London Design Festival brought font focus to Bankside

The London Design Festival returned for its 22nd year in September and celebrated and promoted London as the design capital of the world, and this year, Bankside hosted LDF’s font chapter. Bankside saw the coming together typeface designers, from established names to up and coming talent, and ran an exciting range of events (many free of charge) exploring text-based approach to design. In addition, Bankside ran its first LDF-inspired food and drink trail, allowing hungry designers and creatives to experience some of London’s most inspiring gastronomic offers.

Many member businesses got involved, including Borough Yards who hosted:

• Pentagram Design, the official designers of the London Design Festival brand, whose exhibition showcased a new series of prints and a full weekend of activities
• Paper designers Pith Supply who teamed up with a global skate brand to explore reuse possibilities and the future of creativity in skate deck design
• Digital artist Dilara Koseyi explored how architecture and human interactions in a city can affect our emotions and mindset
• Deep Food, a creative collective, looked at explainable AI (XAI) and explores if AI can help us uncover human limitations in understanding and empathy
• Sugar Studio’s vibrant pop-up shop featured custom artworks crafted from living plants, sustainable souvenirs, and more

Better Bankside also brought together creative agencies for An Evening of Typeface at The Bridge Cafe, including

• Typeland – Devleling into the custom display typeface, Amifer Folio, for the Globe Theatre.
• The Team – Type is Identity. Reshaping the (type)face of one of the largest and oldest savings organisations in the UK.
• ToThePoint – Their ‘Force for Good campaigns’ help clients address issues and challenges to make a real difference.
• SophiaTypeLove – Let’s Talk About Fonts. Discovering stories behind the making of a selection of font families by UK-based typeface designer.

Other members of the Bankside community hosted designers including

• Art Academy London and JTRE London hosted art and design workshops where the built realm and architecture were the inspiration for a series of hands-on sessions including drawing, collage and printmaking
• The Hilton – The Sleeping Fox, STOCKE reflected the urban vibrancy and industrial history of Bankside, London.
• The Hoxton – Asafo by Amechi featured a series of five jacquard-woven blankets that bring the beauty and heritage of Asafo flags into the contemporary home.
• Metal Box Factory – Kristjana S. Williams is a multidisciplinary artist, whose work spans fine art collage pieces, hand cut 3D artworks, illustration, animation and digital design.
• Glazier’s Hall – Project Love explored how design can foster empathy, compassion, care and love in our daily lives: for ourselves, our communities, society and nature.
• Citizen M – The Typetasting multi-sensory talk featuring locally sourced food and beverages to bring your experience to life.
• Arch 23 – Mindful crafting activities will be led by Mylk and Honey Clothier
• House of Sport – Type designers and typography enthusiasts of all disciplines and levels of experience can take part in a panel discussion for Type Thursday.
• Oxo Tower Wharf with their 25 designer-maker studios, featuring Material Matters talks. This unmissable programme of talks and installations celebrated the importance of materials in design and architecture.

The Bankside Food and Drink Trail offered visitors to LDF the chance to enjoy a range of gastronomic experiences including discounts and tastings from an array of restaurants such as The Distillery, OXBO, Guiseppe’s, The Refinery, The Rake, Casa Du Frango, Market Porter, Arthur Hoopers and Bala Baya.  And for those looking to continue their exploration on food, two Ghost Signs walks were hosted by Sam Roberts and Jane Walks.

Nicole Gordon, CEO of Better Bankside said; “The London Design Festival is one of the highlights of Bankside’s year. It’s celebration of the very best in design creativity is a natural fit for ‘London’s Other Side,’ whose melting pot of rebellious energy and difference is largely fuelled by the creatives who work and live here.”