Brand lives in the body.

I work between business strategy, human behaviour and the physical places people remember. Every single thing you buy, enter or interact with has a moment that either makes or breaks it.

Brand isn’t a logo or a marketing department. It’s human behaviour. It’s the local coffee shop where the coffee might be average, but you return because of how the place makes you feel. It’s your first pair of Nikes: the way you walked differently the second you put them on, and how that feeling still holds equity twenty years later. It forms a memory, lives in the body, and drives every decision we make.

How I got here

Business came first. From flipping charity shop finds and running tuck shop resales as a kid, to a business management degree and IMC (CFA UK) candidate status, I see brand as balance-sheet value, risk management and long-term equity, not fluff.

Art was an early language. Raised in an intensely creative family, I exhibited early at the Louvre, Times Square and Art Basel Miami, with features in Sunday Times Style, Dwell and Elle Decor. It gave me discipline in visual power, narrative and taste.

The boardroom tested it. Pitching design and spatial strategy to Marriott HQ executives at 21 showed me that great creative ideas mean nothing unless they stand up to corporate scrutiny, protect their IP and deliver commercial return.

Kip Yards. I founded the studio in Kips Bay, New York. My photography was acquired by New York real estate firms, my illustration was licensed by Universal for the set of Law & Order, and the work drew press including ABC News. Today, from Edinburgh, I bring it together: advising leadership teams on brand, and licensing art to the places people remember.

Working together

Brand strategy sessions, advisory, licensing and acquisitions, and catalogues: sally@kipyards.com