A 50-strong (and growing) collective of creatives with a passion for pounding the streets, Run Dem Crew is based at Nike’s Shoreditch-based concept store cum creative space; 1948. Documenting the crew’s participation in the 2011 London Marathon, Away! Away! Away! is a glorious, concept-heavy book by creative agency Rosie Lee. Packed with photo essays, cutting-edge design and Tom Hull‘s beautiful photography; Rosie Lee’s celebration of this unique collective is a real inspiration. We talked to creative director Mark Fleming to find out how it came about…
How did your involvement with Run Dem Crew begin?
We were initially briefed to develop the identity for Run Dem Crew (RDC) and design its HQ space at Nike’s 1948 store. We quickly found a connection with Run Dem Crew founder Charlie Dark and his passion for running and sharing ideas.
Do you run yourself?
Yes. I’m pretty active and been involved with RDC for over 2 years. I’ve taken part in races and marathons in Paris, Berlin and chicago. Other members of Rosie Lee have also joined the ranks of RDC.
The print process is beautiful, did it take a lot of experimenting to achieve the results?
Exploring creative concepts and production techniques is a key part of to what we do at Rosie Lee. One of our senior designers is pretty hands on when it comes to print and she worked closely with Ditto press to get the best from the process and the images, playing with bitmaps and duo tones, being playful with the type and choice of colours.
Risso print has its strength and weaknesses and the trick with this project was to play to its strengths.
What does 2012 hold for Rosie Lee?
Same as any other year – produce good work for our clients and have a good time doing it.
