These are our stories.
Behind all we do are stories that need to be told. These involve us and our clients, our involvement in the design industry, professional bodies and charities. The stories are not always about work. Celebrations and milestones underline the fun and joy of it all.
Fitzwilliam thematic rehang
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We are delighted to share our work with The Fitzwilliam Museum on the opening of their thematic rehang, in their beautiful newly refurbished galleries.
We worked with them to share the stories within their exciting new redisplay – through interpretation and 3D design – telling the story of surprising and imaginative connections between historic, modern and contemporary paintings, in a bold and inclusive way.
Our design is routed in giving all a way into these incredible stories, guided by themes of identity, nature, interiors and more. See their much-loved and iconic artworks from their collection alongside brand-new acquisitions, many of which are displayed for the very first time.
Smithfield: Inside the Victorian market becoming the new Museum of London
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"It's basically been left for 30 years deteriorating," explains Alec Shaw, above a cacophony of drilling and banging. "Water was flooding into it and a number of developers tried to develop it but failed, and then it was offered to the Museum of London."
We are very proud to be a part of the design team bringing this new Museum to London.
Beyond Bedales with Old Bedalian Lucy Holmes
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Lucy returned to Bedales to speak to current Art and Design students about her experience as a graphic designer, the studio and creativity.
Lucy and the students talked about the importance of teamwork, naming colours and what makes a piece of design timeless. Thank you to all the students who came along and sparked a wonderful conversation about design.
Holmes Studio supports SEGD Student Memberships
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We have bought a pack of ten SEGD memberships for students to join this incredible design community. In their own words, ‘These packs provide free membership and opportunities for mentorship and career development to students, and are a great way to give back to our community.’
SEGD are a multidisciplinary design community whose vision is to enrich human experience. For over fifty years, SEGD has been the go-to resource for wayfinding, placemaking, and experience design.
We won an SEGD Global Design Award for Hockney’s Eye!
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We are thrilled to share that we have won a design award for Hockney’s Eye: The Art and Technology of Depiction. Thank you to SEGD for recognising our work.
We are officially a Certified B Corporation®!
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This is something we’ve been working on for the past 2 years. It hasn’t been a quick or easy process, but it’s certainly been a rewarding one. This certification isn’t just a badge of honour for us, it’s a promise. A promise to make a real difference with the work that we do and the people we work with.
It will help us demonstrate a more considered way of working and problem-solving. It will reflect an ability to skillfully balance our impact with our purpose. And it will mean being even more intentional with what we do. We think that’s kind of B-eautiful.
Read more about our B Corp™ journey our studio page and download our press release here.
Holly Hendry at The Artist’s Garden
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The CoLAB, our wonderful neighbours at Somerset House, are delighted to present Slackwater, Holly Hendry’s first public commission in London. Made for The Artist’s Garden, this site-specific work occupies the vast terrace on the roof of Temple Underground station. The project continues theCoLAB’s dedication to commissioning innovative contemporary installations by women artists within this unique, half-acre site. The Artist’s Garden has been realised in close partnership with Westminster City Council since 2021. Congratulations Holly Hendry and the CoLAB – what a fantastic piece of public sculpture.
NON LINEAR
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Our new brand and website design for NON LINEAR. @nonlinearuk is an incredible, free full-time 13 week intensive training course, led by well-known creatives across music, art, design, and film. The course will enable young east Londoners aged 19-24 to unlock their talents, incubate ideas, and grow their creative capacity to get into the creative industries or start their own business.
Dominique Vleeshouwers
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We are delighted to be working with Dominique to develop a new brand identity for his creative output.
Dominique is a Dutch solo percussionist known for his virtuosic percussion skills and out-of-the-box projects. As a soloist he has performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tokyo Sinfonietta, Asko||Schönberg ensemble, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the South Netherlands Philharmonic, the Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ural Philharmonic Orchestra among others.
Sketched collections on sale at the RA
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Our limited edition portfolios, Material Sketches by Assemble RA Elect and Beacons by Conrad Shawcross RA, are now on sale at the Royal Academy shop.
We are founding partners of Sketched, an art platform, which collaborates with artists to reveal their creative process and share their story. We publish limited-edition sketches, portfolios and videos with leading artists, designers, and architects, providing a unique insight into their creative process.
Visit our digital community at Sketched to share in a moment with one of our artists and gain insight into their creative process.
DBA Design Effectiveness Awards 2023 – Shortlisted Winner
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We are delighted to have won a DBA Design Effectiveness Award with The Fitzwilliam Museum for our exhibition Hockney’s Eye: The Art and Technology of Depiction. Thank you to The Design Business Association (DBA) for acknowledging this piece of work and championing the value of data driven, evidence based, effective and creative design.
Click here to read about the awards and the fantastic work the DBA do.
Art of extraordinary intimacy
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We are thrilled that Islanders has received a 5-star review from The Observer, with some fantastic comments on the exhibition design:
“The staging of this show is unusually empathic. Slender Minoan daggers are laid out like a fleet of long boats on the ocean. Objects are presented on sea-blue surfaces, waves of white gauze unfurl through the galleries, and the smallest of exhibits are displayed in twos or threes, grouped according to their family affinities, and with plenty of space. Some are in low glass cases, so that you can kneel down to examine their undersides, as if coming across them on a beach.”
Click here to read the full review on The Guardian’s website.
The making of the Mediterranean
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We were delighted to be invited to the opening night of our latest collaboration with The Fitzwilliam Museum; Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean. The exhibition explores how insularity affected and shaped the cultural identities of Crete, Cyprus and Sardinia and provides a platform to debate cultural evolution on the islands as opposed to the surrounding mainland, asking the question ‘what does it mean to be an islander?’
Our scope included the exhibition design, graphics and interpretation design, alongside a print and digital marketing campaign. You can learn more about our work on Islanders here.
Discover the ancient Mediterranean
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With the opening of The Fitzwilliam Museum’s latest exhibition Islanders: The Making of the Mediterranean. We are proud to share our exhibition trailer that formed the central element to the marketing campaign that we created.
Tate Studio visit
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Lucy’s very first client, when she joined Pentagram in 1991 was Tate Gallery. Her work with the Gallery spanned 16 years seeing her involvement grow from the original Tate at Millbank to work with all four galleries. It was lovely to go down memory lane with a visit from some of the Tate Modern team to our Studio in Somerset House.
A throwback to when we discovered we could use the window cleaning equipment to apply large scale letters on the outside of the level 7 windows. What we didn’t know was what colour would be legible. With Nick Serota, we agreed that we would conduct a test and view a set of white and black letters from the other side of the river, to see which were more legible. We applied the words ‘graphic test’ . People thought it was an exhibition that they could visit, even though this was 1999 and Tate Modern was not yet open.
Assemble in conversation with Granby Workshop
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To celebrate the publication of a new limited edition Material Sketches by Turner Prize-winning art and architecture collective Assemble, Sketched will host a discussion titled ‘Show and Tell’ with members of Assemble and Granby Workshop. On November 17th, Assemble will open up their studio in Bermondsey for the night’s live conversation, which is free for anyone to attend. There will be an opportunity to ask questions and discover more about collaboration and the creative process.
Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, London
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We are delighted to be working with the Trust to help develop the onsite visitor experience. We’ve been inspired by a quote we found from David Attenborough talking about Sir Peter Scott – the Trusts founder
“Long before words like biodiversity were coined, Peter looked out from that huge window in his house at Slimbridge and realised our lives are so linked with our natural world that we have to learn to love it and look after it.”
David Attenborough
Kazushi Ono
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A visual identity for this renowned Japanese conductor to launch his new position at the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra. Combining Japanese calligraphy with music.
Teylers Museum and David Hockney
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Following our design of the Hockney’s Eye Exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum and The Heong Gallery in Cambridge, we have loved collaborating with the team at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
‘Beacons’ with Conrad Shawcross
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Conrad Shawcross RA is a leading British artist specialising in geometric and mechanical sculptures based on philosophical and scientific ideas. As co-founders of Sketched we have made a film and collection around a new work called Beacons, commissioned by 8 to 10-year-old children installed at Ramsgate’s East Cliff.
Branding journey across all platforms
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Their goal is to further the innovation ecosystems through creative development. The operational portfolio will include lab, incubator, R&D, workspace, event space and supporting amenities including residences.
Collaboration, modularity and energy. It visually expresses endless possibilities through layering and collision to make an ever evolving DNA of journey
Sketched and Maggi Hambling
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As founders of Sketched, we visited Maggi Hambling at her studio, where she shared her time-honoured morning rituals. Visit sketched.uk.com to watch our film and see the collection of prints.
The Natural History Museum of Denmark appoints Holmes Studio to create their new visual identity.
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The Natural History Museum of Denmark’s new building will be located in a corner of the Botanical Garden in the heart of Copenhagen. The museum’s collections contain 14 million natural history objects collected worldwide over almost 400 years. When the new museum building opens its doors to the public in 2024, it will be in a new beautiful setting, where the ongoing story of our natural world can be told.
Chelsea in Bloom windows for Auerbach & Steele
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Our new Chelsea in Bloom windows for Auerbach & Steele to celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show. Take a stroll down the King’s Road to see our floral design and visit these wonderful opticians.
Richard Wilson collection launched!
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We are founders of Sketched, a new way to understand an artist’s work; a chance to explore their sketchbooks and discover their motivation, process and inspiration. This week we have launched our collection: Slipstream, from Richard Wilson.
Arup Design Talk
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Arup Design Team invited Lucy to speak this week, sharing her process and work over the last 30 years. In preparing for the talk Lucy was reminded that in the 1970’s her Dad had commissioned Ove Arup to work with him on IBM’s Iconic North Harbour building, pictured here.
Spring windows for Auerbach & Steele
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Our new spring windows for Auerbach & Steele were installed today. Take a stroll down the King’s Road to see our spring spirals and visit these wonderful opticians.
Today we are two
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Today we celebrate our second birthday. It has been an incredible year in so many ways! To mark the occasion we have created a new showreel, check it out at holmes-studio.com
We have loved working with you and wanted to say thank you, from all at Holmes Studio.
A book to tell the story of Magdalene Odundo in Cambridge
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As part of our recent work with the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge this square format 64pp book is now available. It captures all of the objects currently on display as part of the Exhibition. With each object the caption is supported by Magdalene’s personal observations, influences and ideas.
Bespoke typography for this exhibition titling
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Fantastic to be back on site, in a Museum. We were installing our design for a new exhibition at the Fitzwilliam. It tells the story of a living potter, Magdalene Odundo and her life-long relationship with Cambridge. As part of the design we have used the large gallery windows to showcase four of her pots. Dates are 5th October 2021 – 24 July 2022.
Auerbach & Steele, King’s Road, opticians
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The team at Auerbach & Steele have pivoted through all of the challenges over the last 18 months, remaining open and operational. We are proud to continue to design their in-store and online communication.
Gold of the Great Steppe at the Fitzwilliam Museum
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Behind the scenes of our latest collaboration with The Fitzwilliam Museum for their new exhibition ‘Gold of the Great Steppe’. The exhibition opens today and tells the story of the Saka people through their objects, which have only been discovered after 2,500 years. We have loved using film to bring these gold artefacts to life, head to our instagram @holmes_studio to see the film in full and we will see you in Cambridge!
Search over the pond
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After working in partnership with a dynamic business based out of Washington DC and Chicago, we are delighted to have been appointed to develop a new visual identity across all traditional and digital channels.
The Fitzwilliam Museum
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We are working with the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, on an exhibition opening in the Autumn. It is especially fulfilling to be back in a Museum, working to tell the story of a really significant potter. If you haven’t visited the Museum, we really recommend a visit.
The Holmes Studio Alphabet
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Holmes Studio’s Love letters. Our system of modular shapes is based on a set of principles about grid, structure and scale, for the creation of letters from The Point of Zero, our creative play area. We designed the components with strict rules, resulting in a series of shapes with the potential to create infinite permutations of letters. Allowing anyone to pick up and play. Download the shapes and make your own Love letters.
Here are our Love letters. Buy the set as postcards at thepointofzero.com @thepointofzero
Love comes in all shapes and sizes
Holmes Studio’s Climate Emergency Declaration
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We have declared a Climate Emergency. See our Studio page to read our full declaration and pledge for the future. We have sent an intention as a studio to become a Certified B Corporation. As part of that commitment we are declaring a climate emergency. We acknowledge that businesses were designed in a time when there was a different expectation of the role of business in taking climate action. This context has changed. Today we are clear there is a climate emergency which will require immediate and radical action by our studio.
Sketched
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Welcome to Sketched. A Holmes Studio and Plinth collaboration. We co-founded Sketched to collaborate with artists, architects and all creatives to create amazing work to showcase an artist's process and allow us all a glimpse into their world. We believe art should be accessible to all. Together with the creatives we work with, we make limited-edition prints that chart the inception, development and birth of a work or project and provide a unique insight into the artist's creative process. We also had the pleasure of designing Sketched’s brand and visual identity. Follow @thisissketched or visit our website.
One Welbeck
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We are delighted to be working with this state-of-the-art medical facility. Founded by doctors and healthcare leaders who believe there is a better way to deliver care.
Sunday
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Our visual identity for this content marketing team was launched on Sunday April 25th. Visit here.
Love Letters
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A new collaborative project from ‘the point of zero’. Love comes in all shapes and sizes. Please send us your love… here
For a Better World
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For a Better World’s message has a deep connection to our planet and its inhabitants.
The brand amplifies this connection through its use of photography, with hand-picked images that show the planets’ natural beauty from human scale through to the edge of the atmosphere.
Fedrigoni 365
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We are delighted to have been asked to be involved in this year’s Fedrigoni 365 project. Our ‘seed’ word was ‘less’.
Thanks to tm-studio, Ricoh UK and Meccanotecnia Book Finishing for ensuring a gorgeous result.
Today we celebrate our first anniversary
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Today we celebrate our first anniversary. It has been an incredible year in so many ways! To mark the occasion we have created a showreel and a new website. Please check them out holmes-studio.com
We have loved working with you and wanted to say thank you, from all at Holmes Studio.
One Thames City
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We are delighted to be working in partnership with the team to deliver this fantastic project for Nine Elms in Battersea.
The Medicine Galleries at the Science Museum
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As part of SEGD Exhibition and Experience Month, Lucy is talking to Karen about the new Medicine Galleries at the Science Museum. Today they will be sharing a virtual tour of the vast galleries and sharing some of the thinking behind the design and the challenges that they faced along the way. Unable to visit the Museum in person, they will walk you through the spaces from afar.
the point of zero shop is live
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We have today launched our online shop, selling a small range of recent work. Three projects are featured, ‘Lungs of London’, ‘Found and Making Faces’ and ‘Birdsong’.
Project over the pond!
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We have been appointed to work with Vetted Solutions. A Washington, D.C.-based executive search firm specialising in serving the leadership needs of associations, nonprofit organisations, hospitality and marketing industries nationwide.
Rebranding Rivermeade
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A new visual identity, across digital and traditional channels, including uniforms, livery and website design. We are delighted to have worked with Mark Harrison and the team to realise this ambitious project. rivermeade.com
E&E with SEGD
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In the month of August, SEGD will present: ‘How Soon Is Now? Designing Change’, the first comprehensive, multi-day virtual event dedicated to exhibition and experience design.
Expressive constraints…
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In the first of a new series of SEGD Lockdown Talks, listen to Alan Kitching talking from his south London studio. Alan is one of the world’s foremost practitioners of letterpress typographic design and printmaking. He is renowned for his expressive use of wood and metal letterforms in creating visuals for commissions and his own limited edition prints. Here, he has taken time out to have a remote conversation with Lucy Holmes, Holmes Studio.
In conversation with Antonio Pavlovic
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‘Like many other things that make a space function, things like light, temperature or sound for example, wayfinding is unnoticeable until you realise that it doesn’t work. Today’s guest wants her wayfinding designs to be rather invisible,’ says Antonio.
It was a real pleasure to chat with Antonio as part of this series of podcasts. For the best acoustic it was fun to find out he had to record from a cupboard in his home in South London.
The spaces between
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In the second of a new series of SEGD Lockdown Talks, listen to Jim Stephenson talking from his home in the South Coast of England. Jim is an architectural photographer and filmmaker based in the UK, working worldwide. His work is hallmarked by a keen eye for human interaction with architecture and the built environment, be it the occupation of space or the traces left behind. Here, he has taken time out to have a remote conversation with Lucy Holmes.
Montevetro Building created by Richard Rogers
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Holmes Studio has been selected to design a new visual identity and branded environment for this iconic apartment building on the river in Battersea, South London.
Bletchley Park
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We are delighted to be working with Rebecca Foy again, helping create graphics to ensure they reopen with clear and distinct information graphics.
An optical house
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Auerbach & Steele is spread over four floors, which is not obvious from the street. We have created a new visual identity, across digital and traditional channels, including clothing, products and an illustration based website to reflect their overall offer.
Lucy rejoins the prestigious Board of SEGD
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SEGD is a very important part of our design community. I am proud to have been a speaker at the recent event in Philadelphia, as part of the Brit contingent. I look forward to the opportunity to be part of this great group of design leaders.
