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.[1][2][3]

The Stone Twins specialise in areas such as brand strategy, naming and brand identity (both visual and verbal).[4][5] Their work has been described as concept-led, witty, thought-provoking and pioneering.[6][7] The firm is best known for the branding of MassiveMusic and A'DAM Toren,[8][9][10] as well as the design of several Irish commemorative postage stamps.[11][12] The Stone Twins' award-winning portfolio includes a coveted Dutch Design Award,[13] several European Design Awards[14] and 13 D&AD Pencils.[15] Their work forms part of the permanent collections of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.[16][17][18]

A’DAM Toren: Naming, brand strategy and identity by The Stone Twins.

The Stone Twins regularly write for trade magazines, including Communicatie (Wolters Kluwer) and Eye magazine: the International Review of Graphic Design.[19] They are the authors of the critically acclaimed book Logo R.I.P. (A Commemoration of Dead Logos);[20][21][22] the updated 2nd edition was launched in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York in 2012.[23][24] They are keen educators, and were Head of the ‘Man and Communication' department at Design Academy Eindhoven from 2008 until their resignation in 2013.[25] The Stone Twins are also co-founders and partners in Est. (Established Sparkling Tea), a premium non-alcoholic drinks company based in Amsterdam.[26][27]

Books

The Stone Twins have written the following books:

  • Logo R.I.P., (A Commemoration of Dead Logos), BIS Publishers, 2012. (ISBN 9789063692902)[28]
  • A Catalogue of Curiosities, Relics, Art & Propaganda (CRAP), 2010.[29]
  • Hello, I'm A'DAM (The Creation of a New Amsterdam Icon), A'DAM Toren C.V., 2021.[30] (ISBN 9789082075885)
    Logo R.I.P. by The Stone Twins, 2012.

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.[31]
  • Logos without words – Eye, No. 80, Vol. 20, Summer 2011.[32]
  • Something Is Rotten in the State of Design – Design Week, August 2015.[33] Republished in: Open Manifesto #8: Change, 2018.[34]
  • Design & Humour – 100 Archive: Dialogues, 8th April 2020.[35]

Exhibitions

Poster x2 by The Stone Twins.
TA-2 poster series at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2014

Selected exhibitions:

Controversies and criticism

In 2020, the agency began a self-initiated project questioning the fearmongering surrounding COVID-19 and the proportionality of the measures/restrictions.[44][45]

References

  1. ↑ Godson, Lisa (7 March 2004). "Design: Do the Logo Motion". The Sunday Times.
  2. ↑ Dowdy, Clare (11 November 2010). "Profile: The Stone Twins". Design Week.
  3. ↑ "Creative Characters S6 E6: The Stone Twins on craft, conflict, and creative chemistry". Monotype. 24 April 2026.
  4. ↑ Adriaans, Nils (31 May 2021). "The Stone Twins winnaar bij de D&AD Awards – Verbal Identity". Adformatie.
  5. ↑ Peters, Yves (12 November 2025). "Two minds, one voice: Inside the creative world of The Stone Twins". Retype Foundry.
  6. ↑ Adriaans, Nils (22 September 2022). "The Stone Twins maken campagne met Dall-E". Adformatie.
  7. ↑ Junte, Jeroen (25 September 2023). "Ontwerpen in de stijl van Rietveld, maar dan met AI: komt die stoel eigenlijk een béétje in de buurt?". De Volkskrant.
  8. ↑ "The Stone Twins: A'DAM Toren". Dutch Design Daily. 11 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Stone Twins verzorgt branding A'DAM Toren – Het Amsterdamse bureau is verantwoordelijk voor de totale creatieve visie". Adformatie. 30 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "A Decade of A'DAM – Episode 2: My Identity". A’DAM Toren. 9 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Frearson, Amy (26 May 2013). "Dublin UNESCO City of Literature stamp by The Stone Twins". Dezeen.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Jade (27 January 2022). "An Post launches new stamps to celebrate centenary of Ulysses". The Irish Times.
  13. ↑ "DDA 2008 Winner (Communication): SoundCircus". Dutch Design Awards (DDA). Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "European Design Awards winners: The Stone Twins". European Design Awards.
  15. ↑ "D&AD – Company Profile: The Stone Twins". D&AD (British Design & Art Direction), www.dandad.org.
  16. ↑ "Stedelijk Museum Jaarverslag 2009, ISBN 978-90-5006-180-3" (PDF). Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
  17. ↑ "Stedelijk in de Stad 'De Bouwkeet': The Stone Twins". Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  18. ↑ Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (2025). Stedelijk Museum Posters by Color. Hannibal Books (published 3 December 2025). p. 073. ISBN 9789493416123.
  19. ↑ "Eye Magazine". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  20. ↑ "A Tribute To Dead Logos From The Past". Fastcodesign.com. 26 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020.
  21. ↑ van de Vliet, Viveka (8 September 2012). "Logo R.I.P." Items Magazine (NL).
  22. ↑ "Ode to the Logo: Rest in Peace to the Logos of Yesteryear". Design Indaba. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013.
  23. ↑ Farrelly, Liz (26 September 2012). "Shake hands with the devil". Eye Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Presentatie 'Logo R.I.P.' van The Stone Twins - Bijzondere Collecties". Bijzonderecollecties.uva.nl (in Dutch). Universiteit van Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  25. ↑ Kennedy, Gabrielle (27 June 2013). "The Stone Twins to Leave Design Academy Eindhoven". design.nl (Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam). Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.
  26. ↑ van Rixtel, Robert (23 April 2024). "Est. (Established Sparkling Tea) by The Stone Twins". Dutch Design Daily.
  27. ↑ Hermans, Iris (26 March 2024). "Muziekmerkenman Hans Brouwer bruist met thee: 'We sturen prins Bernhard paar magnums op!'". Quote.
  28. ↑ "LOGO R.I.P. - A Commemoration of Classic Logos". Logorip.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  29. ↑ "'A Catalogue of Curiosities, Relics, Art & Propaganda' by The Stone Twins (D&AD Awards 2011)". Dandad.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  30. ↑ "Hello I'm A'DAM – the creation of a new Amsterdam icon". Dutch Design Daily, 16-07-2021.
  31. ↑ "Eye Magazine | Feature | Chameleons". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  32. ↑ "Eye Magazine | Review | Logos without words". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  33. ↑ "Can you still make a living in design?". Design Week, August 2015.
  34. ↑ "Something Is Rotten in the State of Design". Open Manifesto #8: Change, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Design & Humour, by Garech Stone". 100 Archive. 8 April 2020.
  36. ↑ "Liminal Exhibition, Irish Design 2015". Curated by Louise Allen, Head of International Programmes, Irish Design 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.
  37. ↑ "Irish design exhibition presents "fusion between old and new"". Dezeen.com. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  38. ↑ "Jaaverslag Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2009" (PDF). Catalogus.boekman.nl. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  39. ↑ "Eye Magazine | Blog | 'Shake hands with the devil'". Eyemagazine.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  40. ↑ "Brand New Worlds: Corporate Makeovers and Dead Logos". Walkerart.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  41. ↑ "Underground". Zeeuwsmuseum.nl. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  42. ↑ "1600 X ZIERIKZEE". Zeeuwsmuseum.nl. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  43. ↑ "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.
  44. ↑ "A project on the fearmongering about COVID-19". Product-fear.com. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  45. ↑ "A Campaign of Fearmongering Propaganda". Garechstone.medium.com. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
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