ORBIT, ideas with conviction
Creative work with gravity
The strongest creative work starts with a clear point of view.
Orbit is our curated selection of creative, branding and design work we keep coming back to. The ideas with pull. The projects that prove great creative thinking is not just about how something looks, but how it expresses itself, creates conversation and earns a place in culture.
Ideas with conviction. Here's what landed in ORBIT Issue 09.
The work we've selected this month has one thing in common. Every project knows exactly what it wants to say and has the confidence to say it.
Each piece proves that the strongest creative work starts with a clear point of view. Whether bringing the world together around football, changing perceptions of teaching, redefining what an AI brand can look like or challenging an entire beauty category through radical honesty.
This month's issue features work we’ve loved from:
1 / The world's biggest stage - Nike, Wieden + Kennedy
It almost feels like a forced pick because it's the obvious World Cup campaign, but once every four years we get permission to lean into these things.
Nike's Rip the Script campaign, created by Wieden+Kennedy, understands the role the tournament plays culturally. The World Cup is one of the few genuinely global moments left. Much like a John Lewis ad at Christmas, it's a piece of communication that people actively seek out and share, rather than something they simply have served to them.
The campaign feels unapologetically World Cup. Big, emotional, optimistic and designed for a worldwide audience. At a time when so much marketing is fragmented into niches and algorithms, there's something refreshing about a campaign that aims to bring everyone into the same conversation.
Whether you love the creative or not, it's a good reminder that some moments are bigger than performance metrics. They're about creating shared cultural experiences that people remember.
2 / Teaching, reimagined - Department for Education, M+C Saatchi UK
Fresh and modern for the next generation, we love how this campaign challenges how we think about teaching as a career.
M+C Saatchi’s debut for the Department for Education is a strong example of how creative strategy can reframe perceptions of a sector facing a recruitment challenge. Rather than relying on traditional narratives about teaching, the campaign positions the profession as dynamic, creative and culturally relevant for a Gen Z audience.
The use of music, rap and choreography transforms an ordinary school commute into an expression of energy and self-belief, helping teaching feel like an aspirational first-choice career rather than a fallback option.
The work showcases M+C Saatchi’s strength in combining cultural insight with bold storytelling, creating a distinctive and memorable campaign that makes the profession feel more relevant, exciting and rewarding to a new generation.
3 / Designed by humans, for humans - Ideogram, How&How
One of the freshest branding projects we've seen recently is the new identity How&How created for Ideogram.
What's interesting is that it isn't trying to look like every other AI company. Instead, the identity feels distinctive, confident and full of personality.
There's also a bigger idea sitting behind the work. In a category built around artificial intelligence, Ideogram recognised the value of partnering with a branding agency to define how it should be seen and understood.
That feels significant.
Perhaps the biggest irony is that a generative AI company chose human creativity to create a distinctive identity in the first place. That alone says a lot about the enduring value of human taste, instinct and creative thinking.
4 / Challenging the category - The Ordinary DECIEM | THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY, Uncommon Creative Studio, SMUGGLER
“Great brands don't just sell products. They challenge categories.”
Uncommon Creative Studio and SMUGGLER started the UK's celebrations off strongly at Cannes Lions this week. The Periodic Fable for The Ordinary is a brilliant example of what happens when a powerful brand truth meets exceptional craft.
By replacing scientific elements with beauty industry buzzwords, the campaign exposes how confusing and misleading skincare marketing has become, while reinforcing The Ordinary's commitment to transparency and simplicity.
What elevates the work beyond a clever idea is its execution. The film is beautifully crafted, emotionally resonant and impossible to ignore.
It tackles an issue that affects millions of consumers, particularly younger audiences navigating an increasingly complex beauty landscape.
We love the clarity, honesty and creative excellence.
Explore the full ORBIT Issue 09 here.
Curated by Carl Anderson, Lamar Dix, Matthew Kiziltan, and Nicky Pearson.
