The most-read stories of 2025: New work
10. Tangerine’s Bullet Train designs
Tangerine became the first non-Japanese agency to design one of the country’s iconic bullet trains. The livery and interiors – which will be rolled out on the first new trains in 2030 – reference natural cues like the elm tree and sakura, or Japanese cherry blossoms. The commission came after Tangerine’s very intentional “courtship” of big Japanese companies over the past 15 years.
“They want to make a mark and create an icon that could represent JR East in 2030 and beyond.” – Tangerine chief creative officer Matt Round.
9. Sky Sports’ in-house rebrand
The Sky Sports team was enjoyably frank when discussing its rebrand that rolled out from the summer. Previous attempts to create sports-specific channels had worked too well, diluting the main brand and creating a confusing array of visual systems.
The new look included new positioning, “Welcome to the Show,” a visual device based on the logo’s rectangular outline, and Sky Sports Sans, built with F37 Studio.
“We wanted to re-establish the main brand and put the love back into Sky Sports.” – Ceri Sampson, Sky’s group executive creative director of brand and design.
8. Design Bridge and Partners’ Rail Clock
Following a national competition, Rail Clock was chosen to be the UK’s first national rail clock in 50 years. Design Bridge and Partners’ smart and striking design features Gerry Barney’s double arrow, and Margaret Calvert and Henrik Kubel’s Rail Alphabet 2 typeface, but crucially it feels fresh and forward-looking.
“Obviously the Swiss railway clock is a beautiful thing, but that’s for the Swiss railway. It was key to come up with an idea that could only ever be for our railway.” – Mark Wood, creative partner at Design Bridge and Partners.
7. Angelina Pischikova and Karina Zhukovskaya’s mud dog wash
One of the most-talked-about projects of the year, mud is a pet care brand with an identity that embraces dogs’ animal instincts.
Its eye-catching design and smart tone-of-voice spoke to a brand that was truly willing to upend its category, and every design decision flowed from that disruptive ambition.
“There is this highly aesthetic polished world of dogs on Instagram, but that’s not what real dogs are like. They roll in dead things, eat trash, and lick your face right after. That’s the beauty of them.” – Angelina Pischikova.
6. Pearse O’ Halloran’s Visit Outer Hebrides rebrand
Having become very Instagram-friendly in recent years, the ruggedly beautiful Outer Hebrides has experienced a tourism boom.
Its tourism body – Visit Outer Hebrides – needed a new identity to help harness this popularity, and Pearse O’ Halloran’s solution was built around an abstract logo which referenced the oars of historical longboats, the weave of Harris tweed and the strong wind that blasts the isles.
“The way abstract forms could suggest many elements was appealing. They would also make for more distinctive marks.” – Pearse O’Halloran.
5. TEMPLO’S GF Smith rebrand
The level of vitriol poured on TEMPLO’S bright and smiley new-look for paper company GF Smith bordered on ludicrous – someone memorably tweeted, “First Trump, now this.”
But it makes sense when you understand the strategy – that the brand wanted a new, younger audience for whom its previous design language of heritage Britishness didn’t feel right.
“Our challenge was to bring GF Smith’s heart and soul up to the surface. And nowadays, identities should be moving and in flux.” – TEMPLO co-founder Pali Palavathanan.
4. Only’s Cambridge Audio rebrand
Perhaps not the biggest or most boisterous project of 2025, but an encouraging sign that really good, smart design still cuts through. The British hi-fi brand has been around since 1968, but needed a new look to work for broader audiences across a broader product set.
The mark itself stayed the same, but the way it was used with the logotype changed, along with a classic black-and-white colour palette. And Only introduced a new type system, built around Klim Type Foundry’s Söhne and Tiempos Headline.
“The company is made up of music fans. The challenge was to unlock some of that authenticity and embrace that with a fierceness we’ve maybe been scared to show before.” – Nick Udall, head of marketing at Cambridge Audio.
3. Bulletproof’s brand refresh for Liverpool FC
When we wrote about Bulletproof’s new look for Liverpool back in April, the club had just clinched a glorious Premier League title. It’s fair to say the team’s fortunes have dipped since then, but the design work still looks terrific.
A lot of the work was about simplification – creating coherence from 30 different shades of red, 50 fonts, and 20 art direction styles. But there were innovative touches too, such as the animated “wing expression” which mimicked the roar of the Anfield crowd.
“Our creative challenges as an agency are about solving business challenges, and it’s no different when you look at a football club.” – David Beare, executive creative director Europe at Bulletproof.
2. Koto’s Amazon rebrand
A huge undertaking for one of the world’s biggest and most-complex companies, Koto New York brought craft and cohesion to Amazon’s new look.
Yawningly predictable comments about the restraint of the work missed the point. Amazon made profits of $9.5 billion in Q3 this year – it didn’t exactly need a root-and-branch visual revolution. Koto delivered in style.
It’s also interesting because it came together so quickly – a cheering exception in a year when many studios have complained about client delays and indecision.
“The rebrand gave Amazon back its centre. What was once fragmented is now unified, so teams move faster, and customers feel the same confidence.” – Koto New York.
1. Uncommon’s London Museum identity
A pooping pigeon logo, a hand-drawn typeface and an off-white chosen to reflect the city’s overcast hues – there was a lot going on in Uncommon’s new look for London’s flagship museum.
Interest in the project soared and many people welcomed a design version of London that avoided the twee cliches which so often take centre stage.
“This is really correct for the city. So whether people love it or hate it, I think anybody who really knows London will look at this and think, ‘Yeah, that’s about right’.” – Nils Leonard, co-founder Uncommon Creative Studio.