Designing Brands That Make You Feel Something: A Conversation with Amy Morris of The Morris Project
In a world where brand trends move faster than most founders can keep up, Amy Morris is a grounding force. As the founder and creative strategist behind The Morris Project, she’s helped some of the world’s most influential names like Richard Branson and Michelin-starred chefs build brands that do more than perform. They connect. They last.
We sat down with Amy to explore how she balances intuition and structure, the power of creative constraints, and why every brand should start with one key question:
What do you want people to feel?
Brand Strategy Rooted in Vision and Reality
Amy’s first creative influence? Her mom’s quilt room. “It was lined with shelves of fabric,” she recalls. “I spent most of my time in there as a child.” That mix of visual stimulation and tactile design stayed with her, even as she moved from editorial strategy at Condé Nast to advising top-tier tech leaders in the early dot-com era.
Her unique process blends business acumen with creative thinking. “I’ve always been a contrarian. If someone tells me ‘that’s how it’s done,’ I see that as a challenge to do it better.”
“It was my combination of creativity and strategy that got results.” ~ Says Amy
What Most Brands Miss About Positioning
For Amy, brand positioning is the bedrock of all great design. But most companies either skip it or get it wrong.
“I have every decision-maker fill out a Q&A separately no discussions beforehand. The CFO and the CMO might see the business differently, and I want those nuances. That’s how we find the common thread.”
Too many companies get lost in a sea of ideas. Amy’s clarity-first approach allows her to distill that noise into a few sentences that unlock everything: visual identity, tone of voice, and brand experience. “Positioning is your North Star. Without it, you risk chasing shiny objects instead of building meaning.”
Creating Unexpected Connections Through Design
When asked how she brings emotion into brand environments, Amy smiles. “It’s all about small moments that create connection.” For one hospitality client, she designed matchbooks with conversation-starter questions. For another, she pitched leaving a Tic Tac Toe game on the bar “the perfect five-minute icebreaker.”
Packaging, restaurant interiors, gallery installations whatever the medium, Amy returns to a single guiding principle: design should serve both brand and human need.
Lessons in Leadership and Longevity
Amy leads The Morris Project with a hands-on, detail-driven approach that allows her to be present in both the big picture and the day-to-day. “Organization is freedom,” she says. “Structure gives creativity space to breathe.”
Her advice for anyone building a studio today?
“Build your brand around an ethos. Bake it into your DNA. If that foundation is clear, the partnerships, collaborations, and meaningful work will follow.”
Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter in Branding
As industries like wine and tech begin to embrace deeper, design-led storytelling, Amy sees endless opportunities for disruption. “Too often tech brands are chasing trends. I want to see more of them lead from their own switched-on hearts.”
When asked what she hopes people feel when they encounter a brand touched by The Morris Project, her answer is simple: Joy. The kind that grabs your attention and makes you stay a moment longer. The kind that leaves a mark.
A Few Fun Extras
If The Morris Project were a restaurant?
Expect warm cookies and perfect blueberry scones. “Baking is like meditation,” Amy says. “It always brings joy.”
Objects of meaning?
A ceramic inspiration cup. A dish from Estelle Hohn. And a sculpture from her husband—reminders that great design is always personal.
