I’m melting! The Allday Goods rebrand is inspired by dripping plastic

Graphic designer and illustrator Darren Shaddick has overhauled the knife brand Allday Goods, which pairs colourful handles made from plastic waste with sharp, durable blades. The UK-based brand has experimented with a few temporary brand faces before – working with illustrators like Jack Fletcher to tell a different story for each batch. Now beginning to work with new knife makers, Allday decided it was time for something more permanent.

It’s an illustration-heavy look, with motion design used freely. The logotype, which is inspired by the look of slowly melting plastic, is suitably gelatinous and gooey, while a series of animations nod to the craft and production process, as well as the bit after – when the knives land with the customer.

Darren ties together the two defining aspects of the brand’s process, tradition and ingenuity. Case in point: when chef Hugo Worsley had the idea for Allday Goods in lockdown, the first handles were made from melting plastic milk bottle lids with a toastie machine. Today, the brand works with a fourth-generation forge in Sakai, Japan. It’s an unusual union – “typically you would not stick a plastic handle on a forged knife,” Hugo explains on the site – but this unexpected energy is captured well in the brand.

“The characters naturally occurred to me, as they often do whilst I am making images,” says Darren. “I wanted them to portray the sense of youthfulness that Allday brings to the culinary industry, with subtle nods toward the rich history of traditional knife making.”

Assets have also been made for areas of the brand like Odd Bin, a subsection of the site where knives with small scratches or faded designs are sold at a discounted price.

Hugo says: “When we started Allday we wanted to build a brand around making cooking fun (because it is!) and take the customer on the story of plastic waste and the production process of the knives. Darren’s style was a reflection of this for us and we jumped at the opportunity of working with him.”