the creative team at Coley Porter Bell couldn’t resist the opportunity to get involved with the WPP Adobe Designathon. The Designathon is a global competition designed to challenge WPP agencies to use Adobe XD and all its latest features to prototype a creative idea for an app, for a WPP client. Unilever, one Read more

Lick of paint not enough to save private banks

This article was originally posted on Professional Wealth Management. Private banks may talk a good game about how they are transforming themselves, but most are really only repackaging existing services. A much more significant change is required, in areas such as ESG investing and in the digital arena, if they are to engage with a new Read more

New Coley Porter Bell brand identity

Jim, Colin, and Sally who founded our agency in 1978 and gave their names, Coley, Porter and Bell, were a force to be reckoned with. They believed in collaboration and ideas driven design, and recognised their role was to create opportunity and value for brands. Over the last 40 years with these principles close to our heart, we have helped many famous Read more

Branding & Design trends for 2019

As 2019 gets underway, we asked Coley Porter Bell's CEO, Vicky Bullen and ECD James Ramsden what's in store for branding and design in the year ahead. From brand inclusivity to visual differentiation to brand sustainability and more, they suggest that this year we’ll see trends from the last few years or so mature into a more mainstream position. Read more

Brexit: A new dawn for British wine

Vicky Bullen, CEO of brand strategy agency Coley Porter Bell, discusses the growth of the UK wine market and how Brexit will affect what's available to the consumer. Propose at a dinner party that the UK is famous for wine and one will be met with disingenuity. Famously good at drinking, importing and selling the Read more

Cultivating brand advantage for CDMOs

Planning Partner, Joel Biswas from branding agency, Coley Porter Bell discusses tackling the perennial challenge of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. According to some estimates, the rate of failure in the drug manufacturing sector is as high as 97%. For the rare examples of clinical success, it can take 12 years and cost as much Read more

Helping M&S unleash the power of plant-based nutrition

Marks & Spencer has launched its new nationwide product range, ‘Plant Kitchen’ which positions the M&S brand as ready for tomorrow’s diet-conscious customers looking for alternative, healthy food. The ‘Plant Kitchen’ product range’s packaging was designed by global design agency, Coley Porter Bell, and helps unleash the power of plant-based nutrition. The stylish, vibrant ‘street food’ Read more

Lack of brand and culture considerations causes major M&A failure

This article was originally posted on The Pharma Letter. In an Expert View column, Helen Westropp, managing partner of branding agency Coley Porter Bell, describes how tens of millions of dollars are wasted in M&A deals every year when acquirers fail to understand the value in the brand and culture of the business they are Read more

The science behind neurodesign

How does Disney make things disappear? Why should you box in red? And what’s the link between beauty and your website? Our Executive Creative Director, James Ramsden, and Planning Director, John Clark, look at why - and how - neuroscience can supercharge the world of design. Understanding how people decode the world and make decisions Read more

When it comes to brand acquisition, the first rule is “do no harm”

Soft-drinks began their life in the 19th Century as sugary cordials marketed first and foremost as health tonics. And nearly one hundred years later as the less salubrious effects of sugary drinks becomes an ever greater commercial challenge to the category, a new brand acquisition sees Pepsi acquiring Soda Stream – a product that allows Read more

Brands and bots: The new age of beauty…

Over the last few months I have noticed a lot in the news about AI technology. Life-like influencer bots have been created digitally to sell fashion and lifestyle brands like Opening Ceremony, Supreme and even their own merchandise by interacting with consumers and fans through Instagram. It first came to my attention when social media Read more

The value of out-of-category learning

The best innovation often comes from looking at categories outside of your traditional competition or frame reference. Next-generation property player Wework is just one recent example of this, although its founders would probably blanch at being described as “property”. It’s impossible to understate just how hot their brand is. Valued at $20 billion, it’s more Read more

Mozilla rebrand Firefox (again)

Following their brand refresh last year, Mozilla are once again revisiting their brand identity and, in keeping with the spirit of the organisation, are openly asking for the design world to critique the work. Our Creative Director, Dean Field, responds. Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser developed by the Mozilla foundation. Read more

Journey Beyond the Senses: How understanding neuroscience can make you a better wine connoisseur.

We recently hosted a wonderful wine tasting evening here at Sea Containers. Though it wasn’t just an excuse to drink wine, we promise! Guests enjoyed a variety of immersive wine tasting activities that stimulated the 5 senses, to understand how the brain affects the way we taste and perceive wine. Smell The brain is a Read more

How private banks can appeal to a new generation of investors

The profile of the traditional private banking customer has changed dramatically. Whether it’s increased competition from fin-tech start-ups, or the rise of crypto currency, traditional institutions steeped in heritage are no longer automatically on the wish lists of young entrepreneurs and agile investors. Not only do private banks need to engage a whole new set of millennial customers, they need to re-evaluate their traditional approach to brand strategy and design to capture the imagination of the next generation.

The role of neuroscience within design

Our CEO, Vicky Bullen, talked to OnDesign Podcasts about the role of neuroscience within design, the importance of diversity to the creative industries, and the qualities that make great design leaders.

Transform Award

We are thrilled to announce that we won a silver Transform Award in the ‘Best Visual Identity In The Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals Sector’ category for our work on Lonza Pharma & Biotech! It was an inspiring night spent celebrating some of the best design work from the past year.

Design Effectiveness Awards

We are thrilled to announce that we took home Bronze from the DBA Design Effectiveness Awards in the ‘Household Goods & Home Construction’ category for our design work on Unilever’s Comfort Summer Limited Edition!