We are customer-obsessed, research always, super creative, very foodie Beautiful Useful
Beautiful Useful is an independent brand strategy + messaging studio led by Ange Friesen, a writer who lives in London and works with clients everywhere
I founded beautiful useful because I love things.
Really. I’m obsessed with finding the perfect *anything* — coffee mug, bicycle helmet, to-do list app. Whatever.
Because instead of closets full of things, I want those few perfect objects that feel special and totally me. They need to look and feel beautiful — and they need to work beautifully.
I founded Beautiful Useful to be a place where I could work with founders and teams who are just as obsessed as I am with making something(s) special.
The name was inspired by designer William Morris’s golden rule:
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
I’d add this: ideally both.
Because I apply that same obsession with beauty to brand + messaging.
Every word and line needs to ring just right.
I especially love those quirky little moments that make a brand shine — the perfect line waiting to greet your customers when they open the box; or a little thank you note when they sign up for your emails.
Those are the moments that, for me, take a brand from “just a brand” to something people can fall in love with.
We’re dreamers and doers.
Who we are
Beautiful Useful is a brand strategy and messaging studio led by founder Ange Friesen (me!) in collaboration with a trusted team of brilliant creatives.
My background is brand strategy + messaging and copywriting, and I work with UX designers, brand designers, content strategists and copywriters — along with anyone else we need to make the project as stellar as it can be.
Everyone we work with is brilliant and kind, and incredibly good at what they do.
Who we work with
Our focus is on product — whether that’s digital or physical (or very possibly both). Whether you’re getting ready to launch, or already have a bestselling product, here’s what really matters:
You’re building something with design at the heart of things.
You want it to be both beautiful and functional.
You want people to say “I can’t believe I ever lived without [your thing].”
You might be wondering where I get these big ideas about branding and marketing, and whether I can back them up with real world results. (Good wondering. And yep.)
I started my career at Joseph Mimran & Associates, a Toronto brand consultancy where I worked exclusively on product and packaging for one of Canada’s biggest retailers.
I then trained to become a depth psychotherapist (yes, really). I studied psychology and psychotherapy for three years, learning everything I could about how humans create meaning for themselves.
Somewhere along the way, I realized that it was way more fun to apply those same tools and practices to ideas and brands. And so, brand therapy was born.
Since launching in 2016 I’ve:
+ Worked with clients all over the world (including the US, the UK, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Bangladesh and beyond)
+ worked with tiny startups, massive global brands, and everything in between
+ helped global ecommerce brands smash their sales targets and launch their highest selling products of all time with a new product launch messaging strategy
+ helped online businesses increase their free trial signups by 500% within two weeks of launching their new brand