News in brief round-up

AKA has designed the Tate Modern’s Matisse-themed window display at London’s Liberty department store, working with paper artists Studio Boo on the project. The window celebrates Matisse’s current Tate Modern exhibition, The Cut-Outs, and the colours and shapes of these works from the artist’s later career have informed the design of the display.

Underscore has been appointed by the Body Shop to design its franchise website, which is due to launch next month. The consultancy says it has been briefed to create a site that provides clear information about the Body Shop products’ ethically sourced ingredients.

Sedley Place has created the branding for OnBlackheath festival, a new south London food and event taking place in September. The designs aim to  ‘reflect the unique location and evoke the spirit of Blackheath’, according to Sedley Place, which created a logotype incorporating a ‘heath motif’.

Blue Marlin has designed new packaging for Green Saffron’s new range of ready-made curry sauces and spice mixes. The consultancy, which created the branding for the range last year, says, ‘A dominant deep purple colour palette unites the range while Green Saffron’s distinctive logo and signature 19th Century etchings remain an assured presence on the new products. Both elements symbolise the brand’s aim to deliver on adventurous flavour and colourful personality.’

Manchester-based digital consultancy Bliss is to open a new office in Amsterdam. Bliss chief executive Jon Stutfield says, ‘It’s quicker and cheaper than travelling to London, office space is much better value and the digital landscape in Amsterdam is far less saturated.’

999 Design has created the campaign for Kew Gardens 2014 summer festival. This year’s event theme is ‘how plants positively affect our health and wellbeing’ says 999, which designed a concept around the idea of ‘Plantasia’ – a ‘fantastical world’of ‘uplifting plant based activities’, working with illustrator Andrew Lyons on the project.

Space 48 has designed  a new  website for independent bathroom retailer Better Bathrooms. The consultancy had previously worked with Better Bathrooms on redesigning its sister site www.taps.co.uk.

Pencil Studio has designed the branding and packaging for new craft beer Rugby Ale. The designs use the visual language of rugby shirts, and different flavours and strengths in the range are shown by different rugby pitch positions on the bottles.

Bloomberg Businessweek has announced Rob Vargas as its new creative director, with Tracy Ma  taking on the role of deputy creative director. Richard Turley left his role as creative director to work for MTV in April.

Netherlands-based consultancy Cartils has redesigned the packaging for Chișinău beer, which is brewed by Efes Moldova. The new designs aim to ‘maintain the Moldovian pride in the beer’, says Cartils, and feature a redrawn crown icon and red colour palette.

Noble Union has created the Jump app, which tracks London buses. The consultancy says it uses an  ‘almost game like interface’, and the app allows users to track buses’ progress in realtime, view routes and set alerts for where travellers want to be and when. You can view a video explaining the app here

Touch Pack Design and Story have worked on new packaging for Highland Spring Country flavoured water.

Cardiff-based Sugar Creative Studio has designed the new Adventure app for Welsh caves attraction Dan-yr-Ogof.

MagneticNorth has collaborated with CBBC to create an interactive experience for the CBBC Live event that takes place in NewcastleGateshead from 29-31 May. Using wristbands containing RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, children will be able to take part in an interactive quiz trail, encouraging them to test their CBBC knowledge while exploring the whole site.

Digital consultancy Delete has designed a new, responsive website for Caffè Nero, specifically for the US market. This comes as Caffè Nero opens its first US store.

JDO Brand Design & Innovation has been working with Unilever to re-launch the Clear shampoo brand globally.