At Tacabanda studio, design snobbery is out and happy mistakes are in

The designers Margherita Sabbioneda and Barbara Nassisi have been working side by side ever since they met. Their friendship, – “because we’re best friends above all”, says Barbara – started out when the pair met working at a small studio in London, “which we kind of became the antithesis of”, she continues. Now settled into their very own studio space in Hackney Wick where their creative partnership under the name Tacabanda started in 2022, (“which in Italian means something like ‘let’s get the band rolling’!” Margherita tells us) the designers have found their “little shelter of freedom and madness”. Here, they get wacky ideas off the ground for their colourful graphic design and illustration work in the cultural sector.

The duo’s style is fun and serendipitous, and they favour all things printed and handmade. Tacabanda puts humour and connection at its centre with a diverse approach to the creative trade: “We’re against any form of design snobbery, pretentiousness and cultural gatekeeping,” the pair say. This is quite perfectly translated in the design of their website: A digital universe where ‘there is no force of gravity and the sunset lasts forever’. You’ll come across motivational stock images, glitches and floating chairs in amongst a chaotic collage of what looks like the inside of the pairs brains and a virtual rendition of their shared studio desk. Look out for projects hidden like easter eggs in amongst their virtual bookshelf.

Overall, what their work is all about, is finding the beauty in “all that is overlooked; the margins, the mistakes, the vernacular”, says Barbara. “We look at the world and everything and everyone with curiosity and an open heart – and this naturally leaches into our work.”