Core and Form Design Studio

Stepping back for a bit.

Normally, September brings that fresh-start energy for me. Right now, it just feels like a complete whirlwind and all I see is paperwork, half empty rooms and a lot of boxes.

I’m n my own packing up 14 years of my life to move to another country very soon, training for the Dublin City Marathon, managing my health, and looking after my family - all this while managing my client projects.

With all of that on my plate, my focus has to stay entirely on my clients. Serving them and making sure their work is fully taken care of is my absolute priority, which means something else has to give.

I’m stepping away from social media for a while to keep my head clear and my energy where it matters most. My clients still have direct access to me as always, but I won’t be checking DMs or scrolling here.

Thanks for the understanding while I navigate it all. See you on the other side 🫶🏻

Roberta

I just realised I have soooo many projects that never saw the light of day and have been buried in my projects folder for way too long. Here's a throwback to My Girl Accessories, a brand designed by me in 2023!

These two cards have been sitting on my desk all week.

I look at these at the start of every brand strategy. There are 60 archetypes across 12 families and each card gives you the name, the family it belongs to, the strengths, the challenges, and a description of how that archetype actually moves in the world. Most people skip the challenges section. I never do. If you know where an archetype breaks down you know exactly where the brand has to be careful.

The Liberator sits in the Hero family. Strengths are humanitarianism, justice, strong conviction, optimism.

The card describes it as a voice and a body for the greater common good, motivated to shatter myths and expose cultural norms that create suffering.

The challenge? Liberation can tip into imposing your own will on others. That is the exact line this brand has to be careful not to cross.

The Companion sits in the Lover family. Strengths are loyalty, practicality, patience, detail orientation.

A trusted support, a friend and confidante, offering help and listening without judgment. What got me was this line on the card: it enables freedom by being the wind beneath the wings of others. That is exactly what this brand needs to do.

Together they work because the Liberator gives the brand a reason to exist that goes beyond what it sells. And the Companion stops it from being preachy about it. Without the Liberator there is no edge. Without the Companion there is no warmth. Take either one away and the whole thing falls apart.

This is the bit of the work nobody really sees. It happens before a logo, before a colour palette, before any of it. But it is the bit that makes all of that easier.

If you are building a brand and want this level of thinking behind it, I would love to hear from you.

www.coreandformdesign.com

Sneak peek into the brand guidelines for Amelia McNamara and McNamara & Co brands! ✌️

Financial services brands do not have to be boring.
They do not need generic colours, safe symbols or a look that blends into every other firm online. That is a choice, not a rule.

Amelia McNamara is a Profit and Business Strategist who brings warmth, care and a genuinely human touch to an industry that does not always lead with that. Her brand needed to reflect exactly that energy. And that is what we built.
If your brand is not reflecting who you actually are, let's change that. Link in bio to get started or send me a DM and we can have a chat!

Every August since 2020 (the year I started this business), I switch off. Fully.

No posting, no scheduling, no client work. And zero guilt about any of it.

Here’s the thing about running your own show: nobody’s permission to ask, no boss telling you what to do. Sounds great until you realise it also means *you’re* the one deciding when enough is enough. All year.

Most months I’m always on. Even when I’m not doing client work I’m thinking about the next project, a new idea, what to post. Nights, weekends…It’s a lot, not gonna lie. But it’s also why I never get bored, so I’ll take it.

August is the one month I properly stop. Six years in and I still have to remind myself it’s allowed. But I trust it now, because I’ve done it enough times to know it works.

If you’re a founder who hasn’t taken a real break in a while, this is your sign. It’s not indulgent, it’s part of the job.

Roberta x