We're Not Anti-Tech. We're Pro-Idea: A case for slowing down in the creative process, scribbling more, and remembering why play matters.

Matt Burke
7 days ago
2 min read

When people think of a graphic design studio, they probably imagine slick screens, neat grids, and Adobe files layered 64 levels deep. But before any of that, there’s usually a piece of paper. A blunt pencil. Maybe a coffee stain. And something scrawled in a way only we can read. Because the best ideas in the creative process don’t start with polish. They start with play.

photo of joonbyrd hand care, palm wild body wash laying on its side with wonderland standing on top on a pink gradient background. Next to this is lots of pencil drawings and scamps of the products created during the design process.

There’s a moment, just before an idea arrives, where everything feels a bit chaotic. The kind of busy your brain loves. Like your head’s spinning a little faster than usual. One thought leads to another, then another, and suddenly you’re not just thinking about logos, you’re thinking about how a brand should feel. How it speaks. What it cares about. What shape it might take in the world.

That’s when we pick up a pencil.

Not because we’re trying to romanticise the analog. Not because we’re anti-AI.

But because at that moment, a pencil is faster than anything else. Faster than switching on the computer, faster than opening Illustrator. Definitely faster than remembering our login password.

It’s instant. It’s honest. It keeps up.

Our desks aren’t particularly tidy. Neither are our brains. But that’s never been a problem. In fact, it’s where the good stuff lives. We can draw a wonky logo that no one else understands, but we know what it could be. We can jot down five taglines in a minute, and three of them might be awful, but two might just unlock something.

The point is to move quickly, without overthinking. To follow instinct before ego gets involved.

photo of Seams couturiers hand cream. three long rectangular boxes with gold foil. Next to this a series of drawings appear of sketches and scamps created during the design process

Once we’ve explored, once something clicks. Then we start refining. That’s when the screen comes in. That’s when we start building the system, sharpening the voice, testing the grid.

But that early stage? That’s sacred. That’s where we get to play.

It’s also where we offer something our clients can’t get from automation or off-the-shelf design tools. Because what we bring to the table is intuition, curiosity, and craft. We bring conversation. Debate. Experience. And a pencil.

That’s not a rejection of progress. It’s a reminder that creativity is human before it’s digital.

We’ve built identities that started with a scribble. A mark on paper, made in a hurry. A thumbnail sketch no client would have understood if we’d shown it to them directly. But when we look back, it was all there, just waiting to be pulled into focus.

That’s what we mean when we talk about the power of the scamp. It’s not about mess. It’s about movement. A quick sketch. A weird mark. A what-if.

That’s how we add value: not just with software, but with play. With pace. With the confidence to try something before it’s finished.

So yes, we’re a graphic design studio. But our best ideas?

They still start in pencil.

a photo of four gold Dr Nyla Skincare products on a gold background. Next to this a series of drawings are appearing of sketches and scamps created during the design process.

Power to the pencil. Power to the scamp. Power to play.