Even if you're not familiar with the London design agency A Practice for Everyday Life (APFEL) by name, you'll have likely come into contact with their work at some point. Launched 12 years ago by Kirsty Carter and Emma Thomas and working across the fields of brand identity, art direction, website and exhibition design, APFEL's client list includes a string of major art galleries and museums, magazines and architects.
Last month, after much hard work behind the scenes, APFEL announced their first foray into retail with the opening of their new online shop. Products range from exclusive prints and posters – such as the Egyptian Khayamiya screen prints – to playful products like postmodernism-inspired rubber bands.
‘[The shop] is something the whole studio has been wanting to make happen for a long time – right from the beginning in fact,’ says Carter. ‘Aside from the work we do for our clients, there are many ideas which don't have a place in our work for them – they are either more like artworks in their own right, or the development of an idea we have had whilst producing a project for someone else. A shop is a nice way for us to have our own creative outlet, not just the graphic design we do for other people.’
Ever the perfectionists, the studio have even designed their own special range of APFEL packaging for the new shop – a design medium in which they excel, having conceived the suitably slick branding and packaging for the launch of our very own WallpaperSTORE* last year.
‘We took an abstraction of the Wallpaper* asterisk as the starting point for the design, and created an identifiable and elegant pattern that extends the existing brand language for Wallpaper* in a subtle way,’ says Carter of the packaging system, which includes boxes, bags and sleeves for the store’s wide ranging product offering.
‘The scale of the pattern is the constant, remaining the same across all pieces in the range, from boxes to stationery,' she explains. 'The geometry of the pattern informed the primary shapes; hexagon, triangle and circle, which appear as die cut apertures to frame the pattern beneath. Combined with the printed packaging, this creates a layered effect that adds to the ritual of receiving and opening the package.'
Products range from exclusive prints and posters, to postmodernism-inspired rubber bands. Pictured: Slawkenbergius (white), lithographic print by APFEL
33 Feet, screenprint by APFEL
Kheyameya Neferirkare at Abusir, screenprint by APFEL
APFEL have also designed their own special range of packaging for the new shop
Packaging is a design medium in which the studio excels, having previously designed the branding and packaging for our very own WallpaperSTORE*
‘We took an abstraction of the Wallpaper* asterisk as the starting point for the design, and created an identifiable and elegant pattern that extends the existing brand language for Wallpaper* in a subtle way,’ says director Kirsty Carter
INFORMATION
For more information, visit APFEL’s website
-
Nothing pitches itself into the premium realm with its new flagship Nothing Phone (3)The Nothing Phone (3) is a serious creative tool that brings fresh design, new features and a commitment to keeping tech fun
-
Nothing takes its first step into high-end audio with the new over-ear wireless Headphone (1)Created in partnership with KEF, the Nothing Headphone (1) is designed to shake up the sector and present over-ear audio in a wholly new way
-
In Copenhagen, Charlotte Taylor gave us a glimpse into the mess of real lifeAt 3 Days of Design, Charlotte Taylor staged ‘Home from Home’, a group exhibition in collaboration with Noura Residency, showcasing the chaos of the everyday, from unmade beds to breakfast leftovers
-
Lulu Harrison is the Ralph Saltzman Prize winner 2025The Design Museum, London, announces Lulu Harrison as winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize for emerging designers, and will showcase her work from 24 June to 25 August 2025
-
‘Designers are far more than just producers of commercial goods’: Samuel Ross on the London Design BiennaleThe artistic director of the major event and founder of A-COLD-WALL* discusses the role of a designer and the future of the sector in an exclusive interview
-
London Craft Week 2025 highlights – what to see this weekendLondon Craft Week 2025 (until 18 May) brings together some 1,000 established and emerging makers. Here is everything we saw and loved so you don't miss a thing
-
Erasers become architectural illusions at Gallery FumiLondon duo Study O Portable unveil 'Rubber Rocks', trompe-l’œil furniture made from erasers, exploring themes of materiality, memory and architectural decay
-
Liberty at 150: a history of the brand in 10 objectsLiberty is marking its 150th anniversary; to celebrate, we remember products and prints that helped make the department store the cultural touchpoint it is today
-
A first look inside the new Oxford Street Ikea. Spoiler: blue bags and meatballs are includedThe new Oxford Street Ikea opens tomorrow (1 May), giving Londoners access to the Swedish furniture brand right in the heart of the city
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
Nature sets the pace for Alex Monroe’s first sculpture exhibitionThe British designer hops from jewellery to sculpture for his new exhibition at the Garden Museum, London. Here, he tells us why nature should be at the forefront of design
