Inspired

Working with brands rooted in a sense of place is pure joy to me, offering the chance to explore and discover inspirational gems. Adnams and Tennent’s are at opposite ends of the country with equally opposite consumers. But the inspiration and soul of each brand comes from its home.

When we started our relationship with Adnams, I took my family to Southwold on the Suffolk coast to soak up the atmosphere and research what I knew would be a very challenging project. While beachcombing, I came across a fragment of glass from an old bottle. Blasted by the sea and lying for years among the pebbles, it was a windswept sculptural form with a long forgotten embossed brand name, steeped in memories of a bygone era. A true message in a bottle. This set the tone for our project and still inspires our work for the brand.

The gritty, urban environment of Glasgow, with its tower blocks, industrial buildings and cranes balancing with the aesthetic of Charles Rennie Macintosh, could not be further from idyllic Southwold. But it inspired our work with Tennent’s. Celebrating the environment and the materials used to construct it, we created an identity that embodies Glasgow’s personality. Our latest project uses concrete, reflecting the industrial roots of the city in an iconic bar fount that is contemporary, Brutalist and iconic – just like Glasgow.

Graham Shearsby

Design Bridge