The Journal: A Space for Work Beyond the Brief
For years, my professional identity has been clear: I’m a designer who delivers crafted, strategic brand work. But behind the scenes, my personal art, drawing, painting and photography have always been the quiet counterpart to that practice.
Lately, it’s become impossible to ignore how much these worlds feed each other. I’ve reached a point where I want to honour that connection, not as a side project, but as part of a cohesive creative life. Enter the hybrid studio.
The Journal is a behind the scenes window into my hybrid studio. The hybrid studio is not a particularly new or novel idea. Many creatives experience the same tension I’m describing here. We are often multi-skilled, multi-passionate people who feel compelled to fit into the rigid structures of careers and survival, even when those structures don’t align with how we naturally create.
A great modern example is A Practice for Everyday Life (APEL), a London-based studio that blends graphic design, art direction and cultural projects. They don’t separate their commercial work (like designing for Tate or the V&A) from their self-initiated projects, exhibitions or publishing. Everything coexists as part of a single creative practice. Their work isn’t divided into "art" or "design": it’s all just part of what they do.
This is what a hybrid studio looks like in action: a space where different forms of creativity, design, art, products and writing don’t just coexist but actively inform each other. It’s not about juggling separate careers; it’s about building a practice where everything is connected.
“Design is as much about unlearning as learning.” Neville Brody
That’s what this space is for: the unlearning, the experiments and the work that doesn’t fit into client deliverables but shapes how I approach everything else.
As I navigate my new role as a hybrid creative, I’m embarking on a life where my thoughts, stories and observations coexist with drawings, photographs, paintings, making and designing. In this journal, I’ll reveal what I’m up to and thinking about, covering the different media I engage with, whether it’s a sketch, photographic essay, a perspective on design, a half-finished project or just something that catches my eye.
You’ve been part of this journey, even if you didn’t realise it. Every brand project and every deadline met has funded the time and headspace to explore these other facets. Nothing changes in how we work together. If anything, you now get a clearer picture of where my ideas come from. The Journal is your backstage pass: the sketches, the false starts and the obsessions that inform the work you already trust.
I’m not asking you to follow me into the unknown. I’m inviting you to see what’s always been there, just out of frame.
I’ll be sharing the process: the victories, the dead ends and the behind the scenes of building a practice that reflects the full scope of how I create. The first issue, Shunting Yard, arrives next week.
Thank you for being here.
Michael
