Contact
James Kindred
Brand Consultant
Based in Ipswich, working globally
Brand Strategy & Creative Excellence.
Considered, proven strategies to help your brand start, grow, and thrive.
With over 25 years of experience in design, branding, and business growth, I help businesses craft compelling identities and scale with confidence. From start-ups finding their voice to established businesses refining their brand presence, I work closely with clients to develop distinctive brand identities, engaging assets & collateral, and results-driven strategies.
Book a free callGot a project in mind? Great! Let's chat about how I can help with your brand strategy, consultation, or ideas. Reach out anytime—no pressure, just a friendly conversation.
Writing & Thinking
The Pattern in the Mundane: Rejuvenating Your "As Standard"
We often overlook our greatest strengths because they feel "normal" to us. As a brand strategist, I use pattern recognition to help brands find the brilliance in their everyday operations. If you’ve ever wondered why your "standard way of doing things" feels extraordinary to your clients, it’s time to stop ignoring the patterns and start scaling them
One Battle After Another - How Realising Your Idea is Just the Start
You have arrived at the finish line, exhausted but proud, ready to tell everyone about it. How hard can it be? This idea is brilliant!
What's Shove Got To Do With It?
We have all been there. You have a brilliant idea for your brand or creative project. You can see the direction clearly in your mind's eye, and you know it has potential.
The Algorithm in the Room: When Tools Become Distractions
When AI tools are forced into creative workflows, they often become distractions rather than solutions. This essay explores why the rush to integrate LLMs into design and writing is slowing creative thought, and why old-school algorithms — the ones that simply worked — might have had it right all along.
The Accidental Detox: Why Silencing Your Phone Isn’t Enough
Some thoughts on why silencing your phone isn't enough—and why leaving it behind entirely might be the real path to focus, especially for neurodivergent minds.
The Curator of Good: Why Taste Trumps Technology
What we have right now are Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative image processors. These are incredibly clever pattern-matching engines that have read the entire internet and are exceptionally good at guessing which word—or pixel—comes next. They are synthesisers, not thinkers.
500 Days of Sober
I’m not “sober” in the traditional sense. I microdose THC gummies to help with some of my trickier autistic traits, particularly around unwanted hyperfocus, rigidity, and OCD-style looping. I also take prescribed medication for my ADHD. None of that feels contradictory to me.
Confidence vs Readiness: Why Waiting Holds Us Back
Confidence and readiness often get bundled together as if they’re interchangeable. They’re not. I’ve seen plenty of people brim with confidence while standing on foundations made of very little. I’ve also watched brilliant ideas stall because their creators were waiting for the perfect moment.
Why Work With Me?
I've been fortunate to work with brands of all sizes, from scrappy startups to established players. I understand the challenges you face because I've faced them too. My approach is pragmatic, strategic, and focused on delivering real results.
What you're facing
Foggy Thinking
You know what you do, but explaining it feels like wading through treacle. Your messaging is a bit "all over the shop," the team is guessing, and potential customers are nodding politely while backing away.
What I offer
Cutting to the Core
I don't do "fluff." I help you strip away the noise to find the actual point of your brand—creating a strategy that is simple enough for everyone to actually follow and get behind.
What you're facing
An Identity Crisis
Your website looks like it belongs to one company, your social media to another, and your stationery feels like a relic from a previous life. It is all a bit of a mess, frankly.
What I offer
A Bit of Order
I help you organise the chaos. We will build a visual language that actually matches up, ensuring your brand looks like the same entity regardless of where people interact with it.
What you're facing
Growing Pains
What worked when you were three people sharing a desk is now breaking. You are growing, but your brand feels like a suit that is two sizes too small—constricting and liable to pop a seam at any moment.
What I offer
Room to Breathe
I build frameworks that aren't rigid. We create a brand structure that is sturdy enough to hold its shape but flexible enough to let you evolve without having to start from scratch every six months.
What you're facing
Part of the Furniture
You are doing great work, but you have accidentally blended into the background of your industry. You look and sound like everyone else, which is a polite way of saying you are currently rather too easy to forget.
What I offer
Finding the "Odd"
We won't use cheap gimmicks. Instead, we will lean into what makes your perspective unique. It is about being authentically different and memorable, rather than just being loud for the sake of it.
Ready to get started? Book a free call
Clients
I've had the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients, from startups to established brands, across various industries. Each project is an opportunity to create something unique and impactful.
- Adnams
- Point of Sale Design
- Packaging Design
A renowned British brewery nestled on the Suffolk Coast
- Art for Cure
- Brand Identity
- Website Design & Development
- Workflow & Systems Design
A charity using art to raise awareness of breast cancer
- Big Drop Brewing Co.
- Brand Identity
- Brand Strategy
- Packaging Design
- Website Design & Development
An established brand specialising in non-alcoholic beers
- Brandee
- Brand Identity & Naming
- Brand Strategy
A digital platform to train hospitality staff
- Bwownies
- Brand Strategy
- Mentorship
Jaw-droppingly good brownies
- Castle Wren
- Brand Identity
- Brand Strategy
A group of construction companies with a focus on sustainability
- Cor
- Brand Name & Identity
- Website Design & Development
Turning social value into measurable impact
- KNOB
- Brand Identity
A Penile Cancer Awareness Movement
- Kickstart Wellness
- Brand Identity
A Wellness CIC with football at its heart
- Knowing Works
- Brand Name & Identity
- Brand Strategy
- Website Design & Development
A healthcare research company full of heart
- Loch Duart
- Brand Strategy
- Website Design & Development
A premium Scottish salmon brand
- Looper Insights
- Brand Identity
- App Design (UX/UI)
A market research platform for streaming platforms
- MAD-HR
- Print Design
- Website Design & Development
- Workflow & Systems Design
A human resources consultancy
- Rock Paper Scissors
- Brand Identity
- Website Design & Development
An art movement for kids and grown-ups
- Scarlett & Mustard
- Brand Identity
- Packaging Design
A premium food brand specialising in oils and condiments
- Selkie Seaweed
- Brand Identity
- Brand Strategy
- Packaging Design
A sustainable rope-grown seaweed brand
- Smallys Biltong
- Brand Identity
- Packaging Design
A premium biltong brand
- Society for the Environment
- Print Design
- Website Design & Development
A professional body for environmental practitioners
- TechEast
- Brand Identity
- Website Design & Development
- Workflow & Systems Design
A technology-focused business network in East England
- Tiptree - Wilkin & Sons
- Brand Identity (Coles Puddings)
- Packaging Design
A renowned British fruit preserve brand
- Toothbrush Apartments
- Brand Name & Identity
- Workflow & Systems Design
Serviced apartments with a smile
About
I'm James Kindred. I've been a brand builder, graphic designer, and technologist for over 25 years, starting as a junior designer for a London firm in the late 1990s and co-founding Big Drop Brewing Co in 2016. I'm now using my many years of experience to help startups and scale-ups realise their brand, design, and digital aspirations.
Professional Experience
Work
And here we are right up to today! I've wrapped up my 25 years of brand, design and technology experience into what you see now. Originally, I'd called my consultancy Fork. Why Fork? Because over the lifetime of a business, you'll reach many forks in the road. I'm here to help you choose the right direction to take.
“Live your biggest life. Do as much as you can. Jump in with both feet, laughing yourself hoarse and never stop doing more of what you love. For us, our passion is brewing the finest, tastiest craft beers we possibly can. And because tomorrow is always another day, it's alcohol free.” I manage the packaging, POS and overall brand direction for the company across the UK and multiple international markets.
A booking system for small accommodation owners. I developed the brand identity, art direction and the UI/UX and connected services. At the time of my departure, the system was used by over thousands of accommodation providers across the UK and Ireland, generating £53m in revenue for accommodation owners.
A tech incubator for early stage startups, developing ideas and disruptive products in different sectors. We developed a number of products, including a booking system for small accommodation providers (which later became Inn Style), a social media management tool for small businesses and a crowd-sourcing payment plaform within the Facebook ecosystem.
Clients: Thorpeness & Aldeburgh Hotels, Visit Suffolk, Loch Duart Salmon, Wilkin & Son, Suffolk County Council, University of Suffolk, LinITX, JamGouDou, Bohemia Hair, Baytree VA, Barefoot & Gilles, Coles Puddings, Nicholas Estates, Salter & King and more.
Clients: Dent of London, Anglian Buses, Cazenove+Loyd, Belvoir Fruit Farms, Visit Suffolk, Suffolk County Council, Anderson Homes and more.
Clients: Royal Bank of Scotland, Suffolk Libraries, Suffolk County Council, ITV/Celador, Upstarts!, Monitor Audio, International Decorative Surfaces, Calder Colours and more.
Print, packaging and repro services for a range of clients. I was one of the original team to design and produce the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? boardgame and created an ecommerce website for the game, which was one of the first of its kind in the UK.
Print and packaging design and interative design, including support for international customers and partners.
Speaking
I was invited for a second time to speak to the Art & Design students at the University of Suffolk about my career, how I got into design and branding, and what it's like to run your own business as a neurodivergent.
I'm thrilled to have been asked to speak at Innovate Suffolk's Hackathon. You can find out more on how to take part and where the Hackathon is happening on the Innovate Suffolk Website. See you on 7th-9th November!
How to meet needs, enable high performance in the workplace and support people to thrive. I took part in a Q&A with Ezra Hewing, head of Education at Suffolk Mind
I was delighted to be invited to speak on the Creative Boom Podcast. We spoke about my career, the work I do with clients and charities, and how I approach creativity in business.
I was invited to speak to the Year 10 students at Kesgrave High School about my career, how I got into design and branding, and what it's like to run your own business as a neurodivergent.
I was invited to speak at the Business Educators Conference at the University of Suffolk. I spoke about my career, how I got into design and branding, and what it's like to run your own business as a neurodivergent.
I was invited to speak at the University of Suffolk's Careers Day. I spoke about my career, how I got into design and branding, and what it's like to run your own business as a neurodivergent.
I was invited to speak to the Art & Design students at the University of Suffolk about my career, how I got into design and branding, and what it's like to run your own business as a neurodivergent.
Charities & Volunteering
Ipswich.love is an independent not-for-profit organisation and movement, run by a team of proud Ipswich folk who want to celebrate everything about our amazing town, people, diversity, culture and creativity.
R;pple are dedicated to intercepting harmful content related to self-harm and suicide through innovative technology. Their mission is fuelled by the personal experience of founder, Alice Hendy, who tragically lost her only sibling, Josh, to suicide. Josh was 21.
I'm worked with an external consultancy and Suffolk County Council to develop a dedicated strategy for Autism care and diagnosis in Suffolk. A panel of lived-experience individuals, healthcare professionals and third party consultants meet multiple times a month to develop short-term and long-term strategies.
Each episode follows a simple but powerful format: I'll ask every guest the same set of questions. The real magic comes from how differently people respond.
Guests come from all walks of life, all ages, and all neurotypes. That last part is especially important to me — because if we only listen to a narrow set of experiences, we risk designing a world that excludes.
Instead, we need a holistic view of how different brains work: celebrating quirks, sharing strategies, and learning from one another.
with Mike Keen, Frankie Rose, Melissa Harrison, and Ellisha Soanes
with Andrew Laws, Sophie the Great, Robin Deacon, Sophie Giller, Isiah Jordan, Mark Požlep, Ezra Hewing, Kasey Brown, and Ben Driver
Influences
“How does your brain work?” I wish I could tell you. When I’m researching, I tend to gather ideas and influences en masse on a Pinterest board and then fine tune my thinking. Here's a recent selection.
See 100 influencesBee.Tee.Dubs: I'm not claiming ownership of any of these images, but I do claim to have good taste. Enjoy a brief stream of what is grabbing my attention at the moment.
