Words x Design: The Artist in Residence Series
A Q&A with Amy from Studio Slatem
“There’s just so much sameness out there, that having a brand represent your business that is a little fun, a little quirky, and a tad unexpected – that’s what makes it more memorable for people.”
Amy – Illustrator, Designer, Founder at Studio Slatem
When your messaging and your branding work together, heart-moving stuff happens.
That’s why I’ve created this Artist in Residence series – to spotlight the unqiue expertise and genius of my favourite designers.
I want you to know just how much good design can amplify your story and supercharge your words – in a way that only a human designer who celebrates your natural differences (just like a human copywriter) can.
At the end of the day, we want you to have a soulful brand ecosystem.
One that’s not only beautiful, but deeply human and unforgettable.
One that’s future-proofed against the bot-slop.
One that’s rooted in your unique quirks and personality (aka your competitive advantage) and makes your audience sit up and take notice.
This month’s Artist in Residence is Amy from Studio Slatem - a Sydney-based illustrator and designer who is all about playful, humour-filled, quirks-first branding.
Amy and I instantly connected over our love of (talking about and advocating for) quirks about a year ago now.
When I found out her amazing hand-drawn illustrations are a mainstay of the legendary, kindness-spruiking social media agency The Digital Picnic, I only fell further in love with her.
Read on for her take on heart-moving design.
What first drew you to illustration and how do think this skill benefits your clients' brands?
I studied fine art in university where there was more of a focus on realism, or at least not anything ‘cutesy’.
So, since graduating, finding a style that felt right and authentic to me, and is easy to reproduce consistently has been an ongoing journey for the past decade.
The funny thing is, I’ve always loved drawing cartoons and expressive characters but always thought that that’s not what would make money or appear ‘professional’.
But after following so many professional illustrators online doing what I wanted to do, it’s been a progression of confidently leaning more into a stylised character approach and finding that it was actually working. Not just for me, but for clients in a variety of industries too.
I recently finished up an extensive suite of expressive (and even humorous at times) illustrations for a medical clinic in New Zealand which really feels like a shake up – because they’re so much more engaging than generic stock photos of people seeing a doctor!
There’s just so much sameness out there, that having a brand represent your business that is a little fun, a little quirky, and a tad unexpected – that’s what makes it more memorable for people.
Just think of Red Bull as a classic example, or Headspace with their simple, joyful characters throughout their app and branding. Strong, memorable and fun to look at.
What was the process like leaning into your own quirks to develop your own branding for Studio Slatem?
Oh gosh. Ask any designer and they’ll tell you how hard it is to brand yourself!
No jokes, it’s been a process! A good few years of constant tweaking to say the least.
I’ve had a number of iterations over the years (I first started freelancing back in 2014 outside of work hours and needed a logo back then already), but my last major rebrand was in 2022 when I traded in “Amy Slatem Illustration (and Design?? – so long!)” for just “Studio Slatem” – something more concise and slightly distanced from myself that I could build on that wasn’t just my name, but also obviously mine.
It's definitely been a process of getting bad attempts out of the way along the way, including using heavily-done catch phrases like “I help your brand stand out”; or “I create bold brands” – deathly generic, and very little value-add. Then slowly refining it to be something that’s more me, and less everyone else.
Also as my skills improved, I’d redraw and redo elements within my branding to stay in line with my current offerings.
What advice would you give to brands who are looking to define their own quirks?
Some advice (besides accepting that it’s a continuous development), is to do a lot of thinking and reflection on what everyone else is doing, and how you do things differently to them.
What are some interesting things about you, your likes, and dislikes. And start carving out your unique gap in the market.
One of my favourite quotes about this comes from James Victore (designer and experimental artist):
"The things that made you weird as a kid, make you great today."
Don’t be afraid to have fun.
How do you translate a client's quirks and story into visual elements?
Branding always starts with getting to know the human/s behind the business, so we kick off with a detailed questionnaire and 1:1 strategy session to uncover the story, goals and personality behind the business.
This phase also includes the task of gathering a mood board, not just with branding references, but with anything that sparks joy or feels personally meaningful to the client. Movie posters, album covers, that one weird photo of a quirky couch in the perfect shade of teal? Chuck it in.
We want to discover what truly lights them up so I we can distil that into a brand identity that feels like them, while still aligning with their business goals and clicking with their ideal audience.
It’s all about striking the right balance between personal expression and thoughtful design and illustration.
How much easier or more effective is your design work when a client’s values, vision, and messaging is clear?
It’s really helpful! Half of the homework is already done because we’ve got a solid framework to build from, and we can get stuck into the good stuff [the visuals] so much faster.
It also means the client has most likely done a lot of ‘deep thinking’ already and comes with their own clarity and ideas about the bigger picture.
What kind of visual elements do you think are most underrated in branding?
Not to be biased here… but illustration.
Brands that use their own illustration style or unique characters leave a stronger, lasting impression. What you’re aiming for with your brand is to have distinct, memorable touchpoints — so even if someone forgets your name, they still remember you.
Let’s say you’re a yoghurt brand with mascot of a purple cow in a space suit. Someone might not recall your brand’s name, but they’ll ask for “the one with the purple space cows” — and boom, they’ve just identified you by vibe/visuals alone.
Some of my favourite examples of local illustration-enhanced brands include Botanika Blends’ wonderful wizard mascot, men’s health platform Mosh and Scratch dog food’s lovable hand-drawn dogs and icons.
Internationally, Notion uses those delightful black and white simple characters throughout, Mailchimp bring the quirky goods too and obviously Red Bull for its style of sketchy, wonderfully classic illustrations.
What would you say to a business owner who doesn’t feel ready for design yet?
Design can sometimes feel like just the cherry on top, something you do once everything else is sorted. But really, working with a designer can actually help you sort things out.
If you're still figuring out what your business is all about and “who” you are, a good design process (uhm, hi!) can bring so much clarity. You don’t need to have all the answers before you start, you just need to be open to discovering them along the way.
And yes, investing in design early on can feel daunting. There are plenty of ways to start small, like DIY, Canva templates, even a bit of AI.
But if you later need to redo everything (think packaging, signage, website, uniforms, applying for trademarks) because your brand isn’t unique or legally protectable, it can end up costing way more.
Sometimes, doing it right from the start is actually the simpler, smarter move.
Can you walk us through one of your favourite brand design projects?
One of my favourite recent projects was working with Katie from Aether Digital on the rebrand of her digital design studio, formerly known as Moolah Digital.
What made it special was how much personality and fun we packed into every part of the brand. Katie had just taken over as director and wanted a brand that felt truly hers, something she could confidently share and grow alongside.
We brought in her love of Star Wars, fascination with sharks, and her beloved husky Obi, creating a galactic-inspired, retro-styled identity that’s both bold and approachable.
It didn’t just feel like a rebrand, but a fresh, personal space for Katie as a business owner and director that feels like hers and attracts the right like-minded people.
What inspires your work outside of client projects?
I love to draw (even though I don’t feel like I do it “for fun” often enough), so working on personal projects and artworks always stokes the creative fire and strengthens the working muscles without the expectations of hitting briefs or pleasing clients.
I also really enjoy working on my own brand, so anything from doing my social media posts to updating my website portfolio and creating my monthly newsletters makes me forget about time, all while doing my marketing and invariably working on my design skills.
With the rise of AI-generated designs, how do you see the branding world evolving?
I feel like human-crafted creative work is going to attract a premium. Brands who want to be the best will be more likely to seek out creative work that shows that it was tailor made for them. And that can be consistent and ownable for them.
As indie game maker, Neal Agarwal said,
"In a world of Al slop, something hand-crafted and made with care stands out like a sore thumb. It's like seeing a home-cooked meal on the McDonald's menu. It might actually be easier to stand out in that world.”
~
Thanks Amy!
I hope this inspired you to think differently about creating unique branding that helps your message land in your own business.
Reach out to us if you’d like to know more!
Book a free, no-strings chat with Amy for illustration and branding, or if you need fresh brand storytelling, strategy, or copy, you can write to me over here.
In the meantime, thanks so much to Amy for sharing her wisdoms and to you for being here (and for being you),
Adele
PS - The best part about our quirks? When we embrace them, we not only align our own hearts with our work, we also make our community a better, more colourful, and interesting place to be. Ooh yeah ❤️
