Daily Inspiration: Meet Brigid Campbell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brigid Campbell.

Hi Brigid, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in the Chicagoland area, where art and athletics played a significant role in my life. Some of my earliest memories of making art are from sitting at the kitchen table with a pack of oil pastels, flipping through art books with my mom. To keep me entertained, she would have me replicate a Georgia O’Keeffe painting or work on a still life she’d created from a bowl of fruit and whatever was around the house. She introduced me to art at a very young age.

As I got older and moved into my teenage years, I leaned more into athletics and scaled back my focus on art. That changed when I had the fortune of meeting Steve Jones, my high school art teacher. I took a 3D art class with him, and that quickly evolved into learning how to weld, use a plasma cutter, steel rollers, angle grinders, and spending countless hours in the creative process. He fostered such a supportive environment for artistic exploration that it solidified my desire to pursue art as a career.

I went on to attend the University of Dayton in Ohio, where I played volleyball while studying visual communication design. To be honest, I had no idea what that entailed and very little experience with design software, but it felt like a manageable path that allowed me to balance athletics with my academic commitments, all while staying connected to the art department.

I always had a longing to move west, and that ultimately landed me in Los Angeles, where I started working at an agency right after graduation. I soon realized that freelancing was a sustainable option, which led me to start my own freelance design business, Saku Studio. Over the past eight years, it has grown into a wonderful collective of revolving remote creatives.

About two years ago, I felt the urge to return to an agency setting in search of a broader creative community and clients aligned with the purpose economy. I joined a B Corp, where I now create brands, build websites, and tell stories for companies with meaningful missions in the purpose economy. Today, I work in both environments—as a creative director and designer for Saku Studio, as well as for 970 Design.

Bringing everything full circle, I’m still creating steel sculptures, with a focus on community-driven art pieces. My first large-scale, climbable sculpture, The Love Portal, was showcased at Burning Man this year.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The journey has definitely had its share of twists and turns, ups and downs, and plenty of switchbacks. Starting a business at 23 was a huge risk, especially since I was prepared for the design side of things but not for the many other aspects essential to running a successful business. Design school taught me a great deal about typography, color theory, best practices, and technical skills, but it didn’t cover freelancing, invoicing, pitching work to clients, or how to secure repeat business—just to name a few.

Then, of course, there’s imposter syndrome. It’s something all artists face head-on, learning to push past the feeling of not knowing what I was doing or doubting my expertise. I quickly realized that in both art and business, the learning never stops. I’ve had to continually evolve—finding ways to streamline my processes, seek help from experts, develop new skillsets, and improve communication with both contractors and clients. Each of these challenges has shaped me and my business, and while the road hasn’t always been smooth, it’s been incredibly rewarding.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m an artist, designer, creative director, and problem solver. I truly enjoy tackling challenges and thinking through creative solutions, always with psychological insight into human nature at the core. Understanding how people move through the world has been my greatest teacher, and it deeply influences everything I create—whether it’s an abstract painting, a sculpture, an advertising campaign, or a brand identity. At its heart, design is about communicating effectively, both in theory and in practice. When I’m creating purely for myself and not for a client, I lean toward abstraction. I find beauty in abstraction as a counterbalance to the more literal, problem-solving mindset I use in design. It gives me space to, as I like to say, “make just to make”—to follow my intuition without a specific goal or outcome in mind. It’s a freeing creative process and a refreshing contrast to my day-to-day work.

I’m best known for branding—it’s my bread and butter. I love to write, and that passion has played a big role in my ability to build brand identities, from messaging and strategic positioning, down to logos, colors, and collateral.

What sets me apart is my ability to seamlessly combine artistic intuition with strategic thinking. I approach every project—whether personal or client-driven—with a deep understanding of human nature, always considering how people will interact with and experience the work. This insight informs my creative decisions, whether I’m designing a brand, directing a campaign, or crafting a piece of art.

Versatility is a key differentiator. I move fluidly between roles as an artist, designer, and creative director, which allows me to see projects from multiple angles and bring fresh solutions to the table. This balance between abstract creativity and practical problem-solving is something I’ve cultivated over time, and it’s central to what makes my work distinctive. I’m also a huge advocate for the fine arts and the mind-body connection, even in digital work. You’ll often find me encouraging my design team to grab their sketchbooks or spray-painting in the backyard to get the perfect grunge texture, rather than searching stock sites.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sakustudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sakustudio/ and https://www.instagram.com/brigcampbell/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigidcampbell/
• Other: https://www.sakustudio.com/the-love-portal

Image Credits
All items are mine except for The Love Portal image at night. That is by Rene Smith