From NDAs to gag orders and the direct stifling of press, clients keeping designers silent about their work appears to be becoming an ever-more present feature of the industry. But just how do they go about it? And what is the real impact on the creatives in question? We speak to four studios to find out their perspectives.

From “We’re all family” to “This should just be a quick one”, we’ve put together a guide to client red flags that will help you avoid creative, financial and spiritual ruin.

The creative industry prides itself on innovation, but it’s still stuck in the same old systemic loops. What it needs is to centre care as a creative principle.

In an extract from the new book Otl Aicher: Design. Type. Thinking – published by Prestel – writers Christopher Haaf and Hannes Gumpp pen an essay on the iconic designer’s relationship with colour, its significance on his work and how he went on to influence the world over.