The story of M&S began in 1884 with a market stall in Leeds, since then this world-famous brand has evolved to meet the needs of customers for over 140 years. The M&S Archive collection is a rich resource for designers, including the M&S Design teams that create clothing, food and homeware packaging for new products.  

Biscuit tins are a popular product with customers. Here are two examples, along with the images that inspired their design. 

M&S Archive-inspired Christmas Biscuit Tin

Marks and Spencer Branding c.1900

M&S Penny Bazaar Shortbread Biscuit Tin

M&S Penny Bazaar, Kilburn, London, 1910s

For the Christmas 2022 food gift range M&S packaging designers looked to the Archive’s collection of store photographs for inspiration. 

Leeds Cross Arcade 1909

M&S Penny Bazaar, Hackney, 1930

M&S Archive-inspired chocolate box design, 2022

M&S Archive-inspired gift bag design, 2022

M&S Archive-inspired advent calendar, 2022

Explore the discussion and activity ideas to discover more about the process of creating a new design inspired by the archive.