--- title: "Branding Insights Journal - Maker Street Studios" description: "Brand strategy, identity, and design thinking from a Brisbane branding agency. Practical guides for founders building brands that last." url: "https://mkrst.co/journal/" updated: 2026-03-27 --- # Branding Insights Journal - Maker Street Studios > Brand strategy, identity, and design thinking from a Brisbane branding agency. Practical guides for founders building brands that last. URL: https://mkrst.co/journal/ ## The Feed ### [Do You Own Your Logo? What an Australian Contract Must Say](https://mkrst.co/journal/do-you-own-your-logo-australia/) Read it Posted on 10/02/26 in Branding. In Australia the designer owns your logo copyright unless it is assigned to you in writing. What that means, and the clauses to check before signing. ### [Canva, AI Logo Generator or Branding Agency? An Honest Comparison](https://mkrst.co/journal/canva-ai-logo-generator-or-branding-agency/) Read it Posted on 09/24/26 in Branding. Canva and AI logo generators are the right call for a pre-revenue idea or a side project. A branding agency earns its price once you have something worth protecting. Here is an honest comparison of what $0, about $500 and a real agency engagement actually buy. ### [What Is AI Branding? Why Your Brand Now Has to Work for Agents, Not Just People](https://mkrst.co/journal/what-is-ai-branding/) Read it Posted on 09/17/26 in Branding. AI branding is the practice of preparing a brand so those tools apply it correctly. Here is what that means, and how to get ready. ### [How Much Does Branding Cost in Australia? 2026 Prices from a Brisbane Branding Agency](https://mkrst.co/journal/how-much-does-branding-cost-in-australia/) Read it Posted on 09/08/26 in Branding. Branding prices in Australia for 2026: freelancer, studio and agency bands, what Maker Street Studios in Brisbane charges from $8,250, and what moves the number. ### [Brand is what makes growth cheaper](https://mkrst.co/journal/brand-is-what-makes-growth-cheaper/) Read it Posted on 09/08/26 in Branding. Anyone can make a company look legitimate by Friday. Spin up a logo, a landing page, a founder story (fake or not!) and deploy it all in record… ### [7 Steps to Choose the Right Branding Agency for Your Business](https://mkrst.co/journal/7-steps-to-choose-the-right-branding-agency-for-your-business/) Read it Posted on 01/20/26 in Branding. Choosing a branding agency is one of the highest-leverage decisions a founder can make. Here are seven steps to evaluate partners who can deliver strategy, identity, naming, and design, not just a logo. ### [The Death of Simplicity in Branding: How Restraint Became the Sharpest Tool in Modern Branding](https://mkrst.co/journal/the-death-of-simplicity-in-branding-how-restraint-became-the-sharpest-tool-in-modern-branding/) Read it Posted on 10/20/25 in Branding. Minimalism dominated brand design for a decade. The sharper tool now is restraint, knowing what to leave out, what to protect, and what to let the brand system carry. ### [Why Most Rebrands Fail (How to Burn the Rulebook Without Burning Your Audience)](https://mkrst.co/journal/why-most-rebrands-fail-how-to-burn-the-rulebook-without-burning-your-audience/) Read it Posted on 08/15/25 in Branding. Most rebrands fail not because the design is wrong, but because the strategy skipped the audience. Here is how to reinvent your brand without losing the trust you have built. ### [Electric Island: A Sun Soaked Fever Dream](https://mkrst.co/journal/electric-island-a-sun-soaked-fever-dream/) Read it Posted on 06/17/25 in Branding. How we developed a fluid, immersive brand identity for a festival that needed to feel like summer, captured in colour, type, and motion across beach-side touchpoints. ### [Artificial Authenticity: Is Authenticity in Branding Dead or Just Mislabelled?](https://mkrst.co/journal/artificial-authenticity-is-authenticity-in-branding-dead-or-just-mislabelled/) Read it Posted on 06/02/25 in Branding. Authenticity has become the most overused word in brand strategy. The problem is not that authenticity is dead. It is that most brands confuse performance with purpose. --- Maker Street Studios (MKRST) is a branding agency in Brisbane, Australia. - Start a project: [Contact](https://mkrst.co/contact/), studio@mkrst.co, +61 7 3556 5329 - Index for agents: [llms.txt](https://mkrst.co/llms.txt) - Homepage in Markdown: [index.md](https://mkrst.co/index.md) - Sitemap: [sitemap.xml](https://mkrst.co/sitemap.xml)