Mortality is a morbid topic but it’s something I often think about. It might be partly because I read a lot of fantasy with 500-year-old immortals or the constant anti-ageing-themed TikToks shoved in my (very much ageing) face every day.
I also live across the street from a funeral home. It feels perverse at times, running errands on a normal day and turning the corner to glimpse a coffin being wheeled out of a hearse. The building exterior is nonchalant and I don’t think I would have even known it was a funeral home if it weren’t for the obvious cargo.
Enter branding. We’ve already branded birth (think trendy maternity care practices like Oula) so it makes sense that we are starting to brand death too. Exit Here, a modern mortuary based in London was featured in a New York Times article about putting the fun in funerals.
I actually do love the idea of funerals being fun. At my grandfather’s funeral, my great-aunt wore a kaleidoscopic outfit and took so many photos of us explaining that “we’re so rarely all together like this.” It felt sacrilegious at the time but looking back she had a point.
Obviously, as a designer, I believe everything can be beautiful and that funeral stationery should be as chic as most women want their wedding invites. But like the wedding industry, I know that people—especially grieving people—are often taken advantage of.
How we commemorate death is important and I hope design can do more help than harm with that.
BRB, gotta mood board some urns,
Gabby
Resource of the Week
It’s Nice That has a new advice series for creatives navigating the first years of their creative careers. There are five articles that share resources, tips, and firsthand experience to get you off on the right foot.
Lucky Dip Links
Fast Company Innovation Festival
If you’re attending the events in New York tomorrow say hi! I’ll be part of a panel making the case for beauty in innovation.
Stippling in Figma
Another Figma plugin to add to the repertoire.
New Identity for Figma
Speaking of Figma, they’ve got a new look. It’s on Brand New if you fancy a deep dive and as always the comment section doesn’t disappoint.
Good Mood Prints
Lots of lovely prints on this site if you’re looking for affordable artwork.
Owala
Move over Stanley, there’s a new water bottle in town. I’ve been seeing these literally everywhere and I have to say, the design of them is great and far more cool than Stanley. Let’s be clear, if you already own a million water bottles you don’t need this but if I was to buy a new water bottle, this would be it.
Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About
This website is so stupid but so funny. “She wants to paint the living room yellow. I have not the words.” Chef’s kiss.
Oliver Jeffers
A new site for artist and illustrator, Oliver Jeffers. He first captured my heart years ago when he spoke at TypoBerlin. Since then, he’s released more work and books and beautiful things with genuine meaning and utter delight.
Any Given Moment
Beautiful work by this creative production house, but I especially love the unique nav experience on their homepage. It’s brave to do things out of the usual and this seems to work and not be annoying even though it’s not traditional.
A Kim Jong-Il Production: The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power
Finished reading this recently and it is such a wild story. Highly recommend if you want to learn more about the Korean film industry and how it inspired Kim Jong-Il’s propaganda.
All resources and links are shared purely because I think they are cool, interesting, or helpful. No content is sponsored unless explicitly stated. I am open to submissions but can’t promise they’ll be featured.
Still want more? Check out the directory where all the (curated) links live.
OMGLORD
Things that make G–Lord say OMG
Copyright © 2014–Now
All Rights Reserved
Love your emails! We actually did a rebrand and website for a funeral home in a small town called Hawera in Taranaki, NZ. They also ‘ put the fun’ into funerals and reframe funerals to be a beautiful thing - celebrating a life well lived. I feel more comfortable about death (which is such a touchy subject) the more we work with them. Here’s their link if you wanted to check them out! www.hardingsfunerals.co.nz (It’s also an interesting experience targeting the older demographic through social media and other guerrilla marketing campaigns - they’re also hosting an expo! Can you imagine what an uplifting funeral expo looks like?!)
Oh my gosh I’d completely forgotten about Things My Girlfriend … ! Used to crack me up. Back in the glory days when if you wanted to put anything on the internet, it took some effort.