Hi, I'm Kirsty. This is the story behind Make The Story.

You've probably clicked through to this page for one reason. You want to know who's behind the business before you trust them with yours. Completely fair. I'd want the same.

So, hello. I'm Kirsty, the brand and website designer behind Make The Story, a small studio based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. I help established, founder-led businesses whose brand has quietly fallen behind everything they've become.

If that last bit sounds oddly specific, it's because it happens all the time.

The business you've become deserves a brand that agrees

Here's the pattern I see over and over. Someone starts a business. They knock together a logo in an afternoon, build a website that does the job, and get on with the actual work. Which, by the way, they're brilliant at.

Then a few years pass. The work gets sharper. The clients get bigger. The confidence grows. And somewhere along the way the brand gets left behind, still wearing the outfit it turned up in on day one.

That's usually the point people find me. Not because anything is broken, but because their brand no longer looks like the business they've become. My job is to help it catch up.

So, what do I actually do?

In plain terms, three things.

I create brand strategy and identity, the thinking and the look that make a business recognisable and give people a reason to remember it. I design and build bespoke websites that feel considered rather than off the shelf. And I create the marketing bits and pieces that keep everything consistent once the big work is done, from templates to tone of voice.

Most of this falls under two things people actually search for: brand identity design here in Yorkshire, and rebranding for small businesses that have outgrown their first attempt.

What I don't do is social media management or paid ads. There are people far better at those than me, and I'd rather do a few things properly than everything averagely.

Twenty-five years, and still genuinely enjoying it

I've been doing this for more than 25 years, across design agencies and in-house teams. Long enough to have used software that no longer exists and to have lived through more than one "this changes everything" moment. [optional: swap in a light personal line here, for example a design trend you're quietly glad is gone]

All of it taught me one thing above everything else. Good design isn't decoration. It's how a business earns trust before it's said a word. Get it right and the right people lean in. Get it wrong and they quietly click away, usually without ever telling you why.

That's the difference I care about. Not making things pretty, although I do like things to be beautiful. Making things work.

Why the human bit still matters

I can't write an introduction in 2026 without mentioning the elephant in the room, so here it is. Yes, AI can make a logo in thirty seconds. No, I'm not worried about it.

AI is a genuinely useful tool, and I use it behind the scenes to work faster. But it can't ask the thoughtful question that unlocks what a business is really about. It can't notice the small thing you said in passing that turns out to be the whole story. That part is still stubbornly, wonderfully human, and it's the part I love most.

Who I love working with

My favourite clients are established businesses that care deeply about what they do and are ready for their next chapter. They know their business is good. They just don't think it looks it yet.

They value quality over the quickest, cheapest option. They want a proper conversation, honest advice, and someone who'll tell them when an idea isn't working as well as when it is. If that sounds like you, we'll probably get on.

A Harrogate studio, working with good people everywhere

I'm based in Harrogate and I love working with businesses across Yorkshire, but plenty of my work happens over video calls with people I've never stood in the same room as. Brilliant work doesn't need a shared postcode. It needs trust, curiosity and a shared idea of what good looks like. [optional: add a personal line here, for example where you like to work from, or who's usually asleep under the desk]

If your brand hasn't quite kept up with where your business is heading, that's exactly the sort of thing I help with. Whether it's a full rebrand or a lighter refresh, we can work out together which one you actually need.

No pressure, no hard sell. Just tell me a bit about your business and what's next for it.

Here's to your next chapter.

Kirsty