LSN : News : VSCO gives a platform to moments of black joy

Responsible urban branding for Regent’s Place

Regent’s Place by DixonBaxi, UK

London – DixonBaxi’s new identity for Regent’s Place puts the local community and environment at its centre.

The updated branding features an R-shaped logo inspired by its central London location, where three areas dedicated to art, science, research and creativity – Fitzrovia, Camden and the Knowledge Quarter comprising Euston and Bloomsbury – intersect.

In a bid to promote 'ecological integrity, engagement, and inclusive participation’, the branding consultancy hosted local community and business workshops to have an input in the rebranding. DixonBaxi is also championing responsible urbanism, with consideration paid to the environment across the Regent's Place identity, from the use of soy-based inks on posters to reclaimed wood signage and air-purifying paint.

‘Regent’s Place has a strong history of inclusivity and community focus... We have used this base to develop an exciting new brand that truly embraces an environmentally and socially conscious future for all. A place where people and planet thrive,’ says Katie Mansfield, marketing director of British Land, developer of Regent's Place.

In major cities, place branding is helping to authentically tell the story of an area, its community and culture. For more, explore this opinion piece from Chris Chapman, head of art at Droga5.

Vollebak’s concept watch repurposes e-waste

Garbage Watch by Vollebak, UK

UK – Vollebak is creating a watch built from e-waste, giving new life to technology components that commonly end up in landfill.

Dubbed the Garbage Watch, it uses pre-assembled materials like computer motherboards, smartphone microchips and wiring from televisions to form its dial and strap. Its ‘inside-out’ design purposely allows the components to remain visible, while its aesthetic cues pay homage to the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Part of a collaborative project with Wallpaper*'s Re-Made issue, the watch repositions what is usually an environmentally damaging end of life for e-waste. With ambitions to put the design into full production, Vollebak plans to source components from sustainable technology recycling efforts.

‘Our aim was to reframe an often invisible and hazardous end of the supply chain, and make people think deeply about the impact of treating their wearables in a disposable manner,' says Nick Tidball, co-founder of Vollebak.

With electronic waste proving especially harmful to the environment, recycling initiatives and more responsible tech brands can help to reduce its impact.

VSCO gives a platform to moments of black joy

Global – #BlackJoyMatters is a new initiative from photography app VSCO that gives a platform to black creatives and celebrates black culture.

Amid the Black Lives Matter movement and brands demonstrating various approaches to allyship and amplification of black people, creatives and brand founders, VSCO has launched a new carousel in its discovery section spotlighting multidisciplinary black creatives and inclusive brand collaborations.

Promoting a more holistic view of black culture at a time when visions of grief and protest fill our feeds, VSCO is also positioning the platform as a space to showcase moments of black happiness.

Spearheaded by Shavone Charles, the app's director of consumer and product communications, the #BlackJoyMatters campaign also brings greater diversity to the fore. ‘Through our efforts to amplify black stories, the most important piece I continue to think about is our duty to shine light on the nuance and the spectrum of our diaspora,’ says Charles.

In our interview with Sophie Galvani, global vice-president of Dove, we explore how diverse visual imagery is helping to to smash stereotypes in the media.

#BlackJoyMatters by VSCO. Image by carakelly

Stat: Falling fertility rates could mean social re-organisation

#ThisIsFamily spring/summer 2019 campaign by Studio Blvd for River Island

According to a study by researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the global fertility rate is declining rapidly, having nearly halved since 1950 to 2.4 in 2017.

Focusing on fertility, mortality, migration, and population scenarios across 195 countries, the study forecasts that the fertility rate will fall below 1.7 by 2100. As a result, the number of people on the planet is expected to peak at about 9.7bn by 2064, falling to about 8.8bn by the end of the century.

This global shift is primarily being attributed to the increase in women in education and work, as well as greater access to contraception. ‘I think it’s incredibly hard to think this through and recognise how big a thing this is; it’s extraordinary, we’ll have to reorganise societies,’ says researcher professor Christopher Murray.

In her opinion piece, writer Rebecca Coleman outlines how choosing a child-free lifestyle is becoming increasingly common among men and women who are concerned about planetary health, the state of societies and personal finances.