The Outline: Tartan reimagined, Guinness’ toucan, and a new inhaler – 21/09/2026

Welcome to your weekly digest of noteworthy stories, announcements, and creative happenings from across the design industry. This week, Barbour brings tartan to the Saatchi Gallery, an ex-Nike designer draws inspiration from chocolate milk, and a Loughborough student project has now treated more than 50 life-threatening allergic reactions.

Let’s get into it.

Business News

Remote indie studio Ourselves wins London Museum launch brief

Independent studio Ourselves has been appointed to deliver the launch campaign for London Museum, the institution formerly known as the Museum of London, as it prepares to open its new home at Smithfield Market.

The appointment follows the widely acclaimed brand identity work by Uncommon Creative Studio, which built the museum’s pigeon-based visual system and ‘Grit and Glitter’ positioning. Ourselves now takes the reins on bringing that identity to life for the public opening.

Barbour takes over Saatchi Gallery for London Fashion Week with ‘Tartan Reimagined’

Barbour has marked its return to the official London Fashion Week schedule with ‘Tartan Reimagined: The Barbour Way’ at the Saatchi Gallery, opened by Dame Margaret Barbour and Helen Barbour alongside Clara Mercer, CMO of the British Fashion Council. Guests at the opening included Sienna Miller, Saffron Hocking, Pixie Geldof, and Lennon Gallagher. The immersive exhibition traces founder John Barbour’s journey from south-west Scotland to South Shields, where he opened his first store in 1894, and explores how the brand’s family tartan sett has been continually reinterpreted across 130 years.

“Founder John Barbour never forgot his Scottish roots; we believe this is why he used tartan in the linings from the very beginning,” said Dame Margaret Barbour. Barbour remains a fifth-generation, family-owned brand, now selling in over 55 countries. The exhibition is open to the public on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September, with tickets available via the Saatchi Gallery website.

Appointments

M+C Saatchi Consulting appoints Sammi Marwan to lead EMEA region

Brand and communications consultancy M+C Saatchi Consulting has appointed Sammi Marwan to lead its EMEA region. The appointment signals continued growth ambitions for the consultancy’s operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Design Bits

Guinness’ iconic toucan gets a modern redesign for London Design Festival

The Guinness toucan, one of the most recognised mascots in advertising history, is getting a contemporary makeover as part of London Design Festival 2026. Originally created by illustrator John Gilroy in 1935 as part of a campaign for agency S.H. Benson, the toucan became synonymous with the brand’s playful identity through Dorothy L. Sayers’ famous copy: “If he can say as you can / Guinness is good for you / How grand to be a Toucan / Just think what Toucan do.” The modern redesign continues Diageo‘s recent strategy of breathing new life into heritage brand assets.

How chocolate milk inspired ex-Nike designer to create R.A.D®’s latest super trainer

Performance footwear brand R.A.D® has released the UFO “Choccy Milk”, a chocolate brown and cream super trainer launched alongside a limited-edition chocolate milk from British dairy maker Tom Parker Creamery. The collaboration celebrates the post-run ritual of rewarding a hard training session with an ice-cold chocolate milk, with Tom Parker’s product carrying the 3:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio distance runners target for recovery.

R.A.D® was founded in 2019 by former CrossFit Games athlete Ben Massey and entered the running category in October 2025 with the UFO, its debut performance shoe. The brand’s design team is led by Tom Berend, formerly a lead innovator at Nike’s Innovation Kitchen, where he spearheaded key developments including Nike ID, the 2008 Olympics footwear, Air Max, and the first-ever 3D-printed performance shoe. The UFO “Choccy Milk” retails at £180 in the UK and $200 in the US.

Hale Classic: rethinking the asthma inhaler through industrial design

Hale, led by designer Matthew Conlon, has created a range of magnetic cases for asthma inhalers that replace the clinical look of the standard plastic canister with something modern and personal. The Hale Classic is CNC-machined from solid aluminium at just 1mm thick, while the Hale Flow uses SLS nylon in bright colours including yellow and pink. Both designs snap together magnetically and can be personalised with laser engraving.

The cases are designed specifically for Ventolin Evohaler and Salamol inhalers, and the brand makes the point that the inhaler’s basic design hasn’t changed since 1956. Hale adds protection, style and confidence without affecting how the inhaler works.

Loughborough student project goes on to treat more than 50 life-threatening allergic reactions

An allergy kit that began as a final-year Industrial Design project at Loughborough University has now been used to treat more than 50 life-threatening allergic reactions across the UK. The Anaphylaxis Kitt, developed by graduate Zak Marks and co-founder James Cohen through their company Kitt Medical, provides schools and qualifying businesses with wall-mounted emergency adrenaline pens alongside staff training and a managed service ensuring the medication stays in date.

More than 6,000 Anaphylaxis Kitts have been deployed and over 125,000 people trained to respond to severe allergic reactions. The pair secured £75,000 investment from Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett on BBC’s Dragons’ Den. Kitt Medical has since grown to a team of 10, with clients including Centre Parcs, Haven, and DHL.

Desk Curiosities

The British Art Fair’s open call has one rule: you must be 50+

The British Art Fair (24–27 September, Saatchi Gallery) has launched an open call for artists aged 50 and over, in partnership with PensionBee. Curated by art historian Jo McLaughlin, the special exhibition celebrates creativity later in life, with a particular focus on artists who came to their practice after another career, whose longstanding dedication is now receiving wider recognition, or whose lived experience meaningfully informs their work.

Five selected artists will exhibit alongside established and represented peers at the fair, with significant exposure across British Art Fair and PensionBee platforms. Applicants must have worked, lived, or studied in the UK at some point in their career and may submit work in any medium suitable for wall display or plinth presentation.

Moonrays: new music-led café and bar opens on Denmark Street

Moonrays has opened at 7 Denmark Street, London’s iconic Tin Pan Alley, backed by Turkish hospitality group AKRA. Part café, part bar, part high-fidelity listening space, Moonrays spans three floors and two bars, with music delivered through a carefully tuned sound system that is immersive without being overwhelming.

The venue sits in a Grade II-listed Georgian building with a storied musical past: the Rolling Stones recorded across the street at Regent Sound Studios; a young David Bowie secured some of his earliest professional representation at 7 Denmark Street itself; and the Sex Pistols established their headquarters next door. Moonrays serves coffee and sandwiches by day, then transitions to cocktails and curated vinyl sessions by night, building on the street’s legacy while ushering in a new chapter.

If you find The Outline useful, please don’t forget to subscribe to Design Week and support our independent design journalism platform that helps keep you up to date on the industry’s latest.

Already a member? Sign in.