Birmingham Design Festival returned this June with a vibrant, thought-provoking celebration of creativity, and this year’s theme was all about “Play.” Across talks, workshops, and installations, designers were encouraged to let go, take risks, and reimagine what design could be when approached with curiosity and courage.
Among the many inspiring moments across the two-day conference, one talk stood out for its boldness and relevance: Templo’s rebranding of GF Smith - a heritage paper company known for premium quality and impeccable craft. Taking centre stage, Templo’s founders Anoushka Rodda and Pali Palavathanan revealed how they reimagined a beloved British brand with a playful, modern twist - one that has sparked both admiration and controversy.
From Legacy to Lightness: Rethinking GF Smith
GF Smith has long been associated with high-end paper, elegant swatches, and a reputation built over more than a century. It’s a brand steeped in tradition, but like many heritage companies, it faced a challenge: how do you stay relevant in a world where design tastes, platforms, and audiences are constantly evolving?
Templo’s answer was a bold one.
The rebrand - launched in 2024 - embraced play at every level. The new visual identity features a multi-directional smiley logo, a vibrant, high-contrast colour palette inspired by GF Smith’s own Colorplan papers, and a new custom typeface with rounded, humanist touches. The tagline?
“Feel good papers.” Simple, sensory, and optimistic.
But this wasn’t just a surface-level refresh. The process was deeply collaborative - driven by internal workshops and open forums that invited input from across the business. The result: a brand that aimed to reflect not only what GF Smith makes, but why it matters.
Playful or Problematic? A Branding Tightrope
What’s fascinating about the GF Smith rebrand is how clearly it embodies the spirit of “play” - and how sharply that has divided opinions.
The Upside:
- Bold, fresh and optimistic - The new identity captures attention. It’s modern, energetic, and accessible, particularly for a younger, international creative audience.
- Versatile and digital-first - The logo and brand assets adapt beautifully across physical and digital platforms, from tactile packaging to scrollable, animated web pages.
- Human-centred - By focusing on feel, emotion, and community (including profits feeding into a charitable trust), the brand leans into values that resonate today.
- Design with purpose - The smile motif and playful tools like the carabiner swatch kit bring joy to what could easily be just another sample pack.
The Pushback:
- Losing heritage character - Some feel the new identity strays too far from the quiet refinement GF Smith was known for. The smiley logo in particular has been called “juvenile” or even “cheapening.”
- Trend risk - The rounded, upbeat aesthetic rides current design trends - raising questions about how well it will age.
- Customer alienation - While aiming to appeal to new audiences, the shift may unsettle long-term clients who valued the brand’s classic sensibility.
- “Too playful” - Some designers feel the branding tries too hard to be fun, sacrificing the perception of quality that’s vital in premium materials.
Can Play and Prestige Coexist?
What Templo has done with GF Smith is, in many ways, emblematic of the broader conversation happening in design right now. Brands with deep histories are facing pressure to stay relevant without losing themselves. The rebrand asks: Can a heritage company be both premium and playful? Elegant and experimental?
At Birmingham Design Festival, this tension felt especially relevant. The whole event was a celebration of breaking rules, testing limits, and rethinking tradition - exactly what Templo did with GF Smith. Whether you love it or not, it’s hard to deny: this is a rebrand that got people talking.
Final Thoughts
Designing with “play” at the core isn’t always easy - especially when the stakes involve legacy, reputation, and loyal audiences. But it’s also where some of the most interesting, impactful work emerges.
Templo’s GF Smith rebrand might not please everyone, but it’s a brave move. It’s a reminder that design is not just about preserving the past - it’s about shaping the future, one bold idea at a time.
Birmingham Design Festival 2025:
Day 2 Summary
Friday at Birmingham Design Festival was bursting with creativity, colour, and lively conversation. The day featured a brilliant lineup of speakers who explored the theme of Play in fresh and thought-provoking ways. There were many standout moments, but a particular highlight was hearing Malika Favre and George Wu discuss their collaborative Instagram project @icantaffordthisbutmaybeshecan, a playful, satirical take on fashion, consumerism, and identity that had the audience both laughing and reflecting. Their talk also touched on the heartwarming importance of friendship and collaboration, both in and out of the workplace, showing how meaningful relationships fuel creativity and resilience. From bold rebrands to interactive storytelling, each talk brought something unique and our graphics team left feeling inspired, challenged, and creatively recharged.
A few standout talks included:
- Templo, who gave a compelling behind-the-scenes look at the GF Smith rebrand -blending heritage with bold, playful design choices that really sparked discussion.
https://templo.co.uk/work/gf-smith-rebrand - Liza Enebeis of Studio Dumbar/DEPT® shared a standout project that took over 5,000 screens across Amsterdam for 24 hours during the DEMO 22 Festival of Motion Design. This large-scale takeover transformed the city into a vibrant, moving canvas, showing how design can engage public spaces in playful and dynamic ways.
https://studiodumbar.com/work/demo-2022 - Chris Clarke, from The Guardian, spoke about clarity and impact in editorial design, balancing function with creativity in a way that really resonated with our team.
https://www.cclarke.cc/ - And Javier Jaén added a brilliant dose of humour and surrealism to the day. His comical approach brought a whole new layer of play and laughter to the festival atmosphere.
https://javierjaen.com/
Overall, it was a day full of creative energy, thoughtful insights, and joyful experimentation, the kind of inspiration that stays with you long after the final talk.
