Year in Review with… Aardman’s Ilona Sunderland and Ben Townsend

What was your pick of the style guides in 2025?
Our top pick has to be our new Wallace & Gromit core packaging guide. We refreshed the packaging to align with our updated creative direction – more contemporary, while still celebrating the heritage fans love. The new system introduces flexible colourways for different characters, supporting the rise in Gromit and Feathers-led ranges, while giving partners modular tools under a consistent brand handwriting.

A real highlight was collaborating with Nick Park on brand-new sketches inspired by the idea of peeking into Wallace’s sketchbook. His story-led illustrations add authenticity and that second-look detail which is so integral to the brand.

What has been the biggest design or business challenge you faced this year?
One of the biggest challenges has been adapting to the pace of trend adoption across Asian markets. South Korea and Japan move incredibly quickly, and responding at that speed while scaling a refreshed global strategy has required real focus.

At the same time, we’re creating for two distinct audiences: long-standing family fans who love our heritage, and a trend-driven young adult audience discovering our characters in new ways. Finding design solutions that resonate equally with both has been an ongoing balancing act, but it’s also pushed us creatively in ways that feel genuinely exciting.

What design trend caught your eye in 2025?
The trend that really stood out for us this year was the continued rise of accessorising and customisation culture. In markets like South Korea, fans want characters they can wear, attach or collect. From bag charms and keyrings to pen toppers and mini 3D keepsakes… That demand has quickly spread into Europe too.

“The trend that stood out for us this year was the continued rise of accessorising and customisation culture.”

Alongside that, there’s been a huge appetite for personalisable everyday items, where characters become part of people’s daily routines. Things like the Wallace & Gromit customised debit cards from K-Bank in South Korea, phone cases or lifestyle accessories. It’s encouraging to see how strongly fans want to express their personality through the characters they love.

What design or business development from outside licensing influenced you most in 2025?
Two developments outside licensing have really influenced our thinking this year. First is the rise of sport–character crossovers, especially in Asia. The creativity and fan engagement around baseball and basketball collaborations shows how naturally character IP can live in passionate community spaces.

The second is the success of cross-industry mash-ups – music, fashion, art and character brands coming together in unexpected ways. Collaborations like our work with Japanese band Hitsujibungaku and Korean baseball team SSG Landers highlight how cultural intersections can introduce characters to new audiences, new aesthetics and entirely new storytelling opportunities.

What development in licensing and design took you by surprise in 2025?
Even knowing how deeply loved Wallace & Gromit are, the speed and scale of their resurgence after the Vengeance Most Fowl movie release still surprised us. The reaction from younger fans was incredible, everything from Funko sell-outs to Gen Z treating Feathers and Gromit as pop-culture icons. There were even reports of tattoo parlours being inundated with Feathers McGraw requests, which still makes us smile.

Seeing a new generation embrace the characters with such enthusiasm has been one of the year’s real highlights, and a reminder of how enduring and culturally relevant Aardman’s storytelling continues to be.