Hi This Is Bry has been featured in Essex Life Magazine. Here's what it meant to see an inclusive Essex design studio get press coverage.

I've been a fan of Essex Life Magazine for a long time. It's proper Essex. It celebrates the county, the people, the businesses, the community. So finding out Hi This Is Bry was going to be featured in it was one of those moments where I had to put my phone down and have a little moment.

Hi This Is Bry being featured in Essex Life Magazine was one of those business moments that felt slightly unreal until I could physically see it on the page. I already spend a lot of time talking about visibility, authority and giving people reasons to trust a business, but it feels rather different when somebody outside your own company decides your story is worth covering.

The feature talked about Hi This Is Bry as an Essex based creative business helping small businesses and startups become more visible through branding, social media and accessible website design. It also covered some of the story behind the business, including my experience working in creative roles before going self employed and why creating a more inclusive way of working became important to me.

You can also see a photo of the Essex Life Magazine article on my Instagram, which is still quite nice to look back at because I am not entirely sure seeing your own business in print ever becomes completely normal.

See also: Hi This Is Bry named top 100 Best Creative Arts Business in the UK

What did the Essex Life feature actually cover?

The article looked at the wider business rather than concentrating only on one service, which I appreciated because Hi This Is Bry has never fitted particularly neatly into the box of being a graphic design studio. My work spans branding, website design and social media strategy, alongside brand discovery and visibility consultations, depending on what is actually stopping a client from moving forward.

It also talked about the values underneath that work, particularly accessibility, empathy and creating a way of working that leaves room for people who communicate or process information differently. I am autistic and have ADHD, so some of that comes directly from my own experience of working in environments that were not always designed with neurodivergent people in mind.

The feature also mentioned mentoring younger creatives, working with students and supporting work connected to underrepresented groups. Seeing all of that brought together in one article made the business feel much more tangible to me, because it showed that the things I sometimes think of as separate parts of my work actually form quite a consistent picture from the outside.

Why does press coverage matter for a small business?

Press coverage gives a business something that its own marketing can never fully provide, which is somebody else deciding that what you are doing is worth mentioning. You can describe yourself as experienced, interesting or credible all day long, but independent recognition gives a potential customer another piece of evidence to consider.

That becomes particularly valuable for smaller businesses because people discovering you online often have very little context. A feature in a recognised publication, an award or a detailed client review can help somebody understand that other people have already encountered the business and taken it seriously.

Press can also become useful long after the article itself has been published, because the recognition can appear on your website, in proposals, on social media and anywhere else somebody might be deciding whether to trust you. The real value is therefore not only the original feature, it is what that feature contributes to the wider collection of evidence around your business.

See also: What goes into award winning branding and websites

Why did this particular feature mean so much to me?

Essex Life covers people, businesses and places across a county that has been part of my own life and career for years, so this did not feel like a completely random piece of press coverage. I studied and worked around Essex, spent years developing as a designer here and then built Hi This Is Bry with much of my original network and client base in the same area.

That made the feature feel connected to the wider story of the business rather than simply being another logo I could add to an awards section. Being recognised locally matters in a different way because these are places where I have actually worked, met clients, attended events and figured out what I wanted my own business to become.

I also liked that the feature was not only about design work, because the inclusive side of Hi This Is Bry is genuinely important to me. Having that treated as part of the business story rather than a side note made the coverage feel much closer to what I actually want the company to represent.

See also: Why I chose to build my branding, marketing and website business in Colchester

What is Hi This Is Bry actually about?

I started Hi This Is Bry after working in agency and in house creative roles, where I learned a lot about design, marketing and the practical reality of working across different businesses. I also learned quite a bit about the environments I did and did not work particularly well in, which eventually influenced how I wanted my own business to operate.

I wanted to create something where good creative work could sit alongside honest communication and a slightly more human way of working. That means I want clients to understand what I am recommending and why, while also recognising that not everybody arrives knowing exactly what terminology to use or which service they need.

That thinking is one of the reasons my Creative Services now include smaller consultations and clarity based services as well as complete branding and website projects. A business that needs somebody to diagnose what is going wrong should not automatically have to buy the biggest package available just to get useful strategic support.

It also means I care quite a lot about the outcome beyond the deliverable itself. If I design something for a client, I want them to understand how to use it afterwards, while strategic work should leave somebody clearer about what deserves their attention rather than giving them another document that disappears into a folder.

How does being neurodivergent affect the way I run the business?

Being autistic and having ADHD has influenced how I think about communication, accessibility and the amount of unnecessary friction businesses sometimes create without realising it. I know what it is like to find an environment harder because information is unclear or because there is only one accepted way of communicating, so I try not to recreate that in the way I work with other people.

That does not mean every client needs exactly the same accommodations I would want, because accessibility works better when you actually listen to the individual person. It means I am comfortable adjusting how information is shared, explaining things without assuming somebody already knows the language of branding or marketing and generally making the process less intimidating.

It has also shaped how I think about design itself. Clear information, readable websites and sensible user journeys benefit far more people than those who have a particular diagnosis, so accessibility becomes part of making something easier for everyone to use rather than a specialist extra added at the end.

Why do I enjoy running a creative business in Essex?

Essex has been part of my professional life for a long time, so running the business here feels like a continuation of that rather than a completely separate chapter. There is a strong mix of independent businesses, creative people and founders doing interesting things, particularly around places such as Colchester where I spent a lot of my earlier career.

The nice thing about a digital business is that being based in Essex does not limit who I can work with. I support clients across Essex and Suffolk as well as businesses further around the UK, while still having a local business community around me and the option of actually meeting people rather than conducting my entire professional life through tiny boxes on a screen.

Being featured in Essex Life felt like some of that local connection coming back around. The business works nationally, but there is still something particularly satisfying about being recognised by a publication connected to the place where so much of it began.

See also: What it's like running a design and marketing business in Colchester vs Bury St Edmunds

What has press recognition changed for the business?

The biggest practical change is that I now have another independent piece of evidence to show people who are researching Hi This Is Bry. Somebody arriving through Google or finding me through social media can see that the business has appeared in established publications alongside the awards, testimonials and other proof surrounding my work.

That does not replace the need for good branding, a useful website or clear service information, because press cannot rescue a business that becomes confusing the moment somebody tries to find out what it sells. What it can do is strengthen the trust already being built elsewhere and give somebody one more reason to believe the business is established enough to consider.

This is why I encourage small businesses to think more broadly about visibility than simply posting on social media. Press, awards, case studies, testimonials and useful content can all contribute different kinds of proof, which becomes much more powerful when people can actually find them while deciding whether to work with you.

See also: Hi This Is Bry named UK top 10 for Best Business Branding at the Small Business Awards

FAQs

Where was Hi This Is Bry featured? Hi This Is Bry was featured in Essex Life Magazine as part of its coverage of businesses and people in Essex. The piece discussed my creative work alongside the inclusive values behind the business and some of the experiences that influenced why I started it.

What does Hi This Is Bry do? I work with small businesses across branding, websites, social media and brand and visibility strategy, with different services depending on what the business actually needs. You can see the current offers and prices through my Creative Services page.

Where is Hi This Is Bry based? My business is based around Essex and Suffolk, with Colchester playing a particularly important role in my professional background. I also work remotely with businesses across the UK, so clients do not need to be local to work with me.

Can you help a business become more visible online? Yes, although the right approach depends on what is currently getting in the way. I offer support across branding and marketing, websites and social media, as well as broader strategic support when the problem is not limited to one channel.

Does press coverage help small business credibility? It can, particularly when the publication is relevant and the coverage gives somebody useful context about the business. Press works best as one part of a wider collection of proof, alongside client feedback, case studies, awards and a website that clearly explains what you do.

I am still very glad this happened

Being featured in Essex Life Magazine meant a lot because it recognised more than the finished design work, it captured some of the thinking and values that made me start Hi This Is Bry in the first place. Seeing those things represented in a publication connected to Essex made the feature feel particularly personal, while also giving the business another useful piece of external recognition.

It has also made me more aware of how easy it is for small business owners to achieve something useful and then barely mention it afterwards. If somebody outside your business has decided your work is worth recognising, there is absolutely no prize for hiding the evidence because talking about yourself feels awkward.

Want to see what proof your business is already sitting on?

Press coverage is one way to build authority, but your business may already have testimonials, useful client results, experience or other forms of recognition that potential customers are struggling to find. My free Business Visibility Playbook helps you look at the wider journey people take when they research your business and identify where stronger proof or clearer information could make you easier to trust.