Welcome to the Bolster newsletter formally known as “Design update”. We're kicking off 2026 with a reimagined and reinvigorated newsletter. We've renamed this thing “The Big Picture”. Why? Because the plan is to use this as a place to share what we've been up to, what’s inspiring us, and talk about how we approach our work. The notion of "Big Picture" is something we hit upon as way to express our core belief: a strong, unified brand is not polish; it is leverage.

The aim is to make this both funner to read and funner to write. Thanks for sticking with us and please let us know what you think.

MDVIP

We shared this one in our last newsletter but it was a huge project and there’s a few new things:
A. The full case study is now up on website
B. Henry (Bolster's creative lead) made a behind the scenes video that goes into detail about the challenges behind the creation of what is essentially a pretty simple wordmark and how Christopher Walken was a source for inspiration
C. BrandNew, the NYT of brand design picked up the rebrand

Omakase no. 0130 - Sciloop

Had a great time creating this one. Some inspiration came from mid-century designer Erik Nitsche. Sciloop (YC F25) is working to automate scientific research and discovery to push science to new frontiers. See the full presentation here.

Sensory Links

This part’s new. It’s a quick list of things that we’ve using, consuming, and finding helpful/inspiring.

Object: Highly recommend this mix pack of Horin incense from Shoyeido for uplifting office vibes. Very subtle and calming. (also available from Amazon)

Visual: Joost Swarte is a Dutch illustrator/designer/architect with fascinating collection of work.

Digital: Jitter is an animation tool that's been around for a while now but we've been using it a lot in the studio lately as it is super simple to use and great for collaboration. See it in use on some recent work we’ve been doing for Glade.ai.

Audio: Easily our most played album of 2025 was Endlessness by Nala Sinephro.

Verbal: Relevant to what we were saying in the intro "Taking the time to write slows you down just enough to notice what’s going on in your mind, clarify your thoughts, and explore your curiosity with intention" - Ness Labs 

Design for Big Picture?

We’re Bolster, a design studio that makes brands, websites, and experiences that work together, so founders and teams show up with clarity, credibility, and momentum.

We help tech startups and professional services firms level up their perception to win better work. If this sounds like something you need help with, let’s talk.