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Amy Slatem โœฆ Brand illustrator(@studioslatem)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Amy Slatem โœฆ Brand illustrator

@studioslatem

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โœ๏ธ Humanising brands through illustration
Personality-focused branding, illustration + packaging
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ | ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ | worldwide
๐Ÿ‘‡ Pull up a chair, letโ€™s chat!
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If you're new here, or have been around for a bit.... Helllooooo!! It's great to have you here in my corner of the internet. I'm Amy, the pencil-wielder, mouse-clicker and braining-brainer behind Studio Slatem, where I help brands draw stronger connections with their audiences by feeling more human. Here are a few random things you may not know about me: ๐Ÿด I grew up on a farm, was obsessed with horses and to this day still prefer to be barefoot. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŽจ I have a Bachelor of Journalism with a major in Fine Art (painting), but have always loved drawing silly cartoons. ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท I lived in South Korea for a year in my 20s, so Korean cuisine is my fave! Kimchi jiggae is ๐Ÿ”ฅ. ๐Ÿ‰ Watermelon is the best fruit, with grapefruit breathing down its neck in a close second. ๐Ÿฟ Popcorn is a meal, don't @ me. ๐Ÿ–‹๏ธ I LOVE stationery and art supplies. It's definitely a bit of a storage problem... ๐Ÿ“ฆ I recently packed up my life, partner and dog and moved from Sydney across the world back to South Africa after 8 years abroad. 10/10 stressful. Would not recommend. So, that's me in a few factual nutshells. ๐Ÿ‘‰ Did you relate to any? #aboutme #brandillustrations ๐Ÿ“ธ @robyn_oosthuysen taken in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape by @studioslatem
4
3 months ago
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Meet @sarahmarriottcopywriter - the website copywriter for creatives who was feeling held back by her DIY branding and ready to feel more confident with a new take on it that would feel more like her so she could be proud of it for years to come. What we worked on: โœจ The strategy stage to unpack her "who, what and why", her competitors, how to differentiate her and what that could look like. โœจ We updated her logo and built out her colour palette to feel more intentional and striking, while keeping a few similarities for recognition. โœจ We introduced a fun new accent font to bring a more handwritten, approachable appeal to her text. โœจ Created 3 custom, playful and "very-Sarah" illustrations to represent each of her key service offerings (check them out on her new website!). โœจ And... her very first *brand style guide* so she can go back and make sure everything stays on point. ๐Ÿ‘‰ What do you think of Sarah's refresh? #brandrefresh #brandillustration taken in Melbourne, Australia by @studioslatem
10
5 days ago
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I'm baaaack after some lovely time off enjoying sunshine and cocktails, and what better way to break my posting hiatus than with a few things I stand firm behind as a brand illustrator and designer. Are there any that make you say 'heck yeah' to as a fellow business owner? #7hills #brandillustration #brandingadvice taken in South Africa by @studioslatem
2
8 days ago
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๐Ÿ“ฐ Todayโ€™s headline reads: โ€œMy computer and I are taking a break from each otherโ€. Nothing serious. We just need some space. And maybe some cocktails ๐Ÿธ. Buuuutโ€ฆ. Iโ€™ll still be around on emails and socials occasionally, but otherwise Iโ€™ll see you all properly back in studio from Monday 14 September ๐Ÿซถ. ๐Ÿ‘‰ Keen to work together when I get back? Just fill in my website contact form to book in a brainstorm call to get things started! #cya #onleave #ooo #brandillustration by @studioslatem
4
a month ago
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A job ad came across my feed this morning, and of course... it was tell-tale AI-made. It promised all the magical things a golden opportunity would (and in that classic AI bullet-point format), which made it sound even more fishy. ESPECIALLY for a somewhat creative industry gig. Had it been consciously designed and made to feel on brand and aspirational, it wouldn't have felt like a get-rich-quick scheme in which you may lose a kidney in the process. And look, most of you reading this would NEVERRRR... but to those out there who think plugging in some words for a quick design to save time and money will get you there... unfortunately, it has no place in brands planning to build any kind of credibility or to scale. People need to feel like they're talking to a real person before they entrust any large sums of money to your business. If you're planning to buzz around the lowest-price-wins Temu level, then yes go ahead. But uniformity and weird robot art won't land you the shiny pot of business gold that building trust and credibility long-term does. Anyway, rant over. Rather hire a human. taken in Sydney, Australia by @studioslatem
9
2 months ago
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๐Ÿ’๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ Letโ€™s chat brand guidelines and style guidesโ€ฆ So letโ€™s start by unpacking the simplified style guide created for @cravehalmis as part of the For Starters Brand Identity Package as an example. Because this package focuses on the brand foundations only, it doesnโ€™t include broader directions like website styling, photography direction or illustration applications and the likes. But those can always be added later as the brand grows. So what is included in a style guide? โœจ Logo usage: Which logo to use, when and how to use it, and on which backgrounds for best results. ๐ŸŽจ Colour palette: Print and digital colour codes, plus guidance on colour hierarchy and tints for flexibility. ๐Ÿ”ค Typography: Font hierarchy and recommended structure, styling, and links to download or purchase licences. Basically, itโ€™s the go-to instruction manual for all things brand. It keeps everything consistent across packaging, social media, signage, ads and more, so the brand always looks polished, professional and recognisable. While creative interpretation and trying new things within this set of rules is encouraged, getting โ€œtoo creativeโ€ and using new fonts and colours etc just ends in a confusing and messy brand. Which is not what we want. Consistency builds trust. And trust builds loyalty. ๐Ÿ‘‰ Does your brand have guidelines? Or are you winging it? ๐Ÿ— #brandguildlines #branding #logouse #customillustartion #brandillustration taken in South Africa by @studioslatem
4
2 months ago
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Crave Halmis' brand identity reveal Part 2 - a sassy new Korean-BBQ-in-a-bowl concept coming fresh out of California. Janice from @cravehalmis came across my Korean ajumma character online and loved it so much she tracked me down to do something similar for Crave Halmis. We turned the character into a hot pink and rich, spicy gochujang red brand icon that encompasses the sassy, no-nonsense, big-hearted Korean grandma in honour of the client's own 'halmi'. ๐Ÿ‘‰ Time for your own no-nonsense branding? Drop me a DM to get started, or head over to my website for more info. #kbbqbranding #ajumma #ajummabranding #brandillustration #brandmascot taken in California USA by @studioslatem
4
2 months ago
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New brand identity reveal for @cravehalmis - a sassy new Korean-BBQ-in-a-bowl concept coming fresh out of California. This one felt extra personal to me as the brand's character is drawn from an illustration I created while living in South Korea almost a decade ago (and still surprisingly ranks on Google when you search the term 'ajumma'). Janice from Crave Halmis came across my character online and loved it so much she tracked me down to do something similar for Crave Halmis. So we turned the character into a hot pink and rich, spicy gochujang red brand icon that encompasses the sassy, no-nonsense, big-hearted Korean grandma in honour of the client's own 'halmi'. ๐Ÿ‘‰ Time for your own no-nonsense branding? Drop me a DM to get started, or head over to my website for more info. #kbbqbranding #ajumma #ajummabranding #brandillustration #brandmascot taken in Montebello, California by @studioslatem
13
3 months ago
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It's true, you should take your own advice. And I'm so glad I finally did! I keep going on about leaning into your quirks and owning what makes you, your brand different, special. But yet, there I was holding back on pushing my brand into something bolder, sassier, less navy gravy, worried that it would repel a certain type of client if I came across as 'too much'. This year I knew it was time for an update, a change. I've let my weird and wonderful side shine brighter and tell a more engaging story. I've updated my brand photos with ones that were more outgoing, more playful. I've been revamping my website copy, to stop being so boring, so safe and just having fun with it. Because I want people to land on my website, my socials, or wherever they first find me and instantly get a clearer picture of who I am, and how I can help them and what they can expect. So if you're nodding along, thinking yeah, but it's scary - you won't be doing it alone. Drop me a ๐Ÿง  below or in a DM and let's have a short and punchy brainstorm call about where you're at, what's holding you back, and where you wanna be. #brandingwithpersonality #brandillustration #ownyourquirks #bemoreyou taken in Sydney, Australia by @studioslatem
8
3 months ago
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I cannot stress this enough... But your brand cannot afford to be boring. Especially not in this era of click-a-button-make-a-poster, and dare I say... even a 'brand'! Originality and stand-out-ability comes from bringing in YOUR unique perspective, quirks and background into your brand to tell YOUR weird and wonderful story. The robots? They can only use what's been done before. They haven't lived. They don't have obsessions (other than world domination and other naughty things...), and they definitely don't have a hand-drawing, human illustrator and designer on their side either (just sayin'). Shout out to @bymelissasuarez from hey! curbside, who clearly got the brief! She knew she wanted her brand's mascot to be a grumpy cat called Riso, having all the fun, but looking totally unimpressed doing so. So we brought her to life to forever represent the brand's retro, relatable and creative side. #brandillustration #risothecat #mascotillustration #mascotdesign taken in Sydney, Australia by @studioslatem
6
3 months ago
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New Work, New Work ๐Ÿ—ฝ I recently (ok, 6 months ago already...) worked with the lovely @bymelissasuarez from 'hey! curbside' - a new online community in the States - where we character-developed and created a suite of 6 quirky illustrations of 'Riso': the very purple, very unimpressed cat mascot for the H!C website and brand. And now that Riso has an established look, character and sassy personality, we can keep adding new poses, actions and festive themes as needed to keep the character flexible and alive! This is just the beginning for Riso the mascot! __ ๐Ÿ‘‰ Have you been eyeing getting custom illos for your own brand this year? I'll let you in on a secret... Riso was born from one of my brand illustration packages called the "Iconic Suite" - 6 totally custom, totally professionally-playful illustrations that complement your brand and delight your customers! DM me ๐Ÿˆ and I'll send more details! (Don't wanna message me? That's fine too, I won't cry, promise... Just head over to my website directly to check out the Brand Illustration Packages for yourself.) #heycurbside #brandillustrations #risothecat #vectorillustration #catillustrations taken in Southern Maryland by @studioslatem
13
3 months ago
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The Creative's Homepage Revival is a copy x branding collab between @sarahmarriottcopywriter (on website copywriting) and myself (on branding & illustration) aimed at creatives who really want their website homepages to finally look and sound as great and confident as the work they create for clients. As creatives ourselves (and at the time, both with websites that felt a lil cringe and a lot not reflecting what we offer accurately) we realised that we were not alone in that way too many creatives let their websites sliiiiide off the priority list and into the overwhelmed-help-I-don't-know-where-to-start box. So we joined forces and came up with a solution for busy creatives to finally have an easy way to outsource the hard yards to two fellow creative professionals who wield the skills, fun, and the recent experience of redoing their own websites, copy and brand refreshes, to get it done for them. โœจ We're excited to offer a 20% off EOFY special running over June for you to jump on this limited opportunity to finally hand the daunting task over to the professionals so you can sit back and focus on your client work, knowing your homepage is about to blow potential clients straight into your inbox! ๐Ÿ‘‰ Drop Sarah or me a message for more info, or head over to my website! #TCHPR #websitehomepagehelp taken in Melbourne, Australia by @studioslatem
3
4 months ago
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