We are a creative consultancy and brand partner for growing SME’s.

Branding and Graphic Design • Brand Management • CREATIVE DIRECTION • Strategy • Marketing
Who We Are

Your creative team.

Based in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Oath + Stone has been supporting small and medium sized business around the country for over nine years.

Our clients are established business owners who have been in the game for around three years. They’re growing, and starting to realise their brand needs a bit more love and attention than they have time to give it.

Some are weighing up whether to bring on an in-house brand or marketing manager. Others just need an extra pair of hands to lead a specific project; a rebrand, a new product launch, or a new look altogether.

Either way, they know they need help, and the right people to get them there.

Spoiler… that could be us.

brief us

Our partners

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services

Working together

Just like in life, we believe that the pursuit of our goals needs to be relentless, but the journey needs to be flexible. That’s why our studio has moved away from traditional aspects of an hourly rate, time recording, and in some cases, a rigid list of upfront deliverables.

  • Whether you’re launching something new, or your business has evolved, we take a holistic approach to your brand strategy and visual identity system.

    This isn’t just a fresh lick of paint or a quick fix to something you whipped up on Canva. This is a deliberate and meaningful dive into what you do, who you do it for, and why you get out of bed in the morning to make it all happen.

    • Brand audit

    • Brand strategy

    • Logo design and visual identity systems

    • Brand guidelines (creation or update)

  • Sometimes, you just need some creative muscle. We can help overhaul those nasty brochures you’ve had sitting in your waiting area for 10 years, arrange a photoshoot, or refresh the signage on the front of your building.

    With over 23 years in her field, Trish has built an extensive network of capable and talented creative professionals, tailored to suit the goals of your business. By speaking the language, and knowing who to call, you’re left to focus on what you do best.

    • Brand launch strategy and collateral

    • Document templates

    • Photography and videography

    • Website design

    • Signage

    • Customer-facing documents

    • Advertising and marketing collateral

    • Internal documents

    • Annual reports and large scale publications

    • Merchandise and promotional pieces

  • Fill the gap of an in-house resource by naming us as your brand manager. By engaging us on a simple monthly retainer, we have the freedom to identify opportunities for your business, solve problems creatively, roll with unexpected obstacles, and help you prioritise the steps to get there.

    We provide expert advice on a number of areas including design, branding, marketing, printing, user experience design, photography, signage, copywriting, AI, web, illustration, packaging, and large format art pieces.

    We can coordinate and oversee projects and sub-contractors to bring the vision together, produce critical pieces, source the right talent, and arm your team with a clear brief to self-serve if needed.

  • Sometimes the brief isn't a full project, but a fresh and expert perspective and roadmap forward. We connect the dots and help solve problems with fresh expert eyes.

    We can facilitate a brand audit, provide a report of findings and recommendations, or point you in the right direction to self-serve.

    We can also work with your in-house team to train and bolster the success of your brand activities.

Brief us

Trish Johnstone

Trish has spent 23 years in design, and along the way she's landed on something most agencies won't tell you: most businesses don't need more design. They need clarity, direction, and someone who can connect the dots. Her path there wasn't conventional - graphic design, fitness, superannuation, small business - but that mix is exactly what shaped how she thinks about creativity's role inside a real business, not just on a mood board.

She came up through the Canberra design industry, working across boutique studios, in-house teams and large agencies, which gave her a sharp sense of what makes creative work actually succeed rather than just look good. Today she leads Oath + Stone, helping small and medium businesses build brands with strong foundations and long-term intent.

Outside client work, Trish advocates for rural micro and small businesses as a Queensland council member of the Design Institute of Australia, and hosts Creative Bones; a podcast talking with mentors and colleagues about their relationship with creativity. She's based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, working with people around the country building thoughtful, ambitious brands.

your Creative Director
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“Trish brings a cool, calm and collected energy, along with clear communication, strong organisation, and a wealth of knowledge that ensures everything runs smoothly”.

Emma Nilsson, Sore Thumb Studio

Emma has been a part of our O+S family since she was a fresh graduate. She helped lighten the load back in the day and now she’s grown into a confident and capable designer. We love having her on the team, taking advantage of her illustration, design, branding, and Canva skills.

case study:brand management and creative direction

Muscat Property Co.

Working with family is either a disaster waiting to happen, or the Muscats. We spent six months as honorary members of their team, building a brand (logo, colour, marketing and social media templates, photography, and a website) as considered as the reputation they'd already earned. The result: a name they're proud to put on the door.

Our role was to hold the whole thing together, managing the creative team, writing briefs, QA, content, print, production, and the overall timeline. As the style found its feet, we worked closely with the team to keep internal and external activity on brand, brainstorm content ideas, and spot opportunities to keep the momentum going.

Muscat Property Co. now has a full library of brand assets that produce professional and consistent looking. With time being their most valuable commodity, they have the freedom to edit these themselves, and adapt on the spot to different vendors, houses, and opportunities.

Partners: Sore Thumb, Colton Creative, Resi Signs

  • We're a creative studio and brand partner for growing businesses. Put simply, we work with you to make sure you brand is performing in the way you need it to - in consistency, quality, quantity, and creativity.

    Some clients come to us because they need someone who knows how to design, and others want us to embed into their team to oversee brand and marketing activities.

    Other times, we’re a sounding board and fresh set of eyes to see the things you can’t.

  • Both!

    Some partners bring us on as an ongoing extension of their team, others need us for a specific scope, a rebrand, a launch, a new look.

    The common thread? Our clients come to us with problems, and we solve them. We'll work out together what makes sense for where you're at.

  • This is the answer you’re wanting, but one we can’t give to you without a conversation. Either way, you’ve probably got a number in mind, so let’s start with what we can achieve within that budget.

    We can work to fixed fee pricing, or a retainer model with clear expectations.

  • Absolutely. We often work alongside an existing team member or department, picking up projects they don't have capacity for, or bringing outside perspective on something they're too close to see clearly.

  • Trish is based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, but works with businesses all around Australia. Our creative partners are also based around the country, and we assemble the team that best suits your brand and your goals.

    We’re experienced in working remotely, even with a client in the most remote town in Australia! If you want us in the room, we can travel, or select a creative partner that you can professionally squish in person.

Questions we get

Relationships are important to us.

Need some data?

94% of our new work comes from referrals and word of mouth. The other 6% comes from people we already know; friends, family, former colleagues, and people we meet along the way.

After that, 85% of our clients come back. Sometimes it’s every month, or every six months, or every five years when they’re ready to have bigger conversations.

These numbers aren’t just a feeling. They show us that people connect with the way we work, how we listen to them, and get to the heart of solving problems in an intuitive and empathetic way.

And then, they want to stay. Some would say we’re putting all our eggs in one basket, but we’re ok with that because the work we do with people who are engaged and trust us with the essence of their business, is what makes it all worth it.

And the numbers agree.

Let’s do great things together.

Tell us a little more about you, and what you’re looking to create. We’ll be in touch the next business day.

Alternatively, you can fill out a project brief here.