The archive · Design & Visual · Product decision · 2022
Fortnum & Mason packs its Platinum Jubilee tribute with the Queen's little-known story
For the Queen's first Platinum Jubilee, Fortnum & Mason designed its celebratory range around the woman behind the crown.
Fortnum & Mason
What it had to solve
In June 2022 the Queen was set to become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, a once-in-a-lifetime national moment. London department store Fortnum & Mason joined an alliance of 16 British brands launching a celebratory product range, and needed a tribute that felt distinct.
How it works
In June 2022 the Queen was about to become the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the country. London department store Fortnum & Mason was one of 16 British brands that came together in an alliance to mark the occasion with a celebratory product range.
The creative answer was to design for the woman behind the crown. A set of intricate, personal designs was created for the range, bringing little-known facts and points of intrigue about the Queen to the products and creating opportunities for storytelling.
Instead of one more generic royal tribute, Fortnum & Mason got a range whose details gave people reasons to look closely and talk. The work is filed in the D&AD awards archive under Packaging Design.
Why it lands
- The woman-behind-the-crown angle separates the range from the flags and formal emblems every Jubilee brand reached for.
- Little-known facts give each product a detail worth discovering, turning packaging into a conversation starter.
- Designing around a person rather than an institution makes the tribute feel intimate instead of ceremonial.
What it did
The result was a tribute built on intimacy rather than spectacle: a royal range whose products could be talked about for the facts they revealed, giving Fortnum & Mason a unique voice in a national celebration shared by 16 brands. The work is filed in the D&AD awards archive under Packaging Design.
What you can take
When a milestone makes every brand reach for the same symbols, go narrower: the personal, little-known details of the subject give packaging a story that flags and crowns cannot copy.
Since then
The celebratory range was created for the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022 and Fortnum & Mason's packaging sits in the D&AD awards archive under Packaging Design. The archive records no sales figures, so the case stands on the design decision: give a once-in-a-lifetime royal milestone a tribute that reveals the woman behind the crown.
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