Intelligent by Design
Purpose belongs to the company. Position belongs to the brand. That’s where I work. Guiding the thinking and making that sets brands apart.
Hi, I'm Emma. A brand consultant with a background in design research and creative direction. Mission, vision and values can help guide a company, but they're not the be-all and end-all for building a powerful brand. Brands are built in people's minds, through the associations they form and the experiences they have. I help clients define and carve out a distinctive brand position, combining analytical and creating thinking to shape experiences that build brand equity and create lasting value.
What I Do
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Fail to plan, plan to fail. Before jumping into the research, I work with clients to articulate their strategic intent, clarify the brand challenge and define what success looks like.
Brand portfolio audits
Target tribe/community
Competitor landscape
Positioning hypotheses
Gap analysis and priority research requirements
Scope, timelines and budgets, and more
You get: More than a workshop. You get clarity of the business context, and a clear roadmap to guide the brand process from research to delivery.
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Time to collect some information. People rarely reveal the full story. I get out of the office and into the real world — observing people in context, asking the awkward questions and looking for the behaviours, workarounds and tensions that might otherwise remain hidden.
Desk research and literature reviews
Observational note-taking
Participant interviews
Diary studies
Shadowing
Journey and perceptual mapping, and more
You get: More than evidence. You get a full picture of what is really happening, what is driving the behaviour, what people are feeling and thinking and foresight into where it all be might heading.
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Research is only useful if it informs design decisions. I synthesise the evidence to pull out the design implications. We do not explore solutions here. This is about carefully framing the problem and deducing opportunities.
Problem analysis
How might we statements
Priority user needs & requirements
Preliminary design recommendations, and more
You get: More than recommendations. You get a common understanding of the problem and alignment across teams and stakeholders for why it matters for the solution.
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Bring the people you’re designing for into the process. I create structured opportunities for users and stakeholders to explore ideas, challenge assumptions and imagine what could work better.
Brainstorming for naming
Future-state experience mapping
Moodboards
Dot voting, and more
You get: More than concepts. You get buy-in from users and stakeholders who bring different perspectives into the design process — surfacing ideas, priorities and possibilities for a better experience.
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Intelligent design should survive first contact. I put the final design under the microscope — what is working, what isn't and why. The aim is to reveal what people actually experience before we commit to the next iteration.
Usability and accessibility testing
Desirability testing
One-to-one evaluation interviews
Prototype walkthroughs
Heuristic review
Comprehension and interpretation review
You get: More than a list of issues. You get peace of mind knowing where there is hidden risk and opportunities to improve before the next major roll out.
“Every decision is shaped by how you frame the problem.”
Selected work.
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The Evolve Project
In 2023, I worked directly with the client to shape their visual, verbal and experiential identify. The challenge was connecting research, strategy and creative direction across multiple initiatives, each with different objectives and information needs.
Through qualitative interviews, generative research and co-design workshops, I uncovered insights, aligned strategic thinking and identified creative opportunities. This gave the client a shared direction to guide decision-making and create more cohesive, meaningful brand.
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![Cover of the Illume storytelling studio website featuring the company name, logo, and the text 'Illume is an Information Storytelling Studio' on a dark blue background.]()
The Illume Project
In 2026, Australia’s first information storytelling company launched. Creating something entirely new meant there were no established design conventions or competitors to benchmark against. The challenge was to define a distinctive position and shape an experience that would resonate with its audience.
Working directly with the client, I combined stakeholder interviews, co-design workshops and qualitative research with strategic thinking and creative direction. Using an assumptions-based planning approach, I helped the team explore possibilities, challenge assumptions and shape the experience before it came to life.
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The Sila Project
I was first engaged by this Perth engineering company ahead of a full brand identity and website redevelopment. Rather than treating research as a standalone phase, we worked together over 18 months, integrating research, strategy and creative direction throughout the process.
Using an agile, sprint-based approach, I helped the team understand the brand, uncover customer pain points and evaluate design concepts and website UX as they evolved. This iterative process kept decisions grounded in evidence, refined the creative direction and helped minimise costly mistakes before implementation.
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![A sepia-toned photo of snow-capped mountains and a river valley, with overlaid text promoting a playful and intelligent approach to writing and copywriting for various brands.]()
The Fiction Project
Fiction Agency is a playful, intelligent writing company working with brands including lululemon, Nosworthy Group and Merrell Australia. I worked with the team on their brand repositioning and website redevelopment, connecting research, strategy and creative direction to strengthen their market position and digital presence.
Through surveys, stakeholder interviews and co-design workshops, I explored audience needs, market perceptions and behaviours to uncover opportunities for differentiation. These insights informed strategic decisions and creative direction, helping the team translate their positioning into a distinctive brand and digital experience.
CORE OPERATING PHILOSOPHY
How I work reflects what I believe: that analytical work needs intuition and creative work needs intellect — without both, brands lose their edge.
My tagline is Intelligent by Design.
Rather than a neat handoff from researcher → strategist → creative director, I bring all three disciplines together. Research isn’t just a starting point for strategy, nor is creativity simply the final step in execution. Each strengthens the other, creating a continuous exchange between understanding and making that shapes the development of a brand from beginning to end.
It’s an unconventional approach, but that’s where the value lies. Evidence informs imagination; creative exploration reveals new questions; and analysis helps ideas find their meaning and direction.
DIVERGENT THINKING, INTELLIGENT IMPACT
About Emma
In my professional life spanning 17+ years, I have been in the military, led and managed teams, founded a company, and worked with government, non-profits, startups, and more.
For me, it’s as much about creative problem-solving as it is delivering great work. I love making sense of complex environments, but the puzzle is rarely complete. Imagination is what allows me to work within uncertainty — exploring beyond what the data can reveal and coming up with solutions that are not obvious.
I’m Australian, born and bred. Working with me gives you access to my networks, wisdom and experience.
HIRE ME
Need to chat? You can DM me on Linked In or send me an email enquiry and I’ll get back to you within 24–48 hours.
Perth, Australia
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