The Stone Twins

The Stone Twins – Declan (left) and Garech Stone – photographed by Krijn van Noordwijk. A homage to the David Bailey portrait of the Kray twins, 1965.

The Stone Twins is a creative branding agency based in Amsterdam. It was founded by twin brothers Declan and Garech Stone (born 8 November 1970, Dublin), graduates of the National College of Art and Design, Dublin.

The Stone Twins specialise in areas such as brand strategy, naming and brand identity (visual and verbal)[1][2] – and are best known for the branding of MassiveMusic and A’DAM Toren[3]; and the design of a number of Irish commemorative postage stamps.[4][5][6] The firm's award-winning work includes a coveted Dutch Design Award,[7] several European Design Awards[8] and 13 D&AD Pencils.[9][10] Their work forms part of the permanent collections of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam[11].

The Stone Twins regularly write for trade magazines, including Communicatie (Wolters Kluwer) and Eye magazine: the International Review of Graphic Design.[12] They are authors of the book Logo R.I.P. (A Commemoration of Dead Logos);[13][14][15][16] the updated 2nd edition was launched in the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York in 2012.[17][18] They are keen educators, and were Head of the ‘Man and Communication’ department at Design Academy Eindhoven from 2008 until their resignation in 2013.[19]

Books

The Stone Twins have written the following books:

  • Logo R.I.P., (A Commemoration of Dead Logos), BIS Publishers, 2012. (ISBN 9789063692902)[20][21]
  • A Catalogue of Curiosities, Relics, Art & Propaganda (CRAP), 2010.[22][23]
  • Hello, I’m A’DAM (The Creation of a New Amsterdam Icon), A’DAM Toren C.V., 2021. (ISBN 9789082075885)

Magazine Articles

Selected articles written by The Stone Twins:

  • Chameleons (Single-character logos provide rich, raw material for identity design) – Eye, No. 67, Vol. 17, Spring 2008.[24]
  • Logos without words – Eye, No. 80, Vol. 20, Summer 2011.[25]
  • Something Is Rotten in the State of Design – Design Week, August 2015[26]. Republished in: Open Manifesto #8: Change, 2018[27].
  • Design & Humour – 100 Archive: Dialogues, 8th April 2020[28].

Exhibitions

Selected exhibitions:

  • 2015 Liminal – Irish design at the threshold, Eindhoven, Milan, New York and Dublin (group show)[29][30]
  • 2012 New Graphic Design Collection, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (group show)[31]
  • 2012 Graphic Design: Now in Production, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York (group show)[32][33]
  • 2011 Underground by The Stone Twins, Zeeuws Museum, Middelburg (art installation)[34]
  • 2008 1600 X Zierikzee by The Stone Twins, Zeeuws Museum, Middelburg (art installation)[35][36]

Controversies and criticism

Since 2020, the agency has been responsible for questioning the fearmongering around COVID-19 and the proportionately of the measures/restrictions.[37][38]

References

  1. ^ "Profile: The Stone Twins". Designweek.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Addmagazine issue 8". Issuu.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Hello, I'm A'DAM". D&AD Awards 2015.
  4. ^ "Dublin UNESCO City of Literature stamp by The Stone Twins". by Amy Frearson, Dezeen, 26 May 2013.
  5. ^ "An Post issues new stamps to mark centenary of the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses". An Post Media Centre, 7 January 2022.
  6. ^ "A Stamp for Ireland". An Post Media Centre, 25 February 2019.
  7. ^ "SoundCircus". Dutchdesignawards.nl. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  8. ^ "European Design Awards - The Stone Twins". Europeandesign.org. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Search | D&AD". Dandad.org. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  10. ^ "The Stone Twins: List of Awards". Stonetwins.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Jaarverslag Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam 2009, ISBN 978-90-5006-180-3, © 2010" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Eye Magazine". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Logo R.I.P." BIS Publishers. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  14. ^ "A Tribute To Dead Logos From The Past". Fastcodesign.com. 26 September 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  15. ^ The Stone Twins (8 September 2012). "Logo R.I.P." Items Magazine (NL). Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Ode to the logo | Design Indaba". Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  17. ^ "Eye Magazine - Blog - 'Shake hands with the devil'". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Presentatie 'Logo R.I.P.' van The Stone Twins - Bijzondere Collecties". Bijzonderecollecties.uva.nl (in Dutch). Universiteit van Amsterdam. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  19. ^ "The Stone Twins to Leave Design Academy Eindhoven". Design.nl. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  20. ^ "LOGO R.I.P. - A Commemoration of Classic Logos". Logorip.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Logo R.I.P. (Preview Only) by The Stone Twins - Issuu". Issuu.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  22. ^ "A Catalogue of Curiosities, Relics, Art & Propaganda | The Stone Twins | The Stone Twins | D&AD Awards 2011 Pencil Winner | Catalogues & Brochures | D&AD". Dandad.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  23. ^ "A Catalogue of Curiosities, Relics, Art & Propaganda (CRAP) by The Stone Twins - Issuu". Issuu.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Eye Magazine | Feature | Chameleons". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  25. ^ "Eye Magazine | Review | Logos without words". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  26. ^ "Can you still make a living in design?". Design Week, August 2015.
  27. ^ "Something Is Rotten in the State of Design". Open Manifesto #8: Change, 2018.
  28. ^ "Design & Humour, by Garech Stone". 100 Archive: Dialogues, 8th April 2020.
  29. ^ "Dublin". Irishdesign2015.ie. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  30. ^ "Irish design exhibition presents "fusion between old and new"". Dezeen.com. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  31. ^ "Jaaversla Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2009" (PDF). Catalogus.boekman.nl. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  32. ^ "Eye Magazine | Blog | 'Shake hands with the devil'". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Brand New Worlds: Corporate Makeovers and Dead Logos". Walkerart.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  34. ^ "Underground". Zeeuwsmuseum.nl. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  35. ^ "1600 X ZIERIKZEE". Zeeuwsmuseum.nl. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Big museum in Zeeland with modern and contemporary art, wonderchamber, superstudio and heritage". 19 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 April 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  37. ^ "A project on the fearmongering about COVID-19". Product-fear.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  38. ^ "A Campaign of Fearmongering Propaganda". Garechstone.medium.com. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
Poster x2 by The Stone Twins.
TA-2 poster series at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2014.