Bringing Brands to Life

What first pulled you into brand and design - was there a moment you knew this was your path?

There wasn’t a single defining moment that pulled me into brand and design; it was more a chain of events.

I was very much the 'I don’t know what I want to do with my life’ kind of kid. I remember arguing with my careers advisor about taking a year out instead of going straight to university. In the end, I was encouraged to apply anyway, just in case I changed my mind, but I had no intention of going. I didn’t want to commit to a course, and the debt that comes with it, without being sure I’d actually enjoy it, so I gave myself a year to figure things out.

During that year, I worked at my church as a youth worker. I’d always had a heart for working with young people and, at the time, I thought that might be where my future was heading. But because I was the 'computer-savvy’ one on the team, I naturally ended up creating a lot of the visuals, including leaflets, screen graphics and social media content for the youth department. It was something I fell into, but quickly realised I really enjoyed.

At school, I’d never considered myself creative in the traditional sense. I wasn’t particularly good at drawing; in fact, my art teacher advised me not to take it for GCSE. Pen and paper just weren’t my thing. But during that year out, I discovered that creativity didn’t have to look like that. I could be creative with a mouse and keyboard instead.

The church also had a large volunteer media team, including a few professional graphic designers, and they were incredibly generous in encouraging and mentoring me in those early stages. That support made a big difference.

From there, I applied to study graphic design at university, and the rest is history.

Looking back, what really drew me into design was the ability to communicate, sometimes something obvious and sometimes something subtle, through visuals. I loved thinking about the audience and how to tailor a message specifically for them through design. Even now, seeing something I’ve created out in the world still feels a bit surreal. There’s something really rewarding about watching clients and their customers interact with work that started as just an idea on a screen.

What does your creative process typically look like from brief to final delivery?

My creative process usually starts with fully understanding the brief.

I’ll read it through a few times, highlighting and underlining key points to make sure nothing is missed. From there, I often rewrite the brief in my own words. It’s a simple step, but it helps clarify the objectives and ensures I’ve interpreted everything correctly. In some cases, we’ll even share that back with the client to make sure we’re aligned before any design work begins.

Once the brief is signed off, I move into research. Depending on the project, that might involve looking at competitors or exploring adjacent industries to get a sense of what’s out there. It’s important to understand the landscape and identify opportunities to do something different or more effective.

After that, I’ll start capturing initial ideas. Nothing too polished at this stage, just getting thoughts down and exploring different directions before bringing them to the team.

Collaboration is a huge part of our process and it’s probably my favourite stage. We’ll come together to share ideas, challenge each other and build on what’s there. Where some studios might take a more individual approach, we really value working together and bouncing ideas around, as it almost always leads to stronger outcomes.

Once we’ve developed one or more solid concepts, we’ll refine them and build a presentation to walk the client through our thinking and rationale.

From there, it’s about responding to feedback, making any necessary refinements and working towards final sign-off. Once everything is approved, we deliver the agreed assets in line with the original scope.

It’s a process that balances structure with flexibility. Ultimately, it’s all about collaboration, clarity and creating something that works.