A Friend Of Mine

What A Friend Of Mine does

A Friend of Mine is a Melbourne-based integrated creative brand and digital studio founded in 2009. Operating from Suite 5, Level 1, Mitchell House, 358 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, the firm runs as a small boutique practice with 1-10 employees and delivers a comprehensive suite of creative services including brand identity, brand strategy, website design, art direction, packaging, environments and placemaking, motion design, print design, social media design, and copywriting. The studio's work is built on human-led creative direction and craft rather than proprietary technology, with digital execution supported by long-term external developer partnerships under an asset-light operating model.

The studio serves a deliberately diversified client base across multiple sectors. Named engagements include hospitality brands such as Swillhouse, Embla, Lune Croissanterie, Lesa, Juni, Suupaa, Future Future, and The Town Mouse; beauty and lifestyle brands Kester Black and Hommey; healthcare clients Women's Health Melbourne, Carlton Specialists, and Dr Scott Shemer; legal firm Hazelbrook Legal; technology company Disco; beverage brands Triple G Gin, Luna Hueca, and Principal Wine; retail brand Six Six eyewear; property firm Bayport; and publisher Smith Street Books, whose "The Cocktail Cabinet" is stocked at MoMA Design Store. Client work has been externally validated through awards including Embla's Wine Bar of the Year 2017 and The Town Mouse's Melbourne Good Food Guide Chef's Hat 2018.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees on discrete brand and design engagements. Client acquisition is driven by portfolio reputation, an active Instagram channel, an email newsletter, and word-of-mouth referrals rather than paid marketing or outbound sales. The studio maintains long-term relationships with developers to deliver website work, enabling full-service digital offerings without scaling internal technical headcount. The firm shows no evidence of external funding, M&A activity, geographic expansion outside Australia, or proprietary technology investment, consistent with a stable, owner-operated boutique model.

Name

A Friend Of Mine

Legal name

A Friend of Mine

Website

https://afom.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

A Friend of Mine is a Melbourne-based integrated creative brand and digital studio offering bespoke brand strategy, identity design, packaging, web design, and art direction to clients across hospitality, beauty, healthcare, legal, and retail sectors in Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Creative and branding services: Project-based fees for integrated creative brand and digital studio services including branding, strategy, art direction, placemaking, packaging, content, website and digital design.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

A Friend of Mine is an integrated creative brand and digital studio that delivers bespoke brand strategy, brand identity, art direction, packaging, environments and placemaking, motion graphics, website design and development, print design, social media design, and copywriting services. Engagements are project-based, with the studio collaborating end-to-end alongside long-term trusted developer partners to produce considered brands, environments and digital experiences for e-commerce businesses, organisations and not-for-profits.

Product overview

A Friend Of Mine is an integrated creative brand and digital studio offering bespoke creative services rather than a unified software product. The studio provides brand strategy, brand identity, art direction, packaging design, website design and development, environments/placemaking, motion design, print design, social media design, and copywriting services. Their capabilities span branding, strategy, art direction, placemaking, packaging, content, website and digital design, working with e-commerce businesses, organisations and not-for-profits. They collaborate with trusted long-term developer partners to deliver custom websites and digital experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Brand Identity Services Custom brand identity development including logo design, brand strategy, visual systems, and brand guidelines for businesses, organisations and not-for-profits.
• Website Design and Development Custom website design and development delivered end-to-end with long-term developer partners, creating considered, interactive digital experiences with engaging motion and intuitive user interfaces.
• Art Direction Creative art direction for campaigns, photography, videography, and visual storytelling across print and digital media.
• Packaging Design Packaging design services for brand packaging, product packaging and retail packaging, employing innovative materials, finishes and printing techniques such as wavy die-cuts and emboss details.
• Environments and Placemaking Brand environments, signage and placemaking design for retail spaces, restaurants and commercial venues, integrating physical signage and spatial identity with brand systems.
• Motion Design Motion graphics, animations and video content for brand storytelling, websites and digital marketing, including 3D animations and interactive web motion.
• Print Design Print design services including collateral, publications, brand books, posters and promotional materials for both client projects and brand applications.
• Social Media Design Social media content design and brand applications built for digital marketing platforms, supporting PR and lifestyle clients.
• Copywriting Brand copywriting and content creation for marketing materials and digital platforms, supporting brands alongside visual identity work.

Quantifiable outcome

• The Cocktail Cabinet has been stocked in stores around the world, including the MoMA Design Store in New York City, with strong sales and multiple reprints
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers21 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Long-term developer partnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationThe studio collaborates seamlessly with trusted long-term developer partners, working end-to-end to create custom, considered websites and powerful digital experiences. These partnerships enable the studio to offer complete brand and digital solutions to clients.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Frost* Collective: Australian creative and brand agency offering branding, design, content, and digital experiences to a similar mix of consumer, hospitality, and corporate clients. Highly comparable to AFOM on geography, service mix, and project-led engagement model.
• Manual: Creative and brand strategy studio with offices in San Francisco and London, working across identity, packaging, and digital design for consumer and lifestyle brands. Comparable to AFOM in service mix and emphasis on integrated brand-and-digital work.
• Thinkerbell: Australian independent creative agency combining brand, PR, and creative work across consumer, food, and lifestyle categories. Comparable to AFOM in geography, category mix (notably hospitality and lifestyle), and project-driven model.
• A Practice for Everyday Life: London-based boutique studio known for cultural-sector and consumer brand identity with a similarly bespoke, no-house-style ethos and small senior team. A close analogue to AFOM's tone, scale, and craft-led positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Landor: Global brand consulting and design firm under WPP delivering brand strategy, identity, and experience design to enterprise clients. Comparable to AFOM's brand-strategy-through-execution offer but as a much larger, multi-region incumbent.
• Pentagram: Global, partner-led design firm offering brand identity, strategy, and digital design across industries. Comparable to AFOM in service offering (branding, identity, environments) but operates at much greater scale and across many geographies.
• Interbrand: Global brand consultancy delivering strategy, naming, identity, and experience design for enterprise clients. Comparable to AFOM's strategic branding offer but as a much larger, multi-region incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/afriendofminedesignstudio
• Facebookfacebook.com/afriendofminedesignstudio
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/a-friend-of-mine-design-studio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about A Friend Of Mine