You’d find it difficult to look at Here Design’s portfolio without being in awe, not only because of the enviable client list but also because each project is consistently beautiful. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of their designs in situ – most recently inside The Audley in Mayfair and even in my own home (specifically on my bar cart).
Across their two decades in practice, Here Design has carved out a reputation for modern craftsmanship. Their style is rooted in cultural nuance and an ability to make the mundane feel remarkable. While it always respects context, it never loses its sense of invention, a balance that partners Mark Paton, Kate Marlow and Tess Wicksteed have refined since day one.
The beginnings of a philosophy
When the pair left art college, they knew two things for certain: they wanted autonomy and to build something of their own. After several years in agencies, they began imagining what their own space might look like – not a formal studio but a shared creative home for three founders with different backgrounds.
“It wasn’t a fully formed studio on day one,” they admit. “In the beginning, it was simply shared infrastructure.” Over time, that loose structure solidified, the work matured, the clients grew, and gradually, a far clearer vision emerged. Even this early one, the golden threads running through each project were “work with real cultural purpose,” building brand ecosystems that spark desire and partnering with people who believe in good business.
What started as an instinct to make meaningful work soon crystallised into Here’s guiding principle of beautility.
Beautility in practice
Beautility is one of those deceptively simple ideas that lands with surprising weight. At its core, it’s the belief that anything a brand puts into the world must work beautifully and work hard. Mark and Kate see it as a mindset for navigating a chaotic world.
“Our view is that any brand must work extremely hard to earn the right to be part of their audience’s life,” they say. It’s why the studio starts every project by interrogating purpose and utility. Why does this brand exist? How should it behave? What is its cultural role?
Once that foundation is clear, the craft begins: “creativity that sparks the audience’s imagination and speaks to all of their senses with a rich brand ecosystem.”
Their interpretation of craft is refreshingly expansive, encompassing intention, material intelligence and an awareness of how things live in the world. Whether shaping a place identity or a piece of packaging, the Here team thinks deeply about how something will be held, used, displayed or encountered. If they’re bringing something new into the world, it must be worthwhile and well-made.
A series of turning points
Pinpointing a single defining moment in the studio’s evolution proves tricky. “It’s hard to pinpoint a specific turning point,” they say. Instead, they describe a constellation of inflexion points across two decades.
Early work with Fortnum & Mason and Balvenie gave them confidence. Their first restaurant identity for Bocca di Lupo opened doors into the hospitality industry. Winning the Bacardi redesign in 2012 accelerated their international profile. The same year, they delivered the original Balvenie 50-year-old – a pure expression of their craft philosophy, realised through a cabinetmaker’s meticulous layering.
The Fife Arms became another milestone, weaving together many of the themes that have since defined their practice, such as deep research, atmospheric storytelling and an instinct for building entire worlds. “Right now,” they add, “the studio is producing some of our best work yet; we just have to wait a while till we can talk about it.”
The pull of hospitality and place
Given their sensitivity to culture, it’s no surprise the studio is drawn to hospitality, food and beverage, and destination branding. These sectors demand physicality, nuance and narrative depth – among many other things.
“A single malt whisky brand is intrinsically linked to where it comes from in the world,” they explain. “The same is true of any hotel or property development.” They call these “visual ecologies of a place,” and researching them is essential.
Their joy in shaping real-world experiences is evident in their portfolio, which features an eclectic mix of menus, books, bottles, signage, and exhibitions – all tactile and sensory. Much of their craft happens here, in the detail of production and manufacture, where their ideas meet the physical world.
Navigating challenges with intention
Like any studio with longevity, Here has weathered its share of challenges. A period of accelerated growth in 2021 brought momentum, but also new pressures. By late 2024, shifting economic conditions forced them to reassess scale and structure.
“That was the first moment that we had to consider a restructure, which is always tough,” they say. However, the outcome has been clarifying, resulting in a more focused team and work that feels truer. The atmosphere in the studio is, in their words, “more enjoyable.”
Inevitably, ambition must be balanced with sustainability, for both the business and the people inside it, and it’s the sort of lesson that comes only with time.
Culture, curiosity and the everyday rituals of a studio
Culture at Here Design is described as a series of lived behaviours rather than a buzzword. Their recent move to a new studio space created a natural opportunity to rethink how they work together.
“Moving from a series of small rooms into one large open space has made collaboration far more natural and visible,” they say.
Being close to galleries and analogue references has also influenced their daily rhythm. The team is encouraged to bring back what they discover there – ideas, textures, stories – and feed them into the work.
They hire for curiosity, thoughtfulness and generosity, and those values play out in small rituals, like Friday lunches cooked by someone in the team, craft clubs, yoga sessions, book and running groups. They’ve also embedded a structure around wellbeing, with their four-and-a-half-day workweek creating space for rest.
After two decades, they say, their culture feels less like a collection of initiatives and more like an attitude: “stay curious, be considerate, make things well.”
Designing for positive impact
Their commitment to positive impact shows up everywhere, whether it’s in operations or client selection. B Corp certification helped formalise practices, but the instinct was already there. They weave progressive thinking into every brand strategy, whether through material choices, second-life packaging or aligning a brand with meaningful social purpose.
They also run the Beautility Collective – gatherings that bring together pioneers and innovators to discuss new ideas. These events often involve food, wine and conversation (in true Here Design fashion) and have expanded the studio’s creative lexicon.
Alongside commercial work, they commit to at least one pro bono project each year, supporting charities like Under One Sky and organisations like Untold, which works with young men in prison.
What’s next?
Looking ahead, the studio’s ambition is one that many in the industry will resonate with: keep raising the bar creatively. They’re diversifying their portfolio, with new work for Brazilian beauty brand Natura and art supplies icon Winsor & Newton, hinting at the breadth of what’s to come.
For emerging studios hoping to follow a similar path, their advice is to focus on relationships. “Word of mouth referrals remain our most valuable new business tool,” they say. “That’s only possible if the people commissioning the work feel that you are committed to their vision.”
It’s a fitting sentiment from a studio whose work is defined by care for craft, culture, and the people they design with. Speed and spectacle will only get you so far, whereas Here Design’s steady insistence on well-made beauty will no doubt stand the test of time.
