A Friend of Mine
(est. 2009, Melbourne)

A Friend of Mine is a holistic design practice established in 2009 by founder and creative director Suzy Tuxen. It operates across a range of industry sectors and design disciplines, including brand identity and strategy, website design and build, art direction, print design, and branded environments. With twenty years of design and branding experience, Suzy has worked at top studios in London and Melbourne, spoken at numerous industry-leading events globally, and has taught design and typography at RMIT University. As a team of seven, the studio has a focus on output that is highly considered in approach, ensuring wit, relevance and visibility in a crowded world.

In Babel Bookcase you will see a selection of branding and packaging design by A Friend of Mine, spanning sectors including hospitality, consumer goods and lifestyle. For Lune, a cult croissanterie that began as a hole-in-the-wall operation in Melbourne but which now occupies a warehouse in Fitzroy, the studio created packaging and a holistic solution that hides a little croissant in the brand’s much-loved rocket motif. For Great Wrap, the first and only Australian company making cling wrap from food waste, A Friend of Mine developed a strategy and brand identity with a bright colour palette, bold typography and playful art direction, to support the brand as it launches into the US market. Emotive copywriting and evocative imagery, with inspiration from the Old Masters, feed into a cohesive suite of touchpoints for Jon Netti, a sustainability-focused lifestyle brand. A vertical logotype, elegantly minimal typography and a moody website combine to create a striking brand presence for Future Future, a Japanese-Australian restaurant in a transformed Richmond art gallery. And for Embla, a low-key wine bar based in Melbourne’s inner city, A Friend of Mine created a down-to-earth brand identity by combining a custom hand-drawn typeface with hand-stained timber signage, textured paper collages, commissioned illustrations and print techniques that are full of character.

Together, the team at A Friend of Mine combines craft with strategic thinking to create tailored design solutions in the physical and digital realms. Other notable clients include Hommey, Kester Black, Makers’ Mrkt, Rent, Hazelbrook Legal, The Town Mouse, Lovers, and Supergraph.