“Our magic is that it’s just us two”: Cul De Sac studio cuts the fluff and keeps it simple

When designer Colin Smight entered the creative world after graduating with a degree in design and advertising, he noticed a “strange flaw” in the structure of traditional agencies. “There was a disconnect between concept and execution,” he says. “The art directors couldn’t design, and the designers couldn’t sell a big idea to a client. In many places, the designer working on a brand was three steps removed from the client.” Agencies would always put on a show for their clients – “to justify high retainers” – bringing in partners, creative directors, design leads, and project managers. But this often led to confusion, with client feedback muddled up long before it reached the person actually designing. “It’s no wonder visual identities took six months to a year to develop,” he says.

Enter Cul De Sac studio. Colin wanted to build a “simple but rare” model where “clients speak directly to the people doing the work”. He brought in Gus Esselstyn to handle strategy and copy, and they now work between California and New York, with a “hybrid approach to brand building – balancing strategy, verbal, and visual, to develop audacious identities for clients”. Their output spans merchandise, apparel, and brand identities for artists and businesses like 818 Tequila, Sprinter, 21 Savage, Nike, Call Her Daddy, Moby, Khalid, Starbucks, and more.

The studio’s visuals are punchy and playful, shaped by a love of suburban ephemera and Colin’s home state California. This includes everything from skate stickers and band t-shirts, to gig posters, theme park souvenirs – anything Americana. The studio also has its own apparel line: “It shows people who I am, where I come from, what I’m into – what fonts I use, how I illustrate, my sense of color, form, typography, and tone. It’s our creative thumbprint made tangible,” says Colin.

Among all his frustrations with the design world, one of his biggest is the idea designers should be “method actors” – constantly shapeshifting to suit the client and brief. With Cul De Sac, he wants to provide a service that feels authentic and honest. And the solution to that is remarkably simple: “No middlemen, no sub-contractors, no loss in translation. You tell us what you want – we’ll tell you what you need, and show you how we envision it. Then, we make it together.”