Good Design for Good: The Latest Karma Project

A Karma Project is something very close to my heart. Throughout the year, I dedicate time to support small charities, local causes and community initiatives by offering my design services free of charge. These projects might not have big budgets, but they have huge impact. It’s a genuine privilege to help brilliant ideas get off the ground with thoughtful, professional creative support.

You can read more about the thinking behind this here: Good Design for Good: The Karma Behind the Creative

When I started my business, I set out my intention to always make sure I lived up to my business name; The Karma Creative. My mantra, Good Design for Good, is rooted in a belief that creativity should be a force for positive change. Whether it's helping purpose-led businesses thrive, supporting grassroots charities, or making sustainable design accessible and achievable, everything I do is driven by a deeper mission: to give back through good design.

Introducing Ruff Necks

The latest Karma Project has been for Ruff Necks CIC — a new not for profit with a powerful mission to bring creativity, performance and expression to young people in South East Kent.

They needed a strong digital foundation: a robust brand and website that could clearly communicate their vision, build credibility, and act as a base from which to grow. And I’m really pleased to share that their new website, designed by me, is now live...

Congratulations Ruff Necks CIC on the launch of your new website

Building a brand from the ground up

Ruff Necks came with a logo containing a single colour and a strong DIY, punk-inspired ethos — “if it’s not there, build it.”

From that starting point, I developed a full brand identity, including:

• A bold, accessible expanded colour palette

• Typography that reflects their raw, expressive energy

• A distinctive illustrative style

• Custom illustrations created to feel rough, cut, and real

I also worked to weave the thread of William Shakespeare into the creative — a nod to their work reimagining Shakespeare in a way that feels accessible and relevant. The result is a brand that feels authentic to their voice: not polished for the sake of it, but honest, expressive and full of character.

I created digital illustrations in a punk scrap-book style to place onto the website nodding to their project, Shakespeare Swung

Thanks to Ellie Russell, pictured, for entrusting The Karma Creative to bring her new project to life

Design for Good: From holding page to live platform

Alongside the brand and digital illustration work, I designed and built a Wix website to support their launch and growth.

Ruff Necks CIC website, proudly built on Wix by The Karma Creative

The first step was securing their domain and setting up a holding page. This ensured they had an immediate online presence — crucial for building awareness and avoiding any “dead ends” when they began promoting their work, especially around their Spacehive crowdfunding campaign.

From there, I developed a simple, effective website structure:

• Homepage – sharing their mission, showcasing supporters, and acting as a central point of contact

• About page – telling the story behind the project and the people involved

• Blog – a space to document their journey and build momentum over time

A clear support link in the header directs users straight to their crowdfunding page, making it easy for visitors to take action.

Why this work matters

This entire project was delivered as part of my pro bono Karma Project work, supporting a cause that truly matters. There is a real and growing challenge within schools and communities where the arts are increasingly being marginalised. Ruff Necks CIC is pushing back against that, creating space for expression, creativity and connection.

And that’s something worth supporting. More arts. Always.

Thanks for reading, please do check out the Ruff Necks website and support them if you can.

Design that does more

If you're a purpose-led brand, a local business looking to grow, or a community project just getting started, I'd love to hear from you. Together we can create something that not only looks good, but does good too.

You bring the passion. I’ll bring the creativity. That’s the Karma :)