Built to be revisited when a project begins, a brief needs reframing, or ideas need momentum. Throughout each month, we bookmark standout studios, brands, designers, illustrators, artists, and design resources and index them here as a curated, reference-ready rolodex.
May 2026 — Issue 002. A focus on tactile art and packaging design. Playing cards, brick & mortar, letters. As we start to curate our own index and rolodex of creatives, agencies, artists, and resources, we’ve also included a platform that’s been doing it for a long time at the end of this newsletter too.
Illustrations • Paper Art • Miniatures • Prints • Cards
Based out of Glasgow, Sayers uses a combination of hand cut paper and mixed media to create miniature art, illustration books, and prints. She has a list of tools she loves to use for her work and an online shop for commissions, gifts, and ready-made goods.
Illustrations • Stationery • Mail Club • Photography
Based out of Germany, Sosna works on commissions, her stationery shop called Lovely Envelopes, and a mail club called Meadow Letters Club. Her photography work spans from weddings to portraiture and her stationery shop ships ready-made goods.
Word Art • Watercolor • Drawing • Visual Poetry
Contemporary art that illustrates how words are art too – generally done with ink on paper, with occasional watercolor bases.
Beadwork • Embroidery
Hand embroidered by Vi Nguyen, Beaded Bodega artwork combines Nguyen’s love of nostalgic, iconic snacks with a creative outlet she found and taught herself in late 2020. She accepts commissions for food, beverage, and condiment items.
Brand Identity • Brand Strategy • Packaging Design • Digital Experience
A female-led brand and design studio based in Australia. The studio works across branding, strategy, packaging, and digital design — the below work includes projects for Walter Whisky, The Cocktail Cabinet for Smith Street Books, Triple G Gin, and SUUPAA.
Packaging Design • Brand Experience • Design • Prototypes
A design-led structural packaging agency based in New Zealand. Founded in 2010, the agency creates experiences through sustainable cardboard — plastic free packaging, dielines, prototypes, and all things cardboard engineering.
Visual Identity • Graphic Design • Packaging • Campaigns
A graphic design and visual identity studio based in Barcelona. The studio does brick-and-mortar projects as well as identities across restaurant, food and beverage, hospitality, and culture and art clients.
Card Games • Strategy • Memory • Gifts
A bluff card game that combines strategy, memory, and speed — a game of little betrayals where the worst of us win!
Brand identity & package design: Principi
Recipes • Cards • Cocktails • Gifts
Designed for Smith Street Books, The Cocktail Cabinet is a collection of cocktail recipe card packs for home bartenders, cocktail enthusiasts, or anyone who loves a kitchen or coffee table item. Available at Smith Street Books, Barnes & Noble, other bookstores, and Uncommon Goods or Amazon.
Box concept & card design: A Friend of Mine
Clothing • Illustrations • Screen Printing
Hand drawn illustrations to hand-printed clothes, all by Oli McDonald — a founder who combined his love of drawing and fashion to found the Oli label in Perth in 2012. All of the label’s clothing is hand printed locally.
Notepads • Notebooks • Journals • Analog
Hardly unknown, Rhodia has an interesting legacy and origin (more on the brand’s origin here). The brand’s first Rhodia pad was made in 1934 and comes from a family of printers. The brand is named after the Lyon Rhône river and the region’s name for its people, Rhodaniens.
Photo Booths • Brand Experience
Analog and digital photo booths, each with their own backdrops. Often customized for in-person brand events and experiences.
Design Awards • Design Inspiration • Packaging Design
A platform and community for industry-leading packaging design. The annual competition has been taking place across the globe since 2007. The brand also publishes The Package Design Book, which features over 600 works from the competition.
Graphic Design • Design Inspiration • Curated Collections
A digital platform that curates creative works from around the world. A collection and library of design work from around the world here and an index of creatives and resources here.
A note from us: The Brand Snapshot is just getting started. Leave a comment, message us, follow us on Instagram — and tell us what brands and categories resonate with you most or who you’d like to see in a snapshot next. We’re building a brand rolodex of the best brands you’ve never heard of.
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