The City That Makes Art
What it meant to help shape the identity of Birmingham Open Studios.
By Emma Woolley, Art Director
Every so often, a project lands on your desk that feels different. Not because it's the biggest brief you've ever worked on, or because it comes with an impossible deadline. It's different because it already means something to you.
When Owen de Visser and the Birmingham Open Studios team approached us, the conversation started where so many branding projects do.
"We think we need a new logo."
The truth is, it was never going to be that simple.
At You Say Tomato, we believe branding starts long before the logo. It starts with people. Understanding who they are, what they stand for, and what makes them worth remembering. The more we explored Birmingham Open Studios, the clearer it became that this wasn't about replacing an identity. It was about recognising what already existed, strengthening it, and giving it the confidence to grow.
Alongside my role as Art Director at You Say Tomato, I'm also a practising figurative painter, and that's where this project became something more. Birmingham Open Studios has quietly been part of my own journey for several years, so from the very beginning there was a genuine connection to the work.
Back in 2022, I didn't even have a permanent studio to open.
So I built one.
An easel, a palette, brushes, paints, turps and an unfinished painting became my "studio" for the weekend. Looking back, it probably wasn't what people expected to find, but it gave me something far more valuable than four walls.
It gave me confidence.
For the first time, I found myself talking openly about my work. Not just what I painted, but why I painted. Those conversations changed me more than I realised at the time, and I've returned to Birmingham Open Studios every year since. Not because it's another date in the diary, but because I genuinely believe in what it stands for.
What I admire most is its openness. Birmingham Open Studios doesn't decide who gets to call themselves an artist. It simply invites artists to open their doors, wherever they are in their journey.
Some have dedicated studios. Others work from spare rooms, kitchen tables or shared spaces. Some have been exhibiting for decades. Others are welcoming visitors for the very first time.
Everyone belongs.
As someone born, raised and still living and working in Birmingham, that means a great deal to me. This city is home to an extraordinary creative community. I've seen some of the most remarkable artwork being made here. Some artists are internationally recognised. Others quietly produce exceptional work without ever seeking the spotlight.
Birmingham Open Studios creates space for all of them. It celebrates creativity without gatekeeping it, and I think that's something worth protecting.
That's exactly why this project mattered to us as a studio.
At You Say Tomato, we're increasingly drawn to organisations whose values genuinely align with our own. Projects where creativity has a purpose. Projects that leave something positive behind. Working with Owen and the team never felt like a typical client relationship. There was trust from the very beginning, honest conversations, a willingness to challenge ideas, and a shared ambition to create something that felt true to Birmingham Open Studios rather than simply different.
What started as a request for a new logo became something much bigger.
Together, we refined an identity people already recognised, developed a campaign platform that celebrated Birmingham's creative community, and created a brand system designed to support the organisation for years to come.
Throughout the project, one line kept finding its way back into the work.
this city makes art.
It began as a campaign.
It ended as a belief.
Because after spending my whole life here, building both my creative career and my painting practice in Birmingham, I know how much talent this city holds.
Helping Birmingham Open Studios tell that story never felt like delivering another branding project.
It felt like giving something back.
If our work encourages someone to step inside a studio, discover an artist they've never heard of, or realise just how much creativity exists on their own doorstep, then we've achieved something meaningful.
Because that's what good design does.
It doesn't simply change how something looks.
It helps people see what was already there.
Read the Case Study
Want to see how the identity evolved from discovery to delivery?
Read the full Birmingham Open Studios case study and explore the strategy, design process and thinking behind the rebrand.
