Shumaiya Khan
Shumaiya Khan
Creative Director / Visual Artist / Founder of 701
London, UK
www.701.studio
instagram @_701.studio
instagram @____shumii
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m a Creative Director and Visual Artist. Along with my partner in crime Lily who’s a creative strategist. Together, we run a full service brand and paint studio.”
We saw a really great USP in pairing abstract expressionist art with brand design work.
There’s 2 sides to this studio. The first being ‘brand’ where we design, build and create strategies for new and established companies. Anything from designing a logo, creating marketing campaigns to brand messaging, art direction and full suites of brand assets. e.g. type, colour, little graphical marks, illustrations, narratives for brand film & photography, even the grain that’s applied to imagery, layout and marriage of text and imagery - to be applied to a website, stationary, books - we’ll do it.
The second part being the ‘paint’ side. I produce a few pieces of abstract expressionist works every other week on paper and canvas which you can buy on our site. Bigger and custom pieces are available via commission and direct enquires. I see these pieces as a part of a reset button, a creative process to decompress, express and communicate an emotional world in a whole other depth. Venturing into this world allows us to understand a more emotional tie.
As a creative director in our very small studio, it means I get to wear a few different hats. One day I’m working on designing a website, another I’ll be designing a book, one morning I’ll be painting a 100cm x 140cm canvas and maybe the next I’ll be shooting some flatlays or storyboarding a video. I feel very privileged to say I love my job everyday.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
Well! I’ve had an interesting career. Straight out of university, I landed my graduate job working as Junior Graphic Designer for The Conran Shop. While I was there, I carved out an Art Director role for myself there before working for a lovely San Francisco haircare company as Design Lead. In the space of 9 months, I’d continued to art direct and do a lot of web and marketing design. Working in a small team, meant I also learnt about packaging, product development, lead times and print. I got to work with a lot of amazing beauty and wellbeing brands such as Fenwicks and Sephora. It totally gave me the beauty, travel, ‘nice stuff’ project bug (as if The Conran Shop didn’t).
This role that really made me and gave me the confidence to go out freelance. Since I’ve worked in men’s fashion, a few more beauty brands, and sportswear. When the pandemic hit, I was placed on furlough. During this time, I decided to paint again after an 11year hiatus. There was a lot going on emotionally which I had to work through. Painting as a pure form of creativity really helped me process a lot of things. Eventually I started posting a few paintings on social along with paired poetry. People started enquiring about purchasing some art so I built Shumaiya.work – as part folio site, part shop. This is now 701.studio.
It wasn’t until October 2020, I was thinking about the job market in the UK and what I wanted to do with my career going forward. I was having lunch with Lily when I floated the idea of ‘So, I want to run a female lead design agency, it’s been on my mind for a while’ - meaning it’d been on my mind for about a week. She didn’t hesitate to encourage me, and she said I could put her down as a copywriter. Well, a week after that, I dropped her a text saying she was my Accounts Director and Editor in Chief. 701 was essentially born over chicken salad and CBD coffee.
Fast forward 5 months, we’ve done a few great shoots, we have some long terms clients we love, and pitching to more. We’re building out 701’s branding. We’re still finding our feet a little but with each day we know more and more, that we’re absolutely capable of taking on some beautiful clients and fulfilling their dreams.
How do you stand out in your field?
I have a range of skills. I can wear multiple hats meaning it’s easier and faster for me to see how the big picture can be applied over numerous different touch points. I’ve been told by clients they find my use of colour and layout – in type and photography bold and a little daring. I’ve seen the beautiful work which is very swiss looking, it serves as a source of inspiration and I love it. However when I work, I want to inject motion, something organic into how a product sits. Life isn’t a simple grid, your work shouldn’t be either.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Working on a couple of things. The first being an eBook, rebrand and website for a speaker/podcaster/wellbeing lovely lady who goes by The Lipstick Lens. She talks a lot about women’s wellbeing and what it means to be feminine in all it’s states. The second is with a long term eyewear client in Berlin. We’re currently reviewing everything, i.e. art direction i.e. photography colour, type, social media, emails, printed collateral, packaging and the website over the next few months. The third project is with a start up; British born, created by women, CBD mint company Skip Mints, developing their branding and art direction over the next few months.
In house we’re working on building out our own brand via adverts and some physical product. We’re working on having a newsletter for the studio and potential future printed works. We’re speaking to some amazing creatives for our blog, ‘Our Edit’. These creatives marry art and design They produce art through written word, painting, illustration, video, music, etc, and one person in particular makes amazing cakes, covered sometimes in barbies.
Last but not least, I’m working on an abstract paint series called ‘Labour of Love’ which focuses on self-questioning our motives, relentless actioning when it comes to make or break situations. Each piece has stark contrasts in light and dark, textures and speed.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
I think my style has changed and will continue to change over the years. At current, the 701 branding is ‘it’. Deep glossy imagery paired with slick type (sometimes custom), sliced in with an effortless everyday chick feel with an editorial edge. Almost a little Paris meets 1960s west coast/Hollywood luxe.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
Poetry and prose writing. When it comes to writing, it’s something I do for a few mins when I find a moment in a day. I’ve got so many pieces which map out a cryptic diary which I’d love to put in order and form a book out of. One day.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
At the moment, we know we’re on this uphill battle to get the studio to where we want it to be. We’ve got some huge ambitions, we want a lot for ourselves and the people who we’ll employ in years to come. The one main thing which takes up a lot of time is promoting ourselves over social and reaching out to brands we like the look of and would love to work with.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Art working up social posts and other work where we’ve completed the topline branding. Uploading and resizing images of paintings to the shop. Just the day to day admin which needs doing. Sometimes it’s really peaceful doing all those small bits, none the less, it’s time consuming.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I would go back to 19-year-old me, who’s just started university, has major doubts in her abilities, is a shy little chicken, give her a huge hug and tell her, life gets good and the next 10 years will make her. That she will have the strength and determination to do what’s right by her. That she’ll stop doubting herself, she’ll listen to herself. That it’s never too late to pull control and it’s okay to take her time. That no one has everything figured out fully.
Earlier today I was on a call with a client and I actually said to her, I’m becoming the person younger me would be really proud of. I remind myself that now at 30 I’ve had work published in so many parts of the world, I’ve built a studio and a life. I have deep gratitude for myself.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Coding, and strategy. I know when coding has broken down or if something has been hidden, but I can’t make it! As for strategy, I understand more than enough, I know how to come up with it and implement it, but something I want to improve on none the less.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
We are looking for branding - creative and art direction, web, packaging, campaign, and paint opportunities. We want to work with companies of different sizes at different stages of their growth. We’re open to full rebrands and campaigns of all sizes. We’ve got a few good connections we’ve worked with before, so we can form a stealthy team for anything you need. I’m always open to do a painting commission and we ship globally.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
Our ideal client is open to conversation about how we can develop their ideas and bring them to fruition. They need to be honest and try not to be scared about saying what they want. We don’t bite and we won’t think you’re rude! It gets everyone on the same page. We like working with clients who want to remain or become more ethical with all their production. We specialize in beauty, wellbeing, lifestyle, travel and luxury goods sectors. However, we’ve worked on a number of NDA briefs which are usually corporate based so, if you have a great idea or product, our doors/emails are always open.
We’re also looking to collaborate with interior designers, galleries, artists, architects on the art front. We’re open to doing collaborations with other studios and production teams for something a little conceptual.
Who is a creative that has helped you elevate your work?
So, so many people!!! One person in particular. I have a mentor who’s a lovely human being. Faizia, she doesn’t do social media/her Instagram is empty. She’s been a person who’s pushed me to do my best and not get caught up in feeling off if something doesn’t work out. Her motto was always ‘it’s not about what went wrong, it’s what you did after.’ She made me go over the tiniest details a good 10 times and it drove me mad – however, now I can spot these details a mile off and they take me a fraction of the time it used to 5 years ago.
There was also Jodie, an old manager of mine when I worked for Vivobarefoot. Not so much as in creatively elevating my work, more just getting me to have more confidence in my abilities and really own my space. It’s thanks to her I’ve been able to say what I want and follow through on a few different parts of my life. And when you hold yourself to not accepting less than what you’re worth, things get really good, really quickly.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Email us at studio@701.studio. Even if you reach out to us via Instagram, we’re still going to ask you to email us. If you have a budget, please tell us so we can manage ours and your expectations. Tell us what kind of work you want doing and the timeframe. Let us know if you’ve had previous work done on the project you’re approaching us with and what happened – so we’re up to speed and we know what does/doesn’t work for you.
We do love a gif, and instant ramen suggestions. We’re currently on Samyang brand. That’s always a great way to open conversation.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
An idea a day keeps boredom at bay.
This member profile was originally published in April 2021.