01. Ethos
Insight & Artistry, crafted by the same hands.
Busch Studios is an independent creative consultancy led by Joshua Busch, delivering brand, campaign, web and strategic work from Queenstown to all over the world.
02. Featured Work
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03. The Practice
Research
Facts come before recommendations.
Strategy
Facts, shaped into a plan worth following.
Design
A plan, crafted into a story by hand, with care.
“There's something about the assurance of research and the creativity of design that I love piecing together like a puzzle.”
— Founder, Joshua Busch —
Meet Josh →01. Selected Work
Where insight & artistry collide
Organisation
Spirit of Adventure Trust
Category
Brand Development, Visual Identity
Role
In-house, Full-time
Delivered
July 2025
01. The Brief
“To empower young New Zealanders to reach their full potential through the challenge of the sea.”
Spirit of Adventure Trust runs multi-day sail-training voyages for young New Zealanders. The brand had gone stale, reading as dated to the young people it needed to reach and to anyone forming a first impression of the charity from the outside.
I revitalised the identity, carrying forward what still worked and rebuilding what didn't: logo lockups, colour, type, a hand-drawn icon set cut in the same style as the original mark, and a photography direction built around what a voyage actually looks and feels like. It's documented properly, so it holds together whether it's on a 21-page guideline or a single Instagram tile.
I led it end to end in-house at SOAT, full-time, before Busch Studios existed.
The identity has been adopted across the Trust's communications since, from the website through to on-water signage, replacing a system that no longer matched who SOAT was reaching.
02. Identity System
Personality
01
Sincerity
Honest and down to earth, the same trust SOAT asks parents to place in it.
02
Excitement
The energy of a voyage, built into how the brand looks and speaks.
03
Ruggedness
Built to survive salt water, not just a screen.
Colour
Primary
Sailor Navy
#292F51
Citrus Orange
#D8852A
Sail White
#F6F5EE
Secondary
Typography
Primary / Display
Gibson
Headings & commercial titling
Secondary / Body
Ciutadella
Body & supporting text
Iconography
Hand-cut to match the lino-print grain of the original logo, at the actual size they ship at, not scaled down from something bigger.
Full set
03. System & Application
Hand-Drawn Icon Set
Every icon was hand-cut to match the grain of the original logo, not redrawn clean in Illustrator and called close enough. That same rough, considered line runs from a 21-page guideline down to a single Instagram tile.
Bilingual Lockup
A primary lockup built to hold its own in both English and Māori, used everywhere from formal documents to a single social post.
Photography Direction
Trainee-led and always moving, so the imagery feels like being on the water, not just looking at it.
Original logo
Hand-drawn by Dick Frizzell
Deliverable
21-page brand guideline, July 2025
Organisation
Various projects
Category
Videography & Storytelling
Role
Direction, Filming, Edit
Delivered
2025-26
01. The Approach
This is a different kind of case study. Strategy, marketing, social media, none of it means anything if you can't convey the true story, the emotion, the feeling it's meant to bring to light. So here's the proof, stripped of the brief, the brand system, the deliverables. Just the instinct to find something worth thirty seconds of someone's attention, and the craft to shape it so they stay for all of it. The same hands that build a campaign edit these too.
02. The Work
01. How I Work
How I work.
Good work starts with the right questions, not just good instincts. But asking the right questions is only half the job. I care just as much about how something looks, feels, and lands once it's made. Every engagement moves through the same three steps, whichever discipline the brief calls for. The aim isn't more or most; it's work someone actually feels something for.
02. The Practice
Research
Facts come before recommendations.
I start by learning how the audience actually sees the brand, through conversations, the numbers, and a close look at what everyone else is doing. Nothing gets recommended until I can point to why it holds up. The aim is a clear picture of where things really stand before any decision is made.
Strategy
Facts, shaped into a plan worth following.
With the facts in hand, I work out what the brand should say and who it most needs to reach. This is where the positioning, the message, and the plan for each channel get decided. Every choice traces back to something found earlier, so the direction is deliberate rather than guessed.
Design
A plan, crafted into a story by hand, with care.
Then I build the thing people actually see: the identity, the layouts, the posts, the film. This is where care shows, in the weight of a line, the pace of an edit, the exact shade of a colour. Nothing generic makes it through. This is the point where the work becomes something you can hold, watch, or scroll.
Five categories, fourteen services — all from the same desk.
03. Services
Full Brand Development
For a new business or product that needs its foundation built from the ground up, strategy through visual identity.
Includes
Research and positioning, messaging and tone of voice, a full visual identity, and a brand guidelines document.
Brand Revitalisation
For an existing brand that feels outdated, inconsistent, or no longer matches where the business has grown to.
Includes
A review of your current brand, a refreshed identity that keeps what still works, and updated guidelines.
Brand Strategy
For a business with an existing look that needs its positioning, audience, or message sharpened before anything gets redesigned.
Includes
Research, positioning, audience definition, a messaging framework and tone of voice.
Visual Identity
For a business with a clear strategic direction already in place that just needs that thinking brought to life visually.
Includes
Logo, colour palette and typography, with a full visual system and guidelines document where the project calls for it.
Brand Voice & Tone of Voice
For a business whose writing sounds inconsistent across channels or doesn't sound like anyone in particular.
Includes
A written voice and tone guide to keep your writing consistent across channels.
Marketing Strategy
For a business that knows what it wants to achieve but not which channels or approach will actually get it there.
Includes
Go to market thinking, campaign direction and positioning against your competitors.
Social Media Strategy
For a business posting without a plan, needing a content structure and platform approach before execution starts.
Includes
Content pillars, a platform plan and a posting framework, delivered as a document.
Audience & Market Research
For a business making decisions on assumption rather than evidence about who they're actually talking to.
Includes
Research into who you are talking to and the market around you, written up so decisions rest on evidence.
Campaign Concept & Creative
For a business with a specific launch, event, or initiative that needs a distinct creative idea behind it.
Includes
A defined creative concept for the initiative, built on your existing brand.
Campaign Rollout
For a business that has a concept approved and needs it built out across assets and channels.
Includes
The approved concept built out across the assets and channels you need, including print and digital collateral.
Website Design & Build
For a business that doesn't have a site yet, or needs one built from scratch rather than patched.
Includes
Wireframes, visual design and development of the site.
Website Refresh
For a business with an existing site that's dated, underperforming, or no longer reflects the brand.
Includes
A review of the current site, updated design and structure, and a rebuild of the parts that need it.
Content Creation
For a business that needs an ongoing supply of visual or written content and no time or eye to produce it themselves.
Includes
Visual or written content produced on an ongoing basis, planned around your brand and channels.
Copywriting
For a business that has the strategy and design sorted but needs the words to actually carry it.
Includes
Writing for web, campaigns and brand voice.
Not sure which of these fits? Let's work out the right starting point together.
Get in touch →01. About
Hello there, I'm Josh.
Busch Studios is a studio of one, run out of Queenstown. I handle brand development, campaign strategy, web design, and storytelling for clients who want research and craft to come from the same source, rather than split between a strategist and a separate creative team. I give real time to understanding who I'm working with before any design begins, and stay with the work through to final execution, rather than handing it off once the strategy is set.
Queenstown is more than where I'm based. It's part of how I work: somewhere this beautiful, lived at a slower and more considered pace, keeps me patient with the details. When I'm not at the desk, I'm usually outdoors with a camera, chasing the snow in winter, or hiking in the summer. But I do love those cozy days indoors by the fire watching a movie too.
Approach
Every recommendation earns its place, and every outcome is crafted with care.
Scope
With a wide range of experience through many different industries, every project is welcomed in all shapes and sizes.
Based
Queenstown, New Zealand, working with clients everywhere.
One point of contact. One line of thinking, start to finish.
Made in Queenstown, New Zealand
01. Get in Touch
Have a project in mind?
Open to new projects from October onwards, let's get chatting!
Send me a note about what you're working on! I'll give it a read and reply myself, usually within two business days. I'll tend to reply with a few questions before we jump on a proper discovery call.
Location
Queenstown, New Zealand