Wieden+Kennedy London Celebrates London’s Eclectic Makers with Logo Design Project

Wieden+Kennedy London unveils the results of a new creative design project, after commissioning London-based artists and makers across varying mediums and aesthetics to create their own interpretation of the creative agency's logo, in a project that will be continuously refreshed and evolved.

In a process led by their specialist design and branding arm NOT Wieden+Kennedy; a diverse shortlist of makers in London were approached to create a reimagining of the logo, to be used internally and externally as part of the agency’s branding - and the first iteration of many in the future.

Contributions ranged from legendary letterpress artist Alan Kitching to local school kids, and from bakers to barbers. Their brief was constrained only by the fact they are based in London, and that their final piece read ‘W+K London’ in some way. 

Beyond all of the typical applications of a logo - social media, client presentations, stationery - all of the pieces created now exist as physical artefacts in the Wieden+Kennedy London office, as a daily reminder of how creatively eclectic the whole city of London is.

The final nine collaborators were:

Bazanetti – Jeweller (Hackney): Created rings that spoke to different aspects of the agency, from the Honda Cog to the Tower Hamlets crest, whilst spelling out ‘W+K London.’

Reya Ahmed – Designer and Illustrator (South Tottenham): Created a Bengali sign to adorn the office wall, reflecting the tradition of dual language around the agency’s Brick Lane neighbourhood.

Alan Kitching – Letterpress Artist (Kennington): Created a logo using wooden typefaces in his iconic style.

Dan Moreno – Tattoo Artist (Shepherd’s Bush): Created three bizarre and beautiful tattoo designs.

Luminor Sign – Traditional Signwriter (Bethnal Green): Created a version of the logo as a 1m x 1m framed gold leaf glass panel that now adorns a meeting room at the agency.

St Anne's and Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School - Class of 10-year-olds (Whitechapel): Created their own versions of the logo following a half-day session using tools from the agency. Wieden+Kennedy London has partnered with local primary schools for over 10 years as part of its Forever Curious initiative to inspire and develop curiosity and creativity in young people.

Magic Sign – Print Shop (West Hampstead): Created a version of the agency’s logo in the style of a London chicken shop.

Yasar Halim – Bakery (Harringay): Created three cakes, which were photographed and animated.

SliderCuts – Barbers (Bethnal Green): Three willing volunteers from the agency had ‘W+K London’ carefully etched temporarily into their hair.

The brief for the project was to bring to life a cornerstone principle of the agency’s culture - Creative Eclecticism. It’s the principle that by bringing an unexpected range of people and styles together and giving them a voice, great things happen. London itself is a city of diverse industries, people, and ideas; so offers a natural representation of this idea. Throughout the process, feedback was kept to a bare minimum to ensure true creative freedom and expression from the artists.

The project is the agency's latest celebration of London’s vibrant creative talent, following a two-year initiative commissioning some of the city’s most promising illustrators to reimagine employee headshots in a variety of eclectic styles, including 3D design, ceramics, watercolour, and more.

Ryan Fisher, president, Wieden+Kennedy London comments, “The purpose of this creative project is not to invent a grand vision for who we should become, but to distil who we really are. It’s about doubling down on the things that make Wieden+Kennedy London a special place. We're pushing for our culture to be as eclectic and diverse as London’s. Not just because diverse representation is vital, but because great things happen when you bring different people together, and we are deeply proud of the place London occupies in the global creative map. We see this as the first wave of a long-standing, ever-evolving identity that’s constantly being reinterpreted by Londoners.”

Adam Rix, head of NOT Wieden+Kennedy comments, “Dan Wieden said a Wieden+Kennedy office is one-third the network, one-third the people, and one-third the city – and this is an identity for Wieden+Kennedy London, designed by London. By working with bakers to barbers, school children to chicken shop signwriters, tattoo artists to typesetters – and more, we’ve created an identity full of contradictory styles and approaches, truly reflecting the melting pot of London culture. And like London, this is an identity that will never stand still; it’ll be ever-evolving with new collaborators added over time.”

Alex Thursby-Pelham, design director, Wieden+Kennedy, comments, “Wieden+Kennedy has never set out to create ads – we set out to create work that becomes part of culture. In that very same spirit, we set out to create visual expressions that reflect and become part of the fabric of this city. London is a place that soaks up influence and spits out inspiration – and that was exactly what we strived to do with this project. Key to this was giving our collaborators a huge amount of freedom. The process was chaotic and unpredictable at times – but just like the city we’re proud to call home – that was part of its beauty.”