27 : 01 : 23 : Weekly Debrief

Sweden – Furniture giant Ikea has continued its designer collaboration strategy and teamed up with The Netherlands-based designer Sabine Marcelis to create the homewares collection, Varmblixt, a Swedish term meaning 'warm lighting'.

At the heart of the collaboration are four sculptural lamps that will remain a part of Ikea’s core product line in the long term. These are a pendant lamp, a circular wall lamp, a lamp that doubles as a mirror, and an orange-glass doughnut-shaped table lamp (doughnuts are a frequent motif of Marcelis’s work). Ikea hopes Marcelis's designs will encourage customers to think differently about how light can transform the look, feel and atmosphere of their homes, tapping into Marcelis's view inspired by 'objects that serve more than their functional needs but add to the artistic value of home'.

The remainder of the 19-piece collection is limited edition and includes champagne coupes, glass drink stirrers, carafes, doughnut-shaped glass bowls and rugs inspired by sunsets. Varmblixt will be available in all Ikea markets from February 2023. As consumers have spent more time at home and embraced multi-domesticity over the past couple of years, they need products that remind them that the domestic space is about more than how it functions, but also a place for relaxation, beauty and joy.

UK – The Woodland Trust has been rebranded by creative agency Creature London. The charity hopes its new visual identity will move its image away from traditional ideas of woodland conservation and engage new demographics in its eco-guardianship efforts.

The Trust’s new look embraces boldness and optimism, leaning heavily into activism and protest culture with slogans such as ‘Plant more Trees’ and ‘Let Our Streets Breathe’ featuring across its updated marketing materials. The Woodland Trust’s existing oak leaf logo in signature green remains and is complemented with an expanded colour palette of three core greens, and seasonal bright and dark hues. ‘We tend to get support from a group of people that look very similar,’ says Woodland Trust director of brand and communications Ruth Hyde. ‘But we already know from our research that there are something like 15m people who are committed and ready to act for the environment, [with a diversity] similar to the breakdown of the whole population.’

The Woodland Trust rebranding has been launched in a campaign across physical, digital and social media, including a tv advert narrated by British actor Tom Hollander.