MKR/ST is an Australian, design-led visual and verbal branding studio.
The studio partners with local and global rule breakers to launch new brands and revitalise existing ones. We help brands (big and little) distil their unique difference and communicate with more clarity. To bring purpose and meaning to the conversation.
We design meaningful brand identities, digital products, campaigns, and websites for real good people.
To engage the studio or learn more about our work, send an email.
studio@mkrst.co
Brands are flatter. Businesses are hurting.
People are making decisions slower than ever and it's taking it's toll on so many great businesses across Australia. Our clients included.
The days of 6 figure campaigns (on our books at least) are few and far between! Budgets are still out there, but now we can do so much more with less.
That doesn't necessarily mean we should.
The playing field in outputs has never been as level as it is right now. We all have access to the same crazy tools and we're figuring it out alongside you.
But just because I can get my hands on every tool I need to build a house, doesn't mean I should. Buying the tool, and having the skill are two very different things.
The fragility of a brand in market, is absolutely no different.
One or two bad moves and influence can crumble in minutes.
Trust can erode faster than a gold ring in a glass of coke.
Brand's are complex, fickle things.
Protect them.
I am a big believer in investing early in the brand, to get the questions answered early in the piece, so you have everything you need to prompt and get better results from these ever evolving tools.
DM me if you want to chat about stronger brand foundations, for better AI results!
#branding#ai
IKEA has spent decades building a brand grounded in warmth, humour and humanity, with systems and confidence that allow it to react in real time. Had the marketing team sat on their hands and waited for the sign-off, they could have missed a once in a lifetime moment….
Like when a monkey becomes best friends with one of your soft toys!?
Thank you Mediaweek Australia for including some of my ramblings in this piece! 👏
A baby monkey hugs a plush toy. The internet melts. IKEA moves fast but lightly.
There’s a masterclass here in speed, restraint and knowing when not to turn a moment into a megaphone.
Featuring insights from Vinne S. and Casey Midgley.
Link in comments 👇
We're going to try and get a little more consistent over here.
Why not kick things off with an update on how manic the last 6 weeks have been at the studio.
Since we came back we've:
1. Been knee deep in a new tech startup running rings around competitors. Speed (as always) the priority.
2. Put brand comms systems in place for a trades service business who's repositioned themselves into a completely new arena.
3. Built out a whole new suite of brand kits for a brand we worked on about 4 years ago going through a significant growth phase.
4. We're launching 2 new client websites in February.
5. One in March.
5. We pushed a clients custom online course portal live we've been working on for around 12 months.
6. All the random little things from business cards, to cap decks, to signage, to brochures. We've had our fair share of random adhoc jobs too.
It's been. A lot. 😮💨
And on the business front...
1. We've sent 4 proposals 💪
2. We're about 60% through a new website for the studio that actually talks about what we actually do as a brand studio (yes, including the AI bits).
3. We've put a fresh process doc together outlining how our model works, including pricing!
Want the process doc? it's yours.
Email the studio.
Aussie's still love Aussie things.
Things made properly, by real people, not too far from home.
When we need a cooler box, we reach for an Esky.
When we need a tissue, it's a Kleenex.
A band-aid, when we hurt ourselves.
Glad Wrap, for the leftovers.
Great Aussie brands become a trusted synonym for the product they are.
This is how great, local, brands are built and it shows the pride we have in our own, home-grown Aussie brands.
The governments $20M flex with its new "Made Right Here" campaign leans on a single emotional lever: Pride.
It reframes “Made in Australia” from a compliance stamp into a complete value system. Where cultural relevance meets economic contribution. It's everything Australia needs right now - the head and the heart. It's a solid play.
The hero execution brings the infamous kangaroo logo to life through maker stories and it's where it works best. It's grounded and human. Almost modest. It puts faces, hands and process back behind a symbol most of us stopped noticing years ago.
But let’s be honest about what’s really happening here.
This campaign is doing some heavy lifting for thousands of SMEs who don’t have the budget to explain why they cost more. It's giving us something to lean on as the economic pressures rise. Something to differentiate ourselves pushing us away from the corporates and the holding companies calling the shots from overseas at half the price.
Where it could push harder is in the proof. More urgency and conviction would be great. More of “why this matters now” in a cost-of-living squeeze because Great Australian Pride alone won’t keep wallets open forever.
Tactics from this one worth stealing:
- Tell one real story properly and with heart instead of ten average ones.
- Show the making, not just the maker. Connection matters more than ever.
- Anchor your premium in values customers can actually repeat to someone else.
If you want people to pay more, give them something bigger to believe in.
2016 eh!? Earlier this week I looked at this trend from an advertising POV for Mediaweek Australia.
In the article I touch on COVID, and how it shut down the economy forcing adland to work in new and interesting ways. And how instinct and taste in advertising was still very prevalent and noticeable unlike the majority of work today where the creative is not measured with emotion and impact, but clicks and impressions.
It’s a nostalgic nod to a less complicated time, where better, riskier work had the chance to get made. And do its job.
But why the take?
Well, the world was a simpler place 10 years ago. And there has been SO much change in the advertising industry.. but the most profound change (IMO) hasn’t been the tools made available to us, but the loss of the argument.
We have spent a decade obsessed with removing friction from the brand experience. We wanted every click to be invisible and every purchase to be effortless. But in our rush to make the output feel seamless, we accidentally removed the creative conflict from the input. We’ve optimised the "fight" out of the work.
The very thing that makes it impactful.
A trip down 2016 adland
With the #2016 revival taking over TikTok and Instagram, Mediaweek asked a simple question: do ads from that era still hold up?
Sophie Coghill (WHO/Are Media): “Social was simpler, ads were polished, and authenticity meant something different.”
Lucy Ronald (Fabulate): “Influencer marketing was the Wild West — brands bought proximity, not polish.”
Casey Midgley (Maker Street Studios): “2016 was the last time advertising still resembled real life.”
Ben Walker (Those That Do): “Experiential has moved from presence to participation.”
Giles Watson (Clemenger BBDO): “The downside is when efficiency becomes the idea.”
Kate Enright (Think HQ): “There were ads to set your imagination on fire.”
Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gYkv7cdD
Comment down your 2016 fav ad?
There's something about the Value of Design..
That I've struggled with my entire career..
On one side of the table I've had many conversations with hot-shot execs at very wealthy companies who struggle to stack fiscal value next to the output of Design, yet dropped millions on stupid sales tactics that drove pennies on the dollar.
In those conversations I weirdly found myself pushing back on the chair, ready for a fight, defending the value of critical thinking and the continually researched impact that smart, commercial design decisions have on the balance sheet.
On the other side, I've had conversations with clients who have opened up their business and given me an insight under the hood of the true commercial value our work at Maker Street Studios has had on their business.
...real tangible value its brought through the door (aka money!)
...WAY better employee engagement which led to more deals closed.
...a more cohesive understanding of the company, which led to more aligned, more qualified business interactions.
One of our clients earlier this week shared lots on the impact we've had on their business... but one small job stood out.
We worked on a branded internal culture piece about 3 or 4 years ago for them and it completely shifted how they onboarded new employees. That little project which we worked on for all of about a week (if that) gave new hires a clear understanding of what they were there to achieve together, a very clear objective, and a collective vision to buy into. Over a few short years they scaled to around 50 on-site staff with a dedicated team working toward a single goal.
I don't think I need to mention how critical aligned team members are in any business, no matter the size.
But the truth is... we rarely get to see behind the curtain.
Branding is such a big component of business. The way communication, strategy, creative, design all interconnects with each other to streamline ops, align team members, and provide a platform for clarity is absolutely critical. Especially for businesses in any sort of growth phase.
It's always been way more about heart and soul, than art and copy.
And, as a designer, when you're pushed down and told things like "Can we see it in a few more fonts" or "Did this really take you all week?" it can push you into the fight or flight mode faster than a lightning bolt.
Well, I'm here to tell you it's okay for your blood to boil a little.
That's the passion.
That's the understanding you have of the real commercial value real design brings to the table. The kind you can't get from AI, Templates, and Slap happy bullshit projects. The kind of value that creates distinction, pushes business forward, and creates space for clear conversations to happen amongst the noise of modern technology.
Yes, we're all powered by technology.
Lets not forget that we were human first.
Good design can be a game changer for your business.
If you let it.
“Clone me you bastards”
Mediaweek Australia posted a tidy little article yesterday on the best Celebrity Backed Campaigns of 2025.
I could not go past sharing my throughts on Liquid Death’s final collab with Ozzy Osbourne that launched literally weeks before the hero passed.
Article link in the comments ⬇️
#liquiddeath#ozzy#ozzyosbourne#mediaweek
Simplicity used to lead the conversation in the Branding world.
Close the playbook. It's Over. Done. Dead.
Now, the brands cutting through aren’t the loudest. They’re the ones confident enough to pause. Unapologetic. Precise. They know exactly when to hold back.
That’s restraint... and it’s fast becoming the sharpest tool in modern branding.
#branding#brandidentity#brandstrategy#brandtool
Love AI? Check out Anthropic’s latest “Keep Thinking” campaign.
It’s their big swing at “safe AI.” It's Thoughtful and measured. Positioning themselves as the model that takes a breath. In a world full of chatbots yelling over each other, Anthropic has taken a stance in keeping its voice down. A smart play in a landscape full of compounding, superficial, crap.
But let’s not kid ourselves.. This isn’t a moral crusade. It’s branding.
“Safety” is the new status symbol. Every tech giant wants to be the trustworthy one.
Anthropic just put the vibe in a tidy campaign and hit publish.
Those who remember (I don't - I've only read about it, I'm nowhere near that old!) could liken the current state of affairs to when Volvo Group strategically positioned their whole company around "Safety" and won the conversation.
This is Claude's attempt at doing it too.
It works, though. The tone, the visuals, the pace.. all calm, steady, and quietly confident. You can feel the intention. Emotional design doing its job.
What I love? The Creative! The tune, the narrative, the production level. All make me kind of agree on some level with everything it is there saying.
It's a good ad.
Still, it’s a bit of theatre.
Because nothing says safety like a billion-dollar algorithm in a trench coat. 👻
For small brands, there’s a takeaway here. When everyone’s making noise, drop the volume a little. Let calm be your edge. Build on the proof you bring to the table, not the polish.
Playbook tactics:
• Use tone and pace to show confidence
• Make reliability visible in small, human ways
• Don’t sell trust... behave like you’ve already earned it
The takeaway?
Calm in the noise, is the ultimate power move for brands.
What are your thoughts on brand alignment workshops to realign stakeholders on where your company’s headed?
Our brand alignment workshops are non-negotiable for every new brand project that lands on the desk. They ensure we have a clear picture of what we’re building and that everyone in the room is on the same page.
They’re fairly in-depth half-day sessions, run online in Figma or in person with butcher’s paper, a bunch of exercises, and plenty of sticky notes. Each workshop is structured in three parts:
Part 1: Understanding business objectives.
Part 2: Understanding who we’re building for.
Part 3: Developing the strategic brand assets that align with those objectives.
The workshops can be intense but the outcome is a far clearer picture of what you’re working towards. It’s always entertaining when you start to realise that no one in the room is actually aligned on what they’re doing. That’s the good stuff... the stuff we can work with.
Over the last few months, we’ve been running a fast-track two-hour version at half the rate 🤑 If you're a little unclear on what you've been building for lately and you're interested in booking a workshop with us - give me a shout at studio@mkrst.co
If you’d rather have a go yourself, comment “Alignment”
And I’ll send you a copy of our Workshop Template in Figma.
