Bernardo Henning x John Lewis

One of Britain’s best-known department store windows has been transformed - thanks to the expert handiwork of TDF’s Bernardo Henning.

In a fun-filled collaboration with John Lewis, Bernardo helped relaunch its Kidswear identity – with Funwear.

From play-centric in-store installations to an original font, patterns, and cheeky characters that capture childhood spirit, Bernado created “elements that were designed to be played with – fun, simple and colourful.”

TDF asked him some questions about the collaboration.

Kidswear is all about play. In this project, you helped create 3D pieces for that exact purpose. What was that like?

What I liked the most was seeing my shapes and patterns in the sculptures on the kids’ photoshoot. Seeing them interact with elements that were designed to be played with – fun, simple and colourful. I think the textures and materials were well selected and helped emphasise this.

How did you visually translate ‘fun’ across the entire project?

I love how the patterns were applied to the overall campaign to reflect the concept of Funwear. I created an entire design system complete with a font, colours, shapes and patterns to be applied across a wide range of elements.

An exciting part of the project was working with my colleagues [at design studio Hola Bosque], creating pieces of design and 3D rendered elements–like planets and typography–to merge with the photography. It turned out great.

What elements were the most fun to work with?
I love character design so it was good to work with my studio to create different crazy characters. They were designed for kids to interact with them, whether physically in-store or to have them featured on bags, pins or other elements – until they become new friends.

Your work often features expressive linework. What did you keep in mind for these illustrations in particular?

Our idea was to create scribbles and characters that kids could relate with, almost as if the illustrations were created by them.

It was also great to see the brand marks come to life in animations that are simple and fun. We put eyes on some of the brand marks with the scribbles and it was great to see how playful the eyes can be – interacting with elevators, window displays, floor vinyls, etc.

Fancy adding a bit more play to your day? Take a peek at more of the campaign here and keep your eyes out for more TDF collaborations on the horizon.