Buro Blits is tackling branding with a fun and fearless approach

When you navigate Phebe Van der Meulen’s (aka Buro Blits’) colourful website, your cursor turns into a pink cowboy hat – a fitting reflection of the kind of work that’s in store. Uninhibited and imaginative, the Ghent-based designer likens her practice to “a playground”, her process “a rollercoaster of ups and downs” that’s guided by intuition. “I know something works when I can’t stop playing around with it,” she says. Any lessons she’s picked up along the way? “Don’t take yourself too seriously and have some fun!”

Founded in 2024, Buro Blits was an opportunity for Phebe to follow her intuition and start something entirely her own after eight years of working in design agencies. The designer found the beginnings of her independent practice through her participation in online briefs a “fun way to build my portfolio and reconnect with my creativity”, she says, “showcasing this work within the design community then gave me a boost and opened doors to exciting opportunities”.

Under Buro Blits, Phebe now focuses her time on building bold, colourful brand identities and creative campaigns, as well as honing her skills in content creation and art direction. Often accompanied by playful illustrations, her fun and fearless work has taken shape in restaurant identities with a gloriously retro feel and durable identity systems for furniture brands. Phebe takes influence for all of her perfect colour combinations and a playful use of type from everything from “kitsch to brutalism to Japanese minimalism”, she tells us. “I also draw endless inspiration from theatre, art, music, dance, and fashion – it’s where all the drama happens!” Phebe ends. “I believe expression, creative freedom, and interaction are at the heart of a strong visual language.”