A woman with purple hair and glasses happily holding a black and white cat, with a blurred background of a bulletin board and indoor decor.

Hi there!

I'm Anja, a designer, illustrator, and very enthusiastic coffee drinker, and reluctant keyboard sharer.

(Rocky, my tuxedo cat and self-appointed studio manager, has opinions about that last part. She has deleted files, sent gibberish emails, and once walked across my keyboard mid-client presentation. She is not sorry.)

A shape of a cat illustration

meow

the story

I grew up spending every Saturday morning in my grandad Graham's watercolour studio in Bishop Burton, painting alongside his students while he taught. He never told me to go into design. He just showed me by example that a creative life was possible. That stayed with me.

I studied fashion at college and costume design at university. When I needed to rebrand my own illustration business and couldn't find what I was looking for, I taught myself. During a particularly difficult period I threw myself into learning everything I could about branding, design, and what actually makes a business feel like itself. And something clicked.

I didn't just want to make things look good. I wanted to help people build brands they were genuinely proud of.

Why notch

exsists

I started Notch because I couldn't find what I needed for my own art business. Someone fun, someone who'd actually listen to my story, and someone who wouldn't charge the earth for it.

So I built the studio I wished had existed.

Personality-led, story-first, and genuinely fun to work with. Because brilliant small businesses deserve branding that actually does them justice, not generic logos and inconsistent visuals that say nothing about who they really are.

A woman with purple hair and glasses is sitting on an orange chair, smiling, in a room decorated with framed art and shelves. She is wearing a black graphic T-shirt and blue jeans. White plush slippers shaped like a bunny are on her feet. The floor around her has scattered red and white brochures and cards, some on the table nearby.

raising the standard of how small businesses look and feel across the yorkshire coast.

A person's hand holding a coffee mug above a cluttered desk with color swatches, business cards, markers, a laptop, and a plant. The desk displays various office supplies and design samples.

the non-traditional route

I am entirely self-taught. I went from working in a launderette and freelancing one day a week to deciding I was doing this properly. No perfect moment to wait for, so I stopped waiting.

Three years in, Notch is a trademarked studio with 22 new clients, a growing reputation for design education across the Yorkshire Coast, and a BBC Radio York interview I still can't quite believe happened.

In September 2026 I'll hit three years of building something from nothing. When I think about the version of me sitting in that launderette wondering if she could really do this, and I look at where Notch is now, little Anja would be so proud. Honestly, so am I.

I have delivered funded e-commerce courses reaching around 40 small businesses in partnership with Enterprise Cube. I run brand talks for business providers across the region. I am part of a voucher scheme launching with the Combined Authority from 2026-2027, making professional design support accessible to businesses that might otherwise never have access to it.

I am not just running a design studio. I am trying to raise the standard of how small businesses look and feel across the Yorkshire Coast.

A group of people sitting at a table in a cozy cafe or restaurant, engaging in conversation. The room has dark walls with framed pictures, candles on the walls, and a large hanging light fixture. Windows let in natural light, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting.
A woman with long dark hair and glasses giving a presentation at a conference. Two screens behind her display a pink illustration of a woman sitting cross-legged with sticky notes. The room has large windows, beige curtains, and a decorated floral arrangement overhead.
Group of five women engaged in a meeting or presentation, with three women seated on green chairs, one woman with purple hair sitting at a table with a laptop, and another woman with blonde hair using a tablet, in front of a large monitor displaying a presentation.

as featured in

Scarborough news logo
The Yorkshire Post logo with the text 'The Yorkshire Post' in black and yellow colors.
Yorkshire Times logo with text and graphic element

yep… and this happened eeekk

see my work
Illustration of a person with pink hair in a striped jumper sitting at a desk using a silver laptop, with stacked papers or envelopes next to the desk.
Close-up of a stylized letter 'n' in light pink on a black background. 
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Contact me
location

Studio 13, Coldyhill Business Park

91 Coldyhill Ln, North Yorkshire

Scarborough, YO12 6SE