JOURNAL notes.

Ideas and practical advice on brands, websites, design systems and illustration, from the Super 8 studio.

Latest

Branding6 November 2026   ·   5 min read

Sales decks from Copilot, social posts from ChatGPT, images from Midjourney. Your team is making more content than ever, and most of it is made with AI. That’s great for speed, but without a brand system it can actually read, everything slowly drifts towards the same beige average.

Read article Listen  ·  5 min
New lookLearn about our new brand identity.Two circles, one eight. The idea behind the new Super 8 mark, and the colours, type and rules that go with it.See the brand guidelines

All articles

9 new, 11 in the archive

Three illustrated doors from Xàbia, a red door in a blue frame, La Puerta Azul and green shutters
Side project2 November 2026   ·   5 min read

Doors of Jávea, a side project years in the making

I've been illustrating the doors and windows of Jávea, on Spain's Costa Blanca, one at a time. Here's how it started and how it's made.

A stepped line for the company climbing from seed to enterprise, while a dashed line for the brand stays flat. The space between them is labelled the gap, where deals stall.
Branding30 October 2026   ·   5 min read

When should a fintech rebrand?

Six moments when a new brand pays for itself, and a few when it really doesn’t.

The 2012 Supereight mark beside the new Super 8 mark
Branding25 October 2026   ·   6 min read

New mark, new site, same studio

Fourteen years after our last rebrand, we’ve simplified the logo to a single 8 and rebuilt the website from scratch.

GTreasury’s backlit trade show booth, Adaptable Treasury Platform, Amplified by AI
Branding23 October 2026   ·   5 min read

How we rebranded GTreasury before a $1bn acquisition

A treasury platform that had outgrown its look, a booth that stopped people in their tracks, and a client who called us straight back.

A wordmark on its own beside the same brand shown as a system of type, colour, pattern and icons
Branding21 October 2026   ·   5 min read

Your logo isn’t doing the heavy lifting

The logo is the bit everyone points at. The system around it is what does the work.

A setting sun and orbiting planets, with line, shape and colour icon studies
Illustration19 October 2026   ·   5 min read

Why custom illustration and icons make brands more memorable

Stock images and free icon sets are everywhere. Custom gives you a look nobody can copy.

Overlapping cyan, magenta and yellow ink circles next to red, green and blue light circles
Branding14 October 2026   ·   6 min read

Why your brand colours change in print

Your orange looks perfect on screen, then arrives on the booth looking tired.

Matt’s 2015 drawing of Dieter Rams next to a speaker grille of black dots
Design23 Sep 2015, updated 2026   ·   5 min read

The ten commandments of good design

Dieter Rams’ ten principles, with our illustrations, and what they mean for brands today.

From the shop.

Mugs and tees from the studio, and a few of Matt’s own designs.

Super Threads

Our own merch shop: Super 8 mugs, tees and hoodies.

Visit Super Threads

Cotton Bureau

Matt’s designs on tees, mugs and more, printed in Pittsburgh.

Visit Cotton Bureau

From the archive.

Talks, interviews and studio notes since 2012