Case Studies. A closer look at the projects, ideas and experiences that have shaped how I work.

At Selvedge, I was surrounded by people who were incredibly knowledgeable about textiles and craft. What interested me most was getting beyond the finished object and understanding the person, process and story behind it.

My approach

When interviewing makers, I tried not to approach conversations as a list of questions I needed answered. I researched their work beforehand, but left room for conversations to go somewhere unexpected. Often, the most interesting detail wasn’t necessarily the obvious one.

From there, my challenge was deciding what to keep. I learnt to pull out the details that gave someone personality and context, rather than trying to include everything I’d discovered.

That same approach carried into events. Whether I was helping with a workshop or talk, I found I enjoyed being the person connecting all the different parts — the maker, the audience and everything happening behind the scenes.

My outcome

Selvedge made me realise how much I enjoy working with people to uncover and communicate their stories. It also showed me that the creative and organisational sides of a project aren’t really separate — good ideas still need someone to make them happen.

When I began working with Jonathan Reynolds, the business was starting from a completely blank canvas. There was great design work and a clear sense of who the business wanted to work with, but no real brand or online presence to communicate it.

My approach

I started by thinking about how the business should feel before thinking about individual pieces of content. The interiors are considered, personal and quietly confident, so I wanted the brand to reflect that rather than feel overly polished or corporate.

I developed a visual direction and then carried it across the website and social media, thinking carefully about imagery, typography, colour and tone of voice. Building the website gave me the opportunity to think about the whole customer journey too — what someone needs to see first, how projects should be presented and how to make it easy to understand the person and process behind the business.

Because I was working independently, there was a lot of experimenting, refining and problem-solving along the way.

The outcome

The result is a brand that feels much more representative of the work itself, with a consistent identity across its website, social media and communications. It’s also something I’ve been able to keep developing rather than treating the launch as the finished product.

Living and working on a remote wildlife reserve meant plans could change very quickly. Animals moved, vehicles had problems, weather changed and a schedule that made perfect sense in the morning might look completely different a few hours later.

My approach

I quickly learnt that being organised wasn’t about creating the perfect schedule — it was about being able to change it without everything else falling apart.

When something changed, I had to work out what it affected, reorganise people and activities and make sure everyone understood the new plan. At the same time, I wanted volunteers to feel looked after and excited about being there rather than aware of all the logistics happening behind the scenes.

I think that balance between organisation and people was what I enjoyed most about the role.

The outcome

Being promoted from volunteer to Camp Coordinator gave me a huge amount of confidence. It taught me to make decisions, communicate clearly and stay calm when circumstances changed — skills I’ve carried into every role since.

For my university project, I wanted to create something that brought together a lot of the subjects I was naturally drawn to — independent publishing, conscious fashion, craft, travel and storytelling.

I used The Lissome as a starting point for exploring what a slower, more considered lifestyle publication could look and feel like, while developing my own editorial direction for the project.

My approach

I started by looking at the magazines I was personally drawn to and asking why I wanted to keep reading them. I became interested in the relationship between words and images, the pace created by different layouts and how a publication can have a strong identity without every page looking the same.

Rather than designing individual spreads in isolation, I tried to think like an editor. What belonged in the magazine? In what order? Where did it need breathing space? When should imagery do most of the talking?

I researched and developed the stories before bringing everything together through editing, typography, imagery and layout. There was a lot of trial and error — moving things around, taking things away and learning when a page needed less rather than more.

The outcome

The finished magazine became much more than a university design project for me. It was an opportunity to combine writing, research, editing and visual storytelling into one piece of work.

It also confirmed that I’m happiest when I’m able to move between the creative idea and the practical work of actually making it happen.