PM—Hey guys, nice to interview a studio close to home for once. How’s Melbourne? How’s 2023 going? 

BS—Hi Damien! Thanks for having us. We’re pretty good, thanks! It’s been a busy year for us already, but no complaints as we’re working on some interesting projects so far.  

PM—Good to hear. I’ve been a massive fan of your beautiful work for a while now. How did it all begin? 

BS—We met at university, where we worked together on "real world" projects as part of our Honours year. After collaborating on a few projects, we realised we were a good creative match so after graduation we decided to start our own studio; mostly so we could continue to have full control over the projects we took on and really get to know the people we work with. We feel lucky to have found each other; we are different people with different approaches to design, but we complement each other well and seem to bring out the best in each other. It seems creative partnerships like ours are pretty rare and it's something we try not to take for granted.  

PM—It’s only the two of you, right? Who does what to keep the studio running? 

BS—That’s true! People are sometimes surprised to hear that day-to-day the studio is just the two of us. We don’t divide tasks up in a regimented way… we swap around roles depending on the brief or what else we have going on as it keeps things more interesting for us. We should also mention that we are lucky to have established a network of other creatives, copywriters, photographers etc. over the years that we call on to help bring our projects to life. 

PM—What’s the best part of owning your own studio and keeping the size of your studio small?

BS—To us, getting to really know our clients and their businesses is the best part of having an intentionally small studio. It also means we can be totally involved in everything from strategy to the size of the margins on a business card. But, keeping our studio small is at times difficult, as we have to be on top of all of the aspects of running the business, including admin and the project management side of things, and obviously design and everything else in between!

PM—How do you define good studio culture?

BS—We recognise that it’s important to look after ourselves both inside of our business and beyond, and to us this is an important part of studio culture in order to bring energy and enthusiasm to our work. We care so much about the work that we do that it’s hard to switch off, which can be a challenge as we chase the often elusive idea of what balance is. But we’re working on it! The flip side of that is that we enjoy the work and we take a lot of enjoyment from getting to know our clients and being a part of their successes.

PM—Do you have a creative process? 

BS—We have a clear onboarding process, when it comes to getting to know new clients and establishing a brief… but we try to be a little more fluid when it comes to the creative process itself. It can be hard to turn creativity on and off as needed, so we remain flexible in the early stages of conceptual development to allow for the process to unfold.  

PM—If you had only to do one for the rest of your life, which would you do: Print or Digital?

BS—Depends on the day! We’d probably choose print as we do love the tactility of the medium; but for us the interplay between print and digital within a project is something we are really interested in. 

PM—I drool every time I look at your stunning identities on your site. In particular, the Pop Plant identity. How did this project come about? Love that tote. 😍 

BS—Thanks! Even though it’s a few years old now we also have a soft spot for that project, and still consider it a favourite. Early in the brand positioning phase of our work with Pop Plant, we identified a unique balance in the approach the Pop Plant team take to their work; an approach in which aesthetics and scientific knowledge are equally considered. This ended up leading to the decision to utilise two harmonious but contrasting typefaces across the visual identity, to represent the two sides of the Pop Plant ethos. 

PM—Do you work on the same projects together?

BS—Always.

PM—Where do you go for inspiration? 

BS—Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to spend as much time seeking inspiration as we would like, as the reality of running a small studio keeps us on our toes! Instead of trying to seek inspiration for specific projects or briefs we like to think creatively as much as we can throughout the day. We also try to regularly get off the computer and experience things in the real world; staying curious and interested in our surroundings and other interactions.  

PM—Biggest design f**k up to date? Don’t be shy.

BS—We are typically pretty meticulous and generally both check everything over a few times; but there was one occasion a few years back where we had one number wrong in a Pantone code within a printing file. As you know, one number can make a huge difference and obviously the job had to be reprinted! 

PM—What are some lessons you’ve learnt over the years running the studio?

BS—We are much more selective about the projects we take on now than we were in the early days. We can’t understate how much being more careful about the work we take on—screening potential clients to ensure they are a good match for the way we work and the kind of work we want to do—has changed the way in which we relate to our work.  

PM—Apple or Samsung? 

BS—Apple. 

PM—There is a lot of talk on ChatGPT and Open AI. Do you think bots will ever steal our job as designers?

BS—Honestly, no. Clearly these new technologies will have a huge impact on our industry, probably in ways we can't even imagine yet, but a big part of the way we work involves really getting to know our clients and their businesses and connecting on a human level. We are sure there will always be people who seek out meaningful design by people they can get to know and trust. 

PM—What’s the best advice you’ve ever received in the industry?

BS—Something along the lines of: make the most of every situation, respect your clients and stay grateful.

PM—Where do you see the visual communication world heading in 5 years? 

BS—We hope there will be renewed interest in more meaningful and long term communication strategies; it seems as if the “churn and burn” approach to design—and content more broadly—brought about by social media can’t be sustainable, and we welcome a return to a more thoughtful design approach across the industry. We’ve also seen a recent swing back towards a desire for carefully crafted quality print outcomes, which we hope leads to more investment in considered and lasting print collateral. 

PM—It’s been awesome catching up. Any new projects or collaborations coming up? 

BS—We have a nice mix of projects on the go at the moment; it’s probably the most projects we’ve ever taken on at one time, but it’s an interesting balance of different scopes within a range of industries... and importantly, it’s a great bunch of clients that we really like. We also have a lot of work from last year we haven't gotten around to documenting yet, so we'll hopefully make the time to update our own website in the near future!