Smith & Diction: A love letter to design, Philly, and doing things differently

As it happens, Mike Smith, co-founder of design and copy studio Smith & Diction, told his now-wife and business partner Chara about his plan to start his own Philadelphia studio on their very first date. After a few years at Philly-based branding agency 160over90 and two years up in New York working at non-profit Charity Water, the couple decided to return home and give their dream a shot.

Smith & Diction officially started in 2015. Back then, Mike was working out of a one-bedroom apartment while Chara took one for the team and worked a salaried job in pharma, so they had some security. "I'm endlessly grateful to her and for that time where we were kind of nobodies, where we just messed up for like five years straight, figuring out the ins and outs of how to run a business – something we were spectacularly bad at in the early days," Smith admits.

In their personal lives, they married, had a kid, and bought a house, while in business, they faced other challenges like taking on big jobs for way too little money, figuring out contracts and taxes, and just generally trying to find their process.

Smith also remembers being terrified of growth and the effects it would have on his own mental health, but believes that to overcome these things, you just have to live through them. He says: "There are so few business mistakes that will literally kill you – you just pick yourself up and say, 'Well, I'll never do that again', and then you move on.

"The best part about beginnings is that not a lot of people care what you're doing, which is a secret blessing as there's a bit more grace and less scrutiny to get it perfect."

Rooted in Philly

Smith's love for Philadelphia started young. He grew up right outside the city and used to skateboard there when he was in high school. His ambition to set up a studio there initially started because he wanted to "flip the script on this city being stuck in 1776 aesthetically", but he found that Philly was stuck in its ways and had to give up on that dream a while ago.

"It doesn't make me love it any less," he says. "My family is here, and my friends are here. And also, houses are much cheaper here than in New York."

A few years back, Smith & Diction worked on a project called The Rail Park in Philadelphia, which Smith is still very proud of to this day. "I poured my entire heart and soul into that thing," he adds. The studio has also worked on some other exciting local projects, including Elixr Coffee and Càphê Roasters.

Smith tells us: "Philly is full of really good people – some of them rough around the edges but all together really solid. Happy to be here and have a chip on my shoulder because of it."

More than a brief

Smith & Diction's tagline is "Thoughtful identities for imaginative clients", meaning that they like working with people who aren't afraid of design that pushes the boundaries. Smith explains: "We started this business because we wanted to design stuff that makes people feel things.

"Even if your business feels corporate, our goal is to build brands that don't feel exactly like the same thing everyone has already seen. Just pushing the boundaries of what is expected into something that makes people look twice, read a headline, or want to wear the t-shirt from the tech startup they work at."

Getting results for clients is just one half of it – Smith & Diction also works on projects that challenge them as creatives and make them proud. "We like to think, 'Would I want to work for that company? Would I want to build out that brand? Would I click on that ad? Would I trust that company to be my personal assistant?'," says Smith.

In short, the studio goes beyond meeting the brief and tries to spark a feeling. Smith admits: "That may not make us 100% unique, but it's definitely not something you get just anywhere."

From clients to friends

Most studios have that one project that puts them on the map, and for Smith & Diction, it was their work on AI-powered answer engine Perplexity. While fans of the studio's work might recognise projects like The Rail Park, Exposure, and The Bok Building as 'the biggens', they're all minor players compared to Perplexity, according to Smith.

"The best part about working on Perplexity is that I'm still very good friends with the folks over there," he says. "It's one of those situations where the client becomes your real friend afterwards – a real win-win."

One of Smith's favourite projects he's worked on is Living Roots Wine & Co. Since it's quite recent and not fully released yet, Smith & Diction don't even have final photos of the bottles yet. For Living Roots Wine & Co, the studio developed a logo that Smith describes as "more of a story symbol", made up of four individual pieces that come together to create a unified mark. "It makes me so happy every time I look at it," Smith adds.

With the bottle labels, Smith & Diction designed a complex system that most customers won't completely acknowledge, as it's more for the insiders. Smith explains: "There's a rock shape that changes with each variety, and within that rock shape, there's a grey watercolour or an orange watercolour that represents the soil from the origin region."

Grey represents the shale rocks in Finger Lakes, New York, while orange represents the clay rocks of Adelaide Hills in South Australia. On the left side of the bottle is a paragraph that shows what each part of the logo represents, and on the right is a small USA AUS stamp.

"Another very fun bonus is that we worked with Jeffery Phillips to make a mischievous Mascot called the Grape Gobbler that can be seen sneaking around the winery," says Smith. "There are so many elements to this brand, and there's so much more in store as well. We've been working on the case study for about two years now."

A passion for learning

Working with a variety of clients in different sectors is something that Smith & Diction really values and has definitely shaped so much of the business. In Smith's opinion, working with people who are extremely passionate, no matter what they are doing, is one of the best parts of the job, and he likes to learn new things on each project.

He says: "I worked for a dude doing Active Index Investing - I didn't and still don't even know what that is, but I just loved how passionate he was about it.

"I love to be able to dip in and out of industries because it keeps us sharp."

Presently, the studio is doing a lot of work with AI companies, so Smith is exposed to many people who are optimistic about the future of technology. "Some of it is a bit dystopian, which is slightly terrifying," he admits, "but most of the time, it's people trying to make other people's lives just a little bit easier."

Collaborative culture

Within their hyper-small team of four designers and one copywriter, one of the core tenets of Smith & Diction's culture is just showing up and doing your best every day. Every project is super collaborative, and no one 'owns' anything.

According to Smith, art director Dayan D'Aniello is a master of type, senior designer Summer McClure can do literally anything, and their newest recruit, Tully Ryan, is finding his footing and doing a great job with icon design. He adds, "Chara and I are the creative directors who aren't afraid to get our hands dirty.

"I usually try to push everyone to make stuff that pushes the boundary a little bit or to keep going until their heart sings when they look at it."

Smith notes that he and Chara previously worked at "some pretty toxic places", so they try to avoid any behaviours they encountered there. "No 7 p.m. check-ins, no mandatory weekend hours, no yelling, none of that nonsense," he says. As long as the work gets done, we're all very happy."

While the studio is mostly remote, the Smiths work out of the BOK Building in South Philadelphia every day. Smith says, "I could gush on and on about this building—it's the perfect space—an old Technical High School—so our office is a literal classroom with chalkboards and everything.

"It's the most inspiring environment I think I've ever worked in, and the building is full of artists, makers, and all kinds of genuine creative people." And he doesn't just mean designers.

The building is teeming with creatives from all sectors, from tattoo artists, artisan skincare makers, and glassblowers to piano inventors, wedding dress designers, animators, and sound technicians.

"It feels like you're in the best after-school program that exists, and any time I'm feeling uninspired, I literally just walk up and down the halls and peek into people's shops to see what kind of awesome stuff they are working on," says Smith.

"As long as I live in Philly, my studio will be in the BOK Building."

What's next for Smith & Diction

Right now, Smith & Diction is in a state of major growth, which Smith admits is still a little terrifying but feels it's the right time to make the leap to extend the team to share some of the load.

Every six months, Mike and Chara try to have an offsite where they drink wine and talk about what they want to work on for the next year. Smith says that while they haven't managed to do that yet this year, the general plan is to "keep pushing to create stuff that feels unique—stuff that makes people smile or makes their hearts happy."

He reveals they've got a few projects in the works that he's "unbelievably excited about", including one involving some cabins in Yellowstone. "That one feels like an absolute dream, and we can't wait to dive in," Smith adds.