Sail Creative

Sail Creative Real-world impact through creativity for radical inclusion. Strategic brand studio run by women who Brand Identity | Digital | Print

An independent design studio built on passions for arts, culture and positive social change. Giving clients the edge through creativity and communications.

06/10/2026

Through my work and thinking, I keep coming back to maps, and how they orient us not only physically, but emotionally, socially, economically and systemically. Very often maps and mapping are decided the moment we are born, they often shape the opportunities and barriers that we face in our individual lives - what’s available to us, and what is not.

Physical maps are not just about getting from A to B, I’m frequently finding they represent a way of understanding place, power and perspective. Infrastructure. What gets recorded and what gets overlooked. Whose stories are visible, and whose shape how a place is understood.

Maps can feel factual and fixed, when our experience of place is anything but. The same streets can hold completely different meanings depending on who you are, what you’ve experienced there, the opportunities available to you, and whether you’ve felt you belong.

This work and motion came from a little piece of creative exploration for some brand work I’m developing at the moment, looking at place, connection and shifting perspective.

But I’m noticing that these ideas are becoming a much bigger thread through my practice, in the conversations I’m having, the events I’m attending, my personal work and the projects I’m chatting about.

I’m interested in what maps can reveal about a place — but perhaps even more interested in what they don’t…

I was in Byker this week for the opening of the Archive, and visited Tish Murtha’s Close to Home exhibition, whose work ...
02/10/2026

I was in Byker this week for the opening of the Archive, and visited Tish Murtha’s Close to Home exhibition, whose work I’ve admired for a long time.

Both made me think about something often disregarded in creative projects about people & place: integrity, ethics and dignity in how stories are represented.

It’s powerful seeing a place told through people who know it, through photographs, memories & stories. Places are more than buildings and streets; they’re shaped by the people who live there, the relationships formed and stories carried across generations.

The Byker Archive speaks to the importance of communities having ownership of their own histories, keeping archives connected to the places they come from, rather than held elsewhere. Creating space & tools for people to tell their own stories, in their own way & their own place.

Tish’s work feels deeply connected to that. Rooted in the North East, she documented working-class life with an intimacy that came from being part of the community she photographed. Her work didn’t just document inequality; it acted as evidence & challenged the system, making visible the effects of unemployment, poverty & industrial decline.

There’s an injustice and irony in Tish’s story I find hard to grasp though. 💔 Despite early recognition, she was never able to make a living from photography. She experienced the same poverty & inequality she documented, & died in 2013 with much of her work still undervalued by the photography world. Failed by the system & the sector.

It’s deeply unjust for an artist making such uncompromising, socially engaged work only for it to receive wider recognition after they’re no longer here to experience it. It’s a tension I recognise personally, & through many creative friends: how do you make work with integrity while surviving within systems that decide what (and who) gets valued?

Tish’s daughter Ella has done amazing work protecting her mum’s archive / legacy, with the work now receiving significant recognition.

A reminder that the stories we tell & how we tell them matters, but so does who gets to tell them, who gets valued for telling them, who they belong to & where they are held.

The sea: merciless, humbling, grounding. 🌊 I’ve just returned from a week in Cornwall (an actual week off - apart from a...
22/09/2026

The sea: merciless, humbling, grounding. 🌊 I’ve just returned from a week in Cornwall (an actual week off - apart from a few emails!).

I surfed every day, despite the windy conditions (it felt like the North Sea over the Cornish small peelers I was hoping for 😬). I took part in a brilliant surf course that pushed me, learning something new every time I got in the water.

I bang on about this to friends and family a lot, but there is something so special about the sea, I’ve always felt connected to it. And being in it reminds me of our insignificance, our impermanence, and how easily we can become removed from the things that really matter. A great metaphor for life, and for how distracted we can become by the things that really, do not matter. For me, it’s a stark reminder of our humanity, creativity and courage.

As relentless as it is, there is always something grounding about being a beginner again: trying, falling off, wiping out. I’ve honestly had some very brutal wipe outs 😅 (Mother Nature has no mercy) which are humbling, but you get back on the board and try again. Progress doesn’t always look dramatic...sometimes it’s simply showing up, staying curious and trusting that every attempt is teaching you something (and that we can pick ourselves back up and get back on the horse - strength in the mind).

What I love most about the sea though, is the people you meet, the strangers across the world. The smiles of solidarity across waves between people who all know how special it is to be there. The conversations are rarely (I actually don’t think I’ve ever been asked) about ‘what you do’. They’re pure chats about the waves, the conditions and how lucky we are to be in them.

It feels fitting that the projects waiting for me are rooted in community, justice, creativity and our connection to the land. And hopefully, there’ll still be time for some North East surfing too. I have some space for new projects from October, so if you’re working on something that connects with those themes, or simply fancy a coffee and a conversation, I’d love to hear from you. 💡

People don’t need campaigns telling them to care about their neighbourhoods. They already do. Pride, care and community ...
11/08/2026

People don’t need campaigns telling them to care about their neighbourhoods. They already do. Pride, care and community knowledge exist everywhere, even when dominant narratives about a place fail to recognise them.



What is often missing is the power, opportunity and tools to make that care visible.

Community voices shouldn’t simply inform public campaigns. They should be visible in the places those campaigns are designed to change.

It was a really special moment seeing our recent community campaign ‘Bin It for Benwell’ launch into the world 💚

After months of listening, walking the streets, running workshops, gathering insight, testing ideas, designing and bringing different voices together, it was so lovely to see it all come to life on Adelaide Terrace.

Co-created with local groups and communities, Bin It for Benwell encourages people to use the bins, without blaming or stigmatising.

Thank you to Riverside, Healthworks, the Mosque, St James’ Church, local businesses and organisations who shared their contributions to become part of the street.
More on the process and thinking behind the work soon. 💡

I’m gonna be with Curious Arts at Newcastle Pride Tomorrow with a blast from the past, , with a conversation stall on G...
24/07/2026

I’m gonna be with Curious Arts at Newcastle Pride
Tomorrow with a blast from the past, , with a conversation stall on Grey Street. Hoping to have chats about LGBTQ life then, now & next.

Words Bare is a personal project I started 10 years ago to gather, document and display stories still facing the lgbtq community (then, &, unfortunately, still now).

So, what HAS changed? What are we STILL carrying? And what kind of q***r future do WE want to create?

Come & share a thought or simply have a chat. You can also check out I’ve just set up, email to share your story [email protected], or visit wordsbareuk.co.uk. It’s a work in progress, have just thrown these together very quickly for Saturday!

Big thanks to Newcastle Pride for giving the project space to re-emerge. 🌈

“Sail were a fantastic partner. They were open in their communication and always available if we needed them. They guide...
04/06/2026

“Sail were a fantastic partner. They were open in their communication and always available if we needed them. They guided us through the early stages of the process with great professionalism.”

It was a privilege to partner with Economic Change Unit on this project and help bring the next chapter of Cost of Living Action to life.

“All of the branding and logo concepts were met with positive reviews from the wide selection of groups we solicited fee...
03/06/2026

“All of the branding and logo concepts were met with positive reviews from the wide selection of groups we solicited feedback from. The final design is excellent.”

Conor O’Shea, Head of Campaigns, Economic Change Unit

We partnered with Economic Change Unit to rename, rebrand and relaunch Cost of Living Action—formerly Stop the Squeeze—a...
03/06/2026

We partnered with Economic Change Unit to rename, rebrand and relaunch Cost of Living Action—formerly Stop the Squeeze—a national coalition campaign bringing together more than 50 organisations, including Oxfam and Greenpeace, to tackle the cost of living crisis and demand bold systemic change.

From the outset, we were inspired by the campaign’s belief that the cost of living crisis isn’t simply about economics—it’s about justice, dignity and the right to live well. The coalition needed a refreshed identity capable of uniting a diverse network of organisations, reigniting public and media attention, influencing political decision-makers and communicating urgency without losing hope.

Our role was to develop a new name, narrative and visual identity, alongside messaging frameworks, campaign assets and toolkits designed to support action across policy, media and public engagement. Grounded in lived experience and shaped through conversations with people directly affected, the work aimed to move beyond reactive messaging towards something more hopeful, human and collective.

The campaign relaunched in Parliament as part of a renewed national push to keep the cost of living crisis firmly on the political agenda—marking a new chapter for the coalition and its work.

For us, the project reflected something we believe strongly: good campaign design doesn’t just communicate change—it helps movements organise around it.

Explore the full project via the link in bio.

DesignForChange

True North launches this weekend, an arts and poetry trail celebrating the creativity of the North: the change we have e...
09/05/2026

True North launches this weekend, an arts and poetry trail celebrating the creativity of the North: the change we have endured, the resilience we have built, and the communities that have powered us through. As those of us that are lucky to live here know, the North East is pure n proper magic.

Lush collab with

09/05/2026

True North launches this weekend, an arts and poetry trail celebrating the creativity of the North: the change we have endured, the resilience we have built, and the communities that have powered us through. As those of us that are lucky to live here know, the North East is pure n proper magic.

Spot it around Newcastle:
Dance City
Assembly House
Tyneside foyer
Alphabetti theatre
Vanguard Gallery
Tyne Theatre Opera House

Such a wonderful project to work on, alongside the brilliant - dream team 😍

And get down to tonight for more spectacular experiences, moments, and art n culture n that!

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