About the Studio
You can usually find us at a table covered in sketchbooks, storyboards and coffee cups — shaping ideas into identities, environments and films.
Novel Creative is a multidisciplinary studio working across brand, place and story. From cultural institutions and festivals to public environments and destinations, we help organisations express their ideas through design, space and moving image.
We work closely with our clients — often over many years — developing brand systems, spatial experiences and storytelling that evolve with their audiences.
Based on the Mid North Coast of NSW, our studio balances focused creative work with a deep connection to place.
Our Philosophy
We believe the most powerful cultural work happens through collaboration.
Our studio brings together strategy, design, spatial thinking and film to shape how audiences experience organisations and places. We work closely with curators, cultural teams, marketers and communities to ensure every project is both visionary and practical to implement.
Whether designing a cultural identity, shaping a public environment or capturing a story on film, our goal is the same — to create work that is thoughtful, lasting and meaningful.
Studio Leadership
Novel Creative is led by creative partners Emily and Dan Cooper, bringing together expertise across design, spatial communication and film.
Together they shape the studio’s work across brand, place and story — collaborating closely with cultural organisations, institutions and destinations across Australia.
Together they lead a network of collaborators across design, film, writing and digital to deliver projects of varying scale.
Emily Cooper
Creative Director
Emily leads the studio’s strategic and design direction, bringing nearly two decades of experience working with cultural organisations, institutions and public projects across Australia.
Her practice sits at the intersection of identity design, cultural storytelling and spatial communication — shaping brand systems that extend from campaigns and publications to exhibitions, environments and public experiences.
Emily works closely with clients to translate complex ideas into clear, thoughtful design frameworks that can evolve across organisations, programs and places.
Dan Cooper
Director — Film & Moving Image
Dan leads the studio’s film practice, directing and producing cultural storytelling, documentary and performance content.
Working across exhibitions, campaigns and destination projects, he captures the people, ideas and environments behind cultural work — translating them into films that extend the life of programs and projects.
His work bridges documentary storytelling, cultural content and cinematic craft.
Collaborators
Novel Creative operates as a small core studio supported by a trusted network of collaborators across design, film, writing, strategy, architecture and digital.
This model allows us to scale teams to suit each project while maintaining a consistent creative direction and close client relationships.
Depending on the brief, we collaborate with:
• designers
• filmmakers
• photographers
• writers and editors
• spatial designers
• developers and digital specialists
Together we build teams that bring the right expertise to each project.
Our Clients
We work with cultural organisations, councils, institutions and brands across Australia. Many of our collaborations extend over multiple years, allowing us to support organisations as their programs, audiences and spaces evolve.
Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the Gumbaynggirr people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and work on the Mid North Coast of NSW. We honour their ancestors, Elders and emerging generations.
We recognise the deep cultural knowledge, stories and creative practices that have shaped this place for thousands of years, and approach cultural work with care, respect and responsibility.