You don’t often get a creative brief containing a simple directive to play and experiment, especially when the appeal comes from a 148-year-old brand at the forefront of design. Yet that’s precisely the request Pentagram’s Harry Pearce received from Liberty Fabrics Design Director Mary-Ann Dunkley.
Pentagram’s latest work for Liberty builds upon Pearce’s new visual identity for the iconic store, including a custom typeface, Lasenby Sans. The font, named for store founder Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty and based on the store’s original sign lettering, came to life in collaboration with Colophon Foundry.
The result of Pearce’s playful experimentation with the Liberty fabric design team is Liberty Letters: a capsule collection of 21 products, ranging from handbags to scarves to fabrics. Based on Liberty’s logotype, foundational patterns reinforce the eccentricity and progressive design at the heart of the brand.
Liberty has always been as much a maker as a retailer, and hopefully this project is the epitome of that spirit.
Harry Pearce, Pentagram
There are plans to expand the Liberty Letters collection with more bags, scarves, and fabrics, all of which will be available online and at Liberty’s London Great Marlborough Street store.
