12 creative studios to check out in Leeds
Deciding on which part of the industry you’d like to work in is one thing, but knowing where to find relevant and inspiring workplaces is another. And with so many creative companies across the UK, expanding your knowledge of who’s out there can certainly give you a leg up. So every few weeks, we’ll be helping you discover new studios, agencies and more by highlighting a range of them up and down the British isles. This week, we’re heading up north to the capital of Yorkshire, Leeds!
With a strong presence in the media, film and digital industries, the fourth-largest British city is a northern creative powerhouse, accounting for 13 percent of all creative industry roles in the UK. As testament to its meteoric growth, Channel 4 chose the region’s capital as its new national headquarters in 2020.
In fact, over 7000 creative employers in the city employed a whopping 47,000 people in 2021, meaning a role in the industry – or the chance to meet and work with fellow creatives – is never far!
Here, we’re highlighting 12 creative studios you should check out – from design and branding to motion, illustration and strategy. Scroll down to explore them all!
1. StormBrands
Branding for supermarket Morrisons’ Free From range
Branding for the community organisation Black in Business
Branding for drinks company Tropicana+
Branding for technical professional services company GHD
Specialism: Creative Branding
Company Size: 40
With studios in Leeds and London, StormBrands is an independent global brand consultancy with experience across branding, design, strategy and copywriting. Some of the studio’s recent work include branding for Morrisons’ Free From range and tofu brand Tofoo, plus visual identity and packaging for oat brand Quaker Kids.
StormBrands is one of our Company Partners; click here to read more about them
2. Kiss Branding
Rebranding for mac and cheese brand The Mac Factory
Conceptual brand creation
Rebranding for Leeds City Council’s Breeze
Rebranding for mixed-use development Sugar House Island
Specialism: Branding
Company Size: 2-10
Kiss Branding is an independent studio seeking to get its creatives to answer big challenges and transform purposeful brands. The studio’s work include branding for clients such as mixed-use development Sugar House Island and plant-based meal company Gobble Box.
Read more about Kiss Branding here or check out their Instagram
3. Buttercrumble
Packaging design for soap bar brand Beauty Kin
Illustration for children's bookshop The Little Bookshop
Work for business improvement district Stratford Original
Book illustration for baby product brand My 1st Years
Specialism: Graphic Design, Illustration, Branding
Company Size: 3-5
Buttercrumble is a creative studio partnering with community-sensitive and family-focused organisations, specialising in graphic design, illustration and branding. Recent work include illustration and campaign design for pushchair brand Mamas & Papas and rebranding for soap bar makers Beauty Kin.
Read more about Buttercrumble here or check out their Instagram
4. Northern Artillery
Work for skincare brand The Inkey List
Work for home rental brand Casa by Moda
Work for serviced apartments Moda McEwan, Edinburgh
Work for serviced apartments Moda McEwan, Edinburgh
Specialism: Creative Production, CGI, Web, Motion
Company Size: 11-20
Northern Artillery is a creative production studio collaborating with brands to deliver experiences in both physical and digital spaces. Recent work include a website redesign for global skincare brand The Inkey List and branding for real estate developers Casa by Moda.
Read more about Northern Artillery here or check out their Instagram
5. Rabbithole
Work for Leeds International Festival of Ideas
Work for London Film School
Work for music publicity agency Inside Out
Work for performance platform Transform
Specialism: Creative Direction, Brand Identity, Web
Company Size: 3-5
Based in Leeds and Glasgow, Rabbithole is a studio specialising in creative direction, brand identity and website creation for the arts and culture, music, and architecture sectors. Their clients include Coldplay, Hawkins\Brown and the London Film School.
Read more about Rabbithole here or check out their Instagram
6. Studio.Build
Can design for alcohol-free craft brewery Sidebar
Work for Nike
Promotional paper for a solo client
Work for treasure house Harewood House
Specialism: Branding, Design
Company Size: 3-5
Communicating ideas through graphic design, art direction, image making, moving image, typography and writing, creative agency Studio.Build specialises in producing visual communications for forward-thinking clients in design-led sectors. Their clients have included Nike, Design Museum London and Map Project Office.
Read more about Studio.Build here or check out their Instagram
7. Robot Food
Work for iced coffee and tea brand Here&Now
Work for sports and active nutrition brand Bulk
Work for supermarket Co-op’s plant-based range Gro
Work for hemp and CBD wellness brand Healist
Specialism: Strategy, Design
Company Size: 11-20
Working with clients in all shapes and sizes across a variety of sectors who all seek to embrace change, Robot Food is a strategic and creative brand design agency that offers services including design, art direction, brand strategy and production. The agency has worked on brand evolution for Brooklyn Brewery, alongside brand creation and articulation for dairy-free dessert brand Over The Spoon.
Read more about Robot Food here or check out their Instagram
8. Passport
Print design for documentary film festival Open City Documentary Festival 2020
Vinyl artwork for electronic band Octave One
Identity for biennial prize The Hepworth Prize for Sculpture 2018
Work for Leeds-based independent café Stories
Specialism: Branding, Design
Company Size: 2-10
Collaborating with a wide variety of businesses and individuals both locally and internationally, Passport is an independent branding and design studio providing services including branding, creative direction, print design, illustration, packaging, typography and web design. They’ve produced work for the likes of wellness brand Momo, Open City Documentary Film Festival and B|D Landscape Architects.
9. Foundry
Work for music and arts venue York Barbican
Branding for home lifestyle brand Takk
Identity for Leeds Museums and Galleries
Work for community woodlands Humber Forest
Specialism: Design
Company Size: 2-10
Foundry is an independent brand design studio building brands across the hospitality, retail, fashion and beauty, technology, food and drink and public services sectors. Clients include Channel 4, York Barbican and home lifestyle brand Takk.
10. Bark&Bite
Social media multi-purpose films for haircare brand Kevin.Murphy
Valentine’s Day campaign for Swatch
CGI animation for electronic music magazine Resident Advisor
Animated idents for the launch of Cartoon Network’s DC Super Hero Girls
Specialism: Motion Design
Company Size: 6-10
Driven by curiosity and finding new ways to engage audiences from the screen, Bark&Bite is a motion design studio specialising in the creation of moving content for advertising, broadcast, entertainment and social channels – clients include Swatch, Cartoon Network and New Balance.
Read more about Bark&Bite here or check out their Instagram
11. Analogue
Work for Coca-Cola
Work for skincare community Scandal Beauty
Work for Lego
Work for beverage brand &Soda
Specialism: Illustration, Motion
Company Size: 11-50
Expressing themselves through illustration, brand and motion, Analogue is a studio that seeks to deliver diverse experiences to a global client base. They’ve worked with partners including Coca-Cola, Lego and Universal Pictures.
12. Propaganda
Work for women’s health supplement brand Elle Sera
Work for baby gear brand Bababing
Work for company formation service Turner Little
Work for forestry and sawmilling group BSW
Specialism: Brand Strategy
Company Size: 11-50
Working with brands to challenge convention, Propaganda is a strategic and creative brand consultancy that specialises in insight-led brand strategies. Recent work includes marketing for car retailer The Car People and baby gear brand Bababing. The consultancy also launched its own premium colour cosmetics brand, Illamasqua – the first such British range of products.
Read more about Propaganda here or check out their Instagram
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