Elbow Studio

20/03/2026

The government just signalled that credit unions are about to grow. Is your brand and makerting comms ready for that?

Legislative changes to the common bond mean credit unions can reach more people than ever before. That's a big deal for a sector that's long been underleveraged.

But growth has a habit of exposing weak foundations. When organisations scale, communications can break ot creak. More audiences. More services. More people asking "wait, what does this organisation do now?"

We saw this challenge first-hand working with & Protect Credit Union around 8 years ago. They pivoted and needed to prepare their brand to speak to multiple services without losing clarity or credibility across any of them.

So the work wasn't "a logo." It was building a brand architecture that could grow and effortlessly transition over time.

The results speak for themselves. 55,000 members. £100 million in savings. Over £3.3 million returned to members in a single year. And the largest credit union serving the military in the UK.

That kind of growth doesn't happen by accident. And it doesn't hold together without the right foundations. We're proud to have been part of that and evermore so as we continue to work with them.

That's the difference between design as decoration and design as infrastructure.

With championing this legislative shift, the timing couldn't be better for credit unions to think seriously about how their brand will hold up at scale.
If your organisation is facing growth as an opportunity, you don't need a one-off identity. You need a system.

Happy to talk to anyone in the sector about what that looks like in practice.

17/02/2026

A case for not-for-profits to think small.

We started working with InFocus last year. Not because their previous agency wasn’t good. They were. It came down to flexibility and price.

I’ve worked inside big agencies. Some brilliant. Some bloated.

Here’s the bit people don’t say out loud. A lot of design fees go on structure. Layers. Overheads. Feeding the machine.

Charities end up paying for that.

When we set up Elbow 15 years ago, we kept the experience and cut the fluff.

Strategy. Identity. Websites. Reporting.
Delivered by the people who’ve been doing it for decades.

We’re small on purpose. It means we can flex our fees when the cause is right. Not because we’re cheap. Because we don’t carry big agency baggage.

When you’re working with organisations trying to do proper good, squeezing every pound just doesn’t sit right.

Senior thinking. No overhead theatre.

If that sounds useful, you know where we are.

20/01/2026

Charities and purpose-led folks, quick question.

Does your impact report show what you actually achieved, or just prove you were busy?

Every January we hear the same worries:

• we did loads, but the story feels flat
• the report looks worthy, not readable
• others shout louder with less impact
• funders skim instead of care

Truth is, the problem usually isn’t the work.
It’s how the work is told.

Your annual report is one of the biggest brand moments you get all year.
Done right, it builds trust, wins funding and makes trustees proud.
Done badly, it’s a heavy PDF everyone avoids.

Most reports are written for an imaginary auditor instead of real humans. Too much jargon, too many charts, not enough clarity about what changed.

Here at Elbow, were a design studio helping charities turn complicated stuff into clear, honest stories people actually read.

We focus on:

• story before layout
• plain English over waffle
• data that makes sense at a glance
• reports that work in print and online

Check out our reporting page on our website - links in the bio people.

Let’s make 2026 the year your report does some heavy lifting.

31/01/2025

Some Kind of Hack Space is a place for creative exploration with technology for neurodiverse young people aged 14-25.
A space where young people can bring ideas and projects, join creative workshops with guest artists, scientists, and experiment with games design, electronics and coding.

One from the vaults of 2024 but needless to say It was great to be working once again with Artillery Arts who delivery this initiative. Our goal was to create mini-brand that oozed friendship, fun, play, and discovery.

illustrations by Verona Mock & Paraphrase Studio

21/02/2024

The renewed website is launched to at 1 Hoe St. A hub for business advice and opportunities and a directory of local businesses of all type.

It’s gratifying to see it grow from humble beginnings and more so our brand identity in action.

16/12/2023

26/10/2023

We looking forward to celebrating 20 years of success and growth with our friends and client of in Birmingham tonight. Black tie packed, shoes bulled and medals polished.

15/09/2023

This was a lovely project to on with the Regeneration Team of our local Borough, Waltham Forest. The festial is tomorrow and aims to be bigger and better than previous events with a compelling mix of local businesses and artisanship to entice local people and visitors to Chingford Mount. We devised the look and feel that sits alongside the previous local brand work.

05/05/2023

Back in 2019 we designed a campaign brand for the NHS. The brand was to signpost healthcare services that are 'veteran aware'. The logo carried an illustrative represenation of the Queen's Crown, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth we were again asked to redraw the crown symbol to represent the King's Crown. Seems a fitting moment to post this one. Have a great coronation weekend!.

-for-profit

26/04/2023

📢 FAO Artists & Creatives in Waltham Forest! Expressions of Interest are now open for our first Creative Business Builder - a new business development programme especially for our sector. www.artillery.org.uk/businessbuilder
Developed in partnership with Jo Sealy of To-Market, this free 5 month programme will support up to 24 artists, designers, makers, creative facilitators and participative art practitioners in making a step change in their business. All creative freelancers, sole traders or small businesses in Waltham Forest are eligible to apply. Please see our Opportunity Outline and FAQs for full information about this programme and links to the Expression of Interest form.
Deadline for Expressions of Interest is 12pm (midday) Friday 28 April

The Creative Business Builder has been developed with first hand understanding of running a small business. The twin challenges of the Cost of Living Crisis and the pandemic mean that this is a more precarious time than usual for our sector, so we have been determined to offer this as a free initiative - to ensure participants are committed to the programme we will take a small deposit returnable upon completion of the sessions.

The Creative Business Builder is part of a programme of artist development opportunities that we are offering this year thanks to with thanks to support by Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, funded by Westfield Stratford City and delivered by Foundation for Future London.