Good thinking.
Real results.
I'm Orla. I help brands work out what's really going on, find a way forward and make it happen. Sometimes that means a brand refresh, a new campaign or better way to tell your story. First, we work out what the problem actually is.
A problem solver by nature.
I started out as a designer and I've never stopped thinking like one.
I've worked across design, brand, marketing and communications — developing ideas, leading teams and helping businesses turn their ambitions into results people can see and feel.
My favourite part is getting to the heart of a tricky problem. Asking questions, understanding people, spotting what might have been missed. And then coming up with a solution that works.
I don't want to hand over a strategy and disappear. I like making things, working with good people and seeing ideas through. From the boardroom to the design studio, I'm happy in both.
The problem first.
The work follows.
Different businesses, different challenges. Here's how I approached a few of them and what we made as a result.
Muse ↗
How do you give an ambitious regeneration business a clearer, more confident story?
Urban Splash ↗
How do you reinvigorate a brilliant brand that's ready for a new adventure?
Get Coleman ↗
How does a brilliant copywriter get noticed by the people who commission him?
CFCCA ↗
How do you help unfamiliar artists get noticed? Start with the gallery behind them.
British Fashion Council ↗
How do you build an identity that endorses a number of ever-changing live events?
Muse.
How do you give a business shaping places a clearer story of its own?
At Muse, I led a major rebrand and the wider brand and communications function. The challenge was to articulate what the business stood for, create a distinctive identity and give people the tools and confidence to bring it to life.
My role connected strategy, creative direction, communications and the practical work of making a brand consistent across channels, teams and places.
Urban
Splash.
How do you create a brand that feels different — and make it work in the real world?
Urban Splash has been a big part of my creative career. I worked on its brand and later returned as Brand and Marketing Director, leading the creative and marketing direction.
The work ranged from the overarching identity and business storytelling to placemaking and residential sales campaigns, digital tools, printed materials and customer experiences. I worked with a brilliant mix of in-house creatives and external collaborators; much of the work was delivered in-house.
Creativity was never the whole point. We wanted a distinctive brand that helped people understand the unique offer, connect the places and ultimately choose them to live or work in.
Get
Coleman.
The problem was not a website. It was getting noticed.
Joe Coleman is a creative copywriter who wanted more commissions from the creative industry. Rather than make a conventional portfolio, I came up with the idea for an interactive website that could show off his versatility with words — and give the people commissioning him a reason to remember him.
Awards were part of the strategy, not an afterthought. Industry recognition would put Joe in front of exactly the audience he wanted to reach.
I conceived and art directed the site at Music, collaborating with the wider team to make it happen. It attracted major attention and helped generate new work for Joe.
“Four years later and I still get availability calls from all over the world.”
Joe Coleman, copywriter.
↑ Back to workCentre for Chinese Contemporary Art.
The gallery was the endorsement. So why hide its name?
The brief said the obvious challenge was the gallery's long name. The obvious route was to shorten it and make the identity sit quietly beside the art. But that missed something important.
The gallery was introducing UK audiences to artists they would not yet know. Its role as curator and tastemaker was crucial: the gallery's name was a recommendation in itself.
So we kept it big, bold and unmistakable — a Chinese-inspired visual language with a Western twist. Instead of shrinking away, the identity gave the gallery the authority and presence its work deserved.
“We are breaking new ground with greater confidence and you couldn’t ask more from a brand consultant.”
Sarah Fisher, Director, CFCCA
↑ Back to workBritish Fashion Council.
How do build a creative identity that works across a number of world-famous events?
During my time at Music, I worked with the British Fashion Council over five years, helping deliver brand infrastructure that supported several seasons of London Fashion Week, as well as London Collections Men, Fashion 2012, Positively British and the British Fashion Awards.
It's a different world from property and regeneration, but the challenge is familiar: create a clear framework that can work across formats, audiences and experiences while making every detail count.
Bring me the problem.
We’ll find the way forward.
You don't need to know the answer before we talk. Maybe your brand isn't connecting, your marketing lacks direction or you've got a big idea that needs shaping. I can help you understand the challenge, develop the creative response and lead the work that follows.
01 / Work it out.
A fresh perspective on the challenge. Research, audience insight, brand positioning, marketing strategy and the useful questions that get us to the real problem.
02 / Make something good.
Turn the thinking into work people notice and care about: brand identities, creative direction, campaigns, digital experiences and clear, confident communications.
03 / Make it happen.
Bring the right people together and get the work out into the world. Interim or fractional brand and marketing leadership, team development, direction and delivery.
What’s keeping you up at night?
A brand that no longer fits? A business that's hard to explain? An opportunity you can't quite put your finger on? Tell me what's going on. We can work out the brief together.
Email me ↗