Explore the Create for Crisis brand identity by Dalziel & Pow. Handcrafted linocut typography and retail assets for Secondhand September.

One of our favorite London-based design studios Dalziel & Pow partnered with UK homelessness charity Crisis to relaunch an impactful campaign Create for Crisis. The initiative takes center stage during Secondhand September through the UNSOLD. RETOLD. campaign. Twelve independent UK makers visited the Canning Town warehouse to salvage unsold donated clothes. They rebuilt discarded garments through cutting, weaving, screenprinting, and patchwork. Dalziel & Pow built a raw, hands-on brand identity to mirror that physical craft. The team bypassed sterile vector curves. Instead, they carved the core wordmark directly into linoleum printing blocks with gouges and black ink.

A Handcrafted Linocut Brand Identity for Secondhand September

The primary brand identity lockup unites two distinct typographic components. Dalziel & Pow hand-carved the words "Create for" in blocky, uneven display lettering. The relief cuts leave rough chiseled borders that celebrate human touch. Beside this hand-printed lettering, the designers altered the familiar red Crisis square logo. A diagonal slice lifts the top strip away from the base box. This sharp cut captures the physical motion of tailoring scissors slicing through cloth. To expand the visual system, Dalziel & Pow cut three accompanying graphic symbols into linoleum blocks. The trio features shearing scissors, sewing and safety pins, and recycling arrows wrapped around a four-hole garment button.

The visual system comes alive across sixteen Crisis retail locations in London. Large crimson window posters announce "UNSOLD. RETOLD." alongside bold maker portraits and upcycled garments on mannequins. Dalziel & Pow created twenty-four bespoke storytelling boards to celebrate the individual designers. Profiles for labels like LUEDER, Olli Hull, and Ashley Knight feature hand-drawn notes, fabric swatches, and garment sketches. On the clothing rails, physical swing tags detail the production breakdown: fifty percent supports the mission to end homelessness, and fifty percent goes directly to the maker. Hand-stitched maker labels and raw corrugated cardboard displays reinforce this tactile brand identity across every London shop.

See more from Dalziel & Pow and support this meaningful initiative at Shop from Crisis.