Insights

The Journal

Thoughts on design, technology, and studio life.

The Future of Creative Technology
May 3, 2024

The Future of Creative Technology

Exploring how the boundaries between design and engineering are blurring in the age of AI.

Design Systems at Scale: What Nobody Tells You
April 20, 2024

Design Systems at Scale: What Nobody Tells You

After building component libraries for startups and enterprises alike, here is what we've learned about what actually breaks — and how to prevent it.

What Separates a Good Event Film from a Forgettable One
April 8, 2024

What Separates a Good Event Film from a Forgettable One

The event is the raw material. What you do with it in the edit is the work.

Motion as a Design Material
March 28, 2024

Motion as a Design Material

How we think about animation not as polish but as a core functional layer of every digital experience we build.

Why Most Independent Businesses Waste Their Digital Presence
March 15, 2024

Why Most Independent Businesses Waste Their Digital Presence

A website, a social media account, and a Google listing are not a digital strategy. Here is what actually moves the needle for small businesses.

What Town Centres Need From Digital — And What They Keep Getting Instead
March 1, 2024

What Town Centres Need From Digital — And What They Keep Getting Instead

Business Improvement Districts and town centre organisations invest in digital projects that don't work. Here is why, and what changes the outcome.

Scotland's Creative Industry Has a Visibility Problem
February 28, 2024

Scotland's Creative Industry Has a Visibility Problem

The work being made here is world-class. The world doesn't know about it. That's a solvable problem.

On Pricing Creative Work Properly
February 20, 2024

On Pricing Creative Work Properly

Underpricing is not humility. It is a business model that produces bad work, burned-out practitioners, and clients who don't value what they're receiving.

Building Dark UI That Actually Works
February 14, 2024

Building Dark UI That Actually Works

Dark mode is not an inversion filter. Here is how we approach dark-first design for premium digital products.

Food Photography That Doesn't Lie
February 5, 2024

Food Photography That Doesn't Lie

The over-edited food photograph has become its own genre of deception. Here is why restraint produces better results — and more trust.

Local Music Heritage Is Disappearing — And Nobody Is Filming It
January 22, 2024

Local Music Heritage Is Disappearing — And Nobody Is Filming It

The people who made the scenes that shaped UK music culture are in their sixties and seventies. The venues are gone. The window for capturing this history is closing.

The Client Relationship Is the Work
January 10, 2024

The Client Relationship Is the Work

Technical skill is table stakes. What separates great creative work from good technical execution is the quality of the relationship it comes out of.