A Creative Programme to Think B!G Gillian will be a B!G Mentor this year again with The B!G iDEA – an award winning programme, run by Ireland’s top creatives, for TY students across Ireland. We’d encourage designers from all disciplines…read more »
On Friday last we had the pleasure of launching the new brand identity for Laois – You’re Welcome. It was probably one of the most enjoyable and unquestionably the most unusual launch, presenting to an audience of masked faces! The…read more »
Ah would you look…. yes these are cocktails, just add ice! What a great design, certainly innovative. These are NIO Cocktails, perfect when you’ve minimum space or for deliveries as gifts! Each cocktail is packaged in its own uniquely-designed sleeve…read more »
Bernie Everard from Laois Chamber has been interviewing many of the local businesses to discuss how they have been getting through this Covid-19 period. Gillian spoke with her, check it out here:
ok…. so it was a blip / short-term-thing (we thought) when it started…. can’t keep up now… adding useful links as we get them…stay safe :) 2021- May return https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Work-Safely-Protocol.html 2020 PHASE 1 RETURN: https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2020/0515/1138690-coronavirus-phase-one/ USEFUL UPDATES: The new National…read more »
Thankfully we are all well here at Penhouse, but missing each other and the daily company we share, while we all work from home! It’s a fast learning curve, getting used to new ways of working with remote solutions and…read more »
We are discovering some really beautiful art, illustration, typography and photography being created and shared for #IWD2020 #EachForEqual. We’re displaying here just some of the images we are seeing from our Instagram feed. Well done to all who are creating…read more »
It’s October, Laois TASTE month – explore, discover, smell, sip, taste, savour, dine, drink, enjoy, celebrate. We were delighted to be involved in the branding – visual and messaging – and great to see it come to life. Have a…read more »
London Design Festival is a foot so lots to enjoy if you’re heading for the city. ‘Please Be Seated’ is top of my list – a beautiful installation to be seen in Shoreditch London, one of the 11 ‘design districts’…read more »
We are very proud to support our local young entrepreneurs, Noah, Simon and Marc, and their award winning product – HURL STANDZ. Designed and Made in Ratheniska, here in Laois by the three lads, this lightweight wall-mounted stand, is a…read more »
We’re lucky to work with some VERY tasty clients offering oodles of Christmas gift ideas. We’ve been designing new branding, fresh campaigns, packaging and special promos for a few months now for many of them, and with gifting time upon…read more »
https://www.penhouse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Penhouse_Halloween.mp4
We are proud to be taking part in Mind Over Matter in Carlow this year and we’d invite you to book a slot with Gillian who will be there for the day :) Mind Over Matter is a national day…read more »
Wooo Hoooo, we’re friends! Well nearly…. After May 25th we might have to say goodbye… but we’d rather not : ( so if you want to continue, or start, to receive our news stories and join our mailing list,…read more »
Photo: Design Week Summer is here! We are all big fans of ice cream here at Penhouse so we were all delighted to see the refreshed rebrand of Häagen-Dazs. In a bid to appeal to a younger audience, the…read more »
If you’re heading to Bloom in the Park this weekend, Look out for our Man from the Mountain – awarded the Best White Pudding in the world and the second best Black Pudding in the world. So how do you…read more »
Here at Penhouse we enjoy designing for young people and one of our most recent project was for the young LGBTI+ community. Great strides being taken here in Ireland in this area and its great to be a part of…read more »
Connected Futures for Vodafone promotes connectivity around Ireland and especially in rural locations and Penhouse were delighted to have branded this initiative and designed the material. It’s particularly relevant for us as the designers, since it promotes rural connectivity through…read more »
And they’re now in the shops! Our latest design work for our favourite chocolate company – Lily O’Brien’s – sees the launch of a brand new range of luxury chocolate bars. The packaging design is a little change to the…read more »
Are you a bad ass creative who is looking for an award, in whatever… then here’s your chance (thanks to good ol’ Jessica Hische). Customise and click…
Have always liked Stefan Sagmeister (co-founder of design firm Sagmeister & Walsh) and here he is with a film on designing happiness. The Happy Film is a feature-length documentary in which he undergoes a series of self-experiments outlined by popular…read more »
Cleverly shot for New York magazine, these fashion images illustrate Junya Watanabe’s sculptural Autumn collection for 2015 and they make you look twice. I found this post on Design Milk first and later on Creative Boom. The photography really captivates…read more »
Film: Made You Look Made You Look is a refreshing documentary about the graphic arts scene in the UK today. The film features interviews with the many in the industry including Fred Deakin, Kate Moross, Anthony Burrill and Hattie Stewart….read more »
And its live! What a great time we had designing this, from the initial illustrations of our children and the Team TSI crew, to the Team TSI logo, the website design, resources and great book. Fiona Dunne and Maire Love…read more »
Who knew that our countryside design studio, based in the middle of Ratheniska in rural Ireland, would ever have Tokyo’s broadband speeds? The ‘Plough and the Stars‘ promo by Siro, launched at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska this year…read more »
Sometimes there are jobs that we really enjoy working on and we do so, designing quite happily without looking beyond the project in hand. So its then an extra big bonus when this work gets awarded by a panel of…read more »
Some of these images are truly beautiful. Take a moment to feast your eyes on the special selection of photographs from the Sony World Photography Awards, 2015, as collected by Katy Cowan and her Creative Boom Post. Be inspired… view…read more »
This is a clever one (although my Italian isn’t great to get all the details), but a smart social project has launched in Northern Italy called The Water Bank, by Padania Acque Gestione. This aims to allow families in financial…read more »
Mulling over our 18 years in businsss… 1996 Gillian started trading as ‘Penhouse Design’ from an upstairs studio in Dawson Street, Dublin 1997 The commuting from Laois started… long days, difficult decisions 1998 Penhouse became a ‘limited company’ and we…read more »
Ooh these are beautiful – new passports for lucky Norwegians. The design, conceived by Oslo based Neue Design Studio was selected for its simplistic solution. We love its cleanliness in design and clever link with function too. There are 3…read more »
There’s nothing quite like an original photo, captured beautifully and specifically for a purpose. We also like to style photographic images to suit a brand, so that we can build a styled portfolio of imagery for each business. That’s the…read more »
Another great event being hosted on May 10th, 2014, by Keith Bohanna of Biabeag fame at Highbank Orchard, Cuffesgrange, Kilkenny. This workshop ‘Outstanding by Design’ will be a real treat for anyone in the food business, to learn from some great…read more »
and the winner is… BEAR! No surprise to us. Take a simple bear, give him a little fig-leaf, already you’re smiling and you can’t really go too far wrong from there! Beautiful branding, pretty packaging and clever copy combine for…read more »
We’re wishing you a colourful and creative Christmas from the angels here at Penhouse! Download our origami angel template here, follow the simple instructions and make us up to sit in your tree, on your desk, or table centrepiece! Get…read more »
It’s around the corner now and a hive of activity here in the countryside. Lots of excitement locally as final preparations are in place here in Ratheniska to host the National Ploughing Championships yet again this year. Ploughers will compete…read more »
Coca cola is best served cold, to publicise this fact the coca cola company have rolled out a new ad campaign in Columbia. Instead of using their standard plastic or glass bottles the campaign used bottles crafted from ice. After use these…read more »
Don’t you just love these! It’s yet more cool stuff from Japan. Kokeshi: matches with faces, started as a product of pure creativity in 1994, as a part of a group exhibition. Kumi Hirasaka hand drew faces onto the heads…read more »
So here’s our latest for the IDI… its the 2012 Annual Report launched at their AGM last week in Dublin. This year the report has been reduced in size, but we still had some fun designing it. We went for…read more »
Istanbul’s Berrge Studio needed a new tattoo artist for their studio so they came up with this clever print ad. It’s a unique way to weed out serious potential employees from the ones who just think it’ll be a fun job….read more »
Oh what fun we have had so far! Creating this egg for Lily O’Brien’s and now its on display in a secret location in Dublin for forty days and forty nights for the Big Egg Hunt. Its all to support…read more »
As you may be aware we are fond of a box or two of chocolates here now & again. Imagine our surprise when we heard the latest in the chocolate news from Belgium. The Belgian postal service has launched…read more »
Oh what a find. We’ve always been a big fan of food, its packaging, photography, arrangement and cookery books are a special fav. This beautiful digital book, full of stunning photography and tasty typographic layouts is a treat. Going to…read more »
Scribbles stuck on the fridge door not enough? We recently came across a fab website called Crayon Creatures. Barcelona-based designer Bernat Cuni describes his new venture as ‘a service to turn children’s drawings into figurines; nice looking designer objects to decorate the home and office…read more »
What excitement! We’ve been asked to join the select few and decorate a giant egg for the The Big Egg Hunt in Dublin 2013. Time is tight (we only got the egg today), but the heads are buzzing with ideas….read more »
Lots of Olympic Fun happening in London and beyond. We found this beauty and had to share! – View it here. Simple idea by Gillette in Germany and good fun. Sure doesn’t everyone love an opportunity to stand into the…read more »
We like this new campaign and confident approach to tourism marketing for Canada. Its pokes fun at the clichées while cleverly showing there’s so much more to Canada. Its also personable and using an ‘easy on the eye’ Canadian actor like Eric McCormack is always a help!
Time to polish up the silverware again, we’ve a fresh new addition to the cabinet! Our IDI award received for the Institute’s annual report design arrived today! It’s a few months on we know, but we sadly missed the awards…read more »
Chocolate Branding and Packaging design for Lily O’Briens
Oh what a find. We’re working on a number of very cool packaging and branding projects at the moment for a range of food businesses and so we’re creating lots of different designs and seeking out lots of alternative ways…read more »
I came across this interesting post reviewing the new Design Museum Shop identity. The new logo and rollout is slick and sophisticated, pared down simplicity which neatly ties in with the overall brand identity. It contrasts hugely with the previous…read more »
This Christmas we are sending our Christmas wishes digitally, so we’re sending you a Penhouse Reindeer which can be downloaded on our website. We’re inviting you to print it and make it, pop it in a good position and if…read more »
We do like this proposed logo, with distinctive letterforms in an iconic typeface, designed for the City of London by venturethree Save Save
We’re delighted we have just won a ‘highly commended’ award by the Institute of Designers Ireland 2011!! This is a prestigious Irish design industry award, judged by a panel of International jurors which this year included: Don Wilson John Jenkins…read more »
What a truly creative, personalised, earth-friendly cover for you ipad – we love
Crop Marks – The Ratheniska Project exhibition opened in full for Culture Night 2011 and will remain on display until October 21st in Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise, in the upstairs ‘Drawing Room’ gallery. Thanks to the brilliant contributions by the…read more »
It’s that time of year again… the sun is shining (a bit each day), harvest is cut and the sweet smell of straw is filling the air. The fields are collecting the bales, so we have some added outdoor seating,…read more »
We’re hearing… ‘how?’ ‘What the?’, ‘Is that…?” Yes it is.. The pencil’s wood and graphite have been beautifully sculpted to make this beauty by DALTON GHETTI“At school I would carve a friend’s name into the wood of a pencil and…read more »
Saw this and immediately got thinking about our own crop of barley? We already make Guinness with the crop, but could we now have sustainable furniture too? This furniture called Hey* is designed by Fabio del Percio, an Italian upholsterer and…read more »
Its the ‘Chocolate’ time of year again and we all know it induces the ‘happy’ hormone, its cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment, so partake and enjoy. As we like to say here “If at first you…read more »
The Kildare Readers Festival 2011 was launched last week with a revamped look by our good selves, featuring some of Leonie’s fine illustrations. It will run from 13th – 15th May. Check out their website and download their programme of…read more »
Really love this new identity for Peru, designed at FutureBrand. Its simple, modest, wild, vibrant, bold and beautifully captures the essence of the country. We particularly like designing identities linked with tourism or a sense of place and in our…read more »
Read about this before, and forgot to follow up with it, till I saw the piece in Design Week, what a thrill! Beautifully illustrated walls will grace the premises of the Zizzi Ristorante pizza houses, each created by a different…read more »
Ever wondered what to do with all those spare shoes lying around? Why not make a big fat monkey! How cool is this….straddled on a bench, in a park in Sao Paulo Brazil, lies the giant animal, created by Rotterdam…read more »
Oh dear… The international clothing brand Gap, just launched their new logo design online and it was met with such a huge spread of negative criticism, that they have now announced, less than one week later, that it will not…read more »
What a super idea…combine the talents of creatives and artists with some of UK’s most talented cake makers for a delicious exhibition! www.madartiststeaparty.com
What a great idea for an interesting exhibition, no set brief, no theme, just decorate an envelope and post it. Found this on Creative Review, where they wrote about Curator Darren Di Lieto, who asked illustrators and artists to post…read more »
I found this piece on The Shortest Word which profiled exactly the sort of campaign I was looking for – it features the new brand campaign just launched by Levi’s in the States. It’s quite beautifully articulated and the sentiment…read more »
What a simple and truly lovely idea! Meet your neighbours at your local street feast – a garden party, a street bash or pals in the park – bring your community together and have some fun in the process. We’re…read more »
I spotted this beautiful packaging for West of Ireland artisan confectionery company Pandora Bell on the London based Design Company Studio Output’s website. Here’s what they say about the packaging… “We were asked to create branding and packaging to give…read more »
Some great illustrations here, with really cool type and a decent soundtrack. Found this refreshing piece of animation on Creative Review from a Canadian by the name of Matt Luckhurst. Its his first music video, and what a great way…read more »
Some of us here have given up chocolate for Lent, so its only fitting that we feature this lovely packaging design by Valerie Courtney. We came across this piece on the Dieline website. Save
thanks to our junior designers, Noah and Simon, who took it upon themselves to decorate our drab winter tree trunks with colourful patterns in chalk. Don’t they look great? We have asked them to look at the orchard trees next…read more »
I came across this trailer on Creative Review, its for H5’s film Logorama, which has been nominated for a Short Film (Animated) award at this year’s Oscars. The film, which premiered at Cannes last year, sees Michelin Man cops pursue…read more »
The beautiful end sequence to the recently released Sherlock Holmes movie. Created by Prologue Films. Here is an interview with Creative Director Danny Yount over on Graphic Exchange.
We have been working with The Make Believers charity, since it started as an idea last year, creating their name and rolling out their brand identity. They have now been shortlisted for the AIB Better Ireland Awards for their incredible…read more »
I like what they are trying to do with this website for Skittles | Experience the Rainbow. It has some fun, exploring its identity and playing with the colour theme. Definitely it is trying to be different. Some high points…read more »
LEAP Organics have brought out this truly beautiful range of organic soaps, which we found on the Lovely Package site. Designed by Moxie Sozo, with illustrations by the gifted Charles Bloom, these packaging designs will definitely make any shelf look…read more »
Congratulations to all at Cartoon Saloon on their Oscar nomination for The Secret of Kells. We were lucky to visit the studio while the film was being made a few years ago and saw first hand their magnificent artistry. Good…read more »
How cool are these tights from Les Queues de Sardines? Screen-printed by hand in limited quantities, these will never go unnoticed. Their range of stockings and tights showcase their unconventional and unique graphic style.
This signage design, found at the Surry Hills Library in Sydney Australia is just great. The design by Collider, seemlessly fuses with the architecture, integrating and moving with the building’s different materials, it is simply beautifully crafted. Love it.
This is a little game, more advanced than patience… A lot less advanced than our wii but addictive and fun. Don’t know who to credit for it, but squire posted it and I love it, thanks mark! Click HERE to…read more »
*happiness is… peace and goodwill : positive thinking : a well deserved holiday : a fresh start : thierry henry switching to basketball : rugby heroes & grand slam wins : winning 2 awards in 2009! : making clients smile…read more »
Lovin’ these teabags… This year we produced some Penhouse Peppermint Tea. We think we packaged it nicely, some of you may even have sampled it, but these designs really take the biscuit. Produced by Royal Tea, they also come as…read more »
Be creative with your pumpkin carving this Halloween, some great results from the artists with Anna Goodson Management, cast your vote for your favourites, lots to choose from, and have a very Happy Halloween Save
So Friday is our ‘bake day’ and today it was Gill’s turn. Being all creative, Gill decided to attempt the Penhouse logo in a giant eclair! We reckon Gill can improve on this (check out the photo), so next week…read more »
We’re thrilled!!! Just announced – Our packaging design for Rossmore Icecream has just been shortlisted for the Institute of Designers in Ireland Awards, 2009. We are so happy for Rebecca and Aubrey whose home business producing really delicious dairy…read more »
So every Friday is cake day here, and each of us takes a turn as the official ‘cake supplier’. These are Fiona’s buns, and they taste as good as they look! Next time you plan a visit, consider a Friday,…read more »
Sometimes something really special comes along that we are just delighted to be involved with and the Make Believers is one of those such projects. Its a brand new charity which brings the real Santa to children in need. We…read more »
creative web design…naturally Look what we woke up to this morning all over our gardens… the best of web design you’ll ever find!
Need to bring a point-of-sale promotion to life or get that launch into the papers? Check out this Co Louth based company ‘Made in Hollywood‘ for some foam based funky ideas. We posted this link before and Fran got in…read more »
Found this nice Google Earth typography experiment over on deviantart.com
Download the Fontifier character sheet from the website, see it in, scan it in, Upload the template and preview your own handwriting as a font. To download the font and use it costs just $9. Save
Forget about your standard cushions, check out these fab creations from clickforart.com adorned with limited edition prints. Save
This is a nice rounded typeface designed by Swedish designer Mårten Nettelbladt available for free over on his website: omkrets.se
Think you know your fonts? Try out this game (from London design agency Deep) and find out how good your font knowledge really is.
Came across this interesting approach to creative thinking for the greater good http://www.colalife.org As designers we create so much of what is seen, used or experienced daily. It is our role to think laterally and invent clever ways to encourage…read more »
smashingmagazine.com is a great site to keep up to date with developments in graphic and web design. It’s updated regularly with lots of helpful tips, interesting articles, links to great work and some freebies, like free fonts (below).
Great website for business card design inspiration. Below is one of the designs from the site, a wooden card designed for a gallery called Fifth Floor Gallery. www.cardobserver.com Save
So many things inspire us, but the brief we got for the ten project’s mega city hero was quite truly unique. The time zones between us all are diverse with therese in canberra, john in sau paulo and us in…read more »
This is the first in a series of exhibitions in Dublin which hopes to bring together Ireland’s talents and showcase them in an accessible and contemporary environment. We would like to invite designers, artists & students to submit work in…read more »
Some beautiful packaging designed for alcoholic spirits… refreshingly different from Integrity Spirits in Portland, Oregon. Stylish website too…simple and to the point, i.e. ‘Show off our Great Bottles’ http://www.integrityspirits.com Great to see a company invest in a fresh approach… Love…read more »
While working on Michelle O’Donnells new Glasshammer brochure I spotted this cool bowl. Just looking at it makes me hungry, I want to snap bits off and eat it! Glasshammer bowl
Came across the London Arts new ID which i really like for its simplicity and ended up looking at the design company’s site…. some lovely work and smart idents too… esp. in the arts sector http://www.whynotassociates.com/