Our solution was a gift that gave voice to London’s intoxicating true self. To evoke the real, gritty, off-the-beaten track London, an atmosphere of experience and intrigue… through a Dark London.

Dark London is a celebration of the unseen, the feeling of something else going on, something else to discover.

We sought out London’s hidden storytellers in the art houses of the city and asked them to reveal the dark stuff. The three in the morning stuff. The stuff that smells. Their revelations were fascinating and unexpected. The truth about what makes London magnificent.

You shouldn’t want to know everything before you walk into a place, so illustration as a medium allowed us to be perfectly suggestive. The recordings within Dark London are as testing, enigmatic and downright wonderful as the places themselves.

And the results? We don’t care if you like it, we just want you to feel it.

The Dark London book had to feel like the underground Bible of London.

Its red arteries of stitching show how its insides had been turned outside and exposed. Its potent mass of twisted tales bound tightly together.

The scarcity of colour was designed to evoke an unnerving and shadowy world.

The intimate pocket-size– and its density, texture and pace were designed to leave you wanting more with a narrative written to evoke the sense of excitement and trepidation when wandering down hidden alleyways, full of unexpected twists and turns.

Our illustrators were briefed to amplify that sense of darkness, brooding malevolence and emotional resonance. To create pieces which intrigue and unnerve in equal measure.

The typography utilised a classic font, employed by The City of London themselves; Albertus, sharply punctuated with distressed blood red numerals – juxtaposing the familiar with the strange and surprising.

A dark experience. A Dark London.

Dark London has proven a successful project, contributing to a drive in new business, sales and PR activity.

Our book contributed to an estimated 8% uplift in sales enquiries over a 3-month period and assisted in driving our corporate reputation.

Dark London created a deeper engagement with our audiences and demonstrated our creative attitude.

Despite the global nature of our company, the creation and output of this book proved our love and pride for the city we work in.

The book’s creation also established a rich relationship between Landor and the University of Westminster, Faculty of Media, Arts and Design and enabled us to connect with its budding artists.

Other KPI’s include our ability to enter international creative awards as a reflection of Dark’s London’s quality of creativity and design.

We have a second print run of 1,500 units being printed due to demand and attributed marketing communications success.

Although a global agency, the London faction of Landor wanted to do something collaborative that celebrated London specifically and embrace Landor London’s international clients and guests.

Our strategy involved engaging London’s best local artists to forage around the city’s twists and turns, to then report back in their own inimitable way. We encapsulated these ideas and revelations in pocket sized books for our clients to keep close for their use in the evenings.

Dark London would demonstrate Landor’s creative attitude and prove the love and pride we have for the city we live in.

London, it gets under your skin and beneath your fingernails. Layers upon layers of twisted tales and hidden treasures.

As an international design studio with clients, colleagues and guests visiting from all over the world, Landor London set out to give their guests something tangible and useful that would enrich their London experiences and show them more than the sites and stereotypes depicted in guidebooks.

We established a partnership with the Westminster University, Faculty of Media, Arts and Design, and engaged 15 budding artists to help us discover and uncover hidden realms of London.

We had 250 Dark London books produced for our first edition run, and will have 1,500 units printed for our second edition run due to demand and attributed marketing communications success.