Matinee Creative

Hey y’all: Amy is speaking at Indy Design Week’s First Draft Showcase this Tuesday night. She’ll be giving a behind-the-curtain look at how she helped Hi & Mighty create the brand for their popular Shake Up Cocktails line. If you want to learn about the rollercoaster-like vibes that accompany bringing a beverage brand to life (incredibly fun, occasionally terrifying) come check it out!

Hey all. We're proud to support Indiana Writers Center. On Feb. 26, they're having a fundraiser. You should "not" attend.

Tickets here:

The Readers' Night in Gala: A Benefit for the Indiana Writers Center Readers' Night in Gala: A Benefit for the Indiana Writers Center, an online event that celebrates the joy of reading while supporting IWC.

Indy’s only women’s pro volleyball team came within a single game of a championship in its inaugural 2025 season.

Heading into year two, they tapped Matinee to help tell a story that captures the team’s combustible energy and fierce ambition.

We landed on a rallying cry: We Play With Fire.

Then we expanded the brand—fresh fonts, bolder color, new visual sparks—giving them the tools to tell a story that matches the team’s fast, fearless playing style.

Along the way, we kinda fell in love with women’s volleyball. Can’t wait to be in the stands when the season kicks off in January.

Matt here.

About a year ago, Amy started painting. She’d dipped her toes into art-making before, but this has been different. This time she jumped all the way in, submerging herself in the scary waters that separate commercial art and self-expression.

It’s been inspiring to watch her apply her talent to a craft that gives her so much joy. I know she’s just getting started, but I’m so proud of her for being brave enough to make the leap.

Also, I’m biased, but her work is really good.

You can see it tonight, along with lots of other great art, at two places: The Tiny Show at Gallery 924 and The Golden Ticket at the Harrison Center.

Stop in. Say hi. Pat Amy on the back. She’s earned it.

As a two-person boutique agency, we’re nomadic by nature. Since launching eight years ago (!), we’ve haunted coffee shops, leased windowless offices in sterile buildings, and (of course) worked from home. Most recently, we had a standalone office in Fountain Square. It was great—but more space than an outfit like ours needs.

So when the owner sold the building, we went back to working from home—likely, we thought, for good. But then a space opened up at .

Guys, if you’ve never been to Draft, it’s special. It’s not your startup-bro uncle’s coworking space. Owners Aaron and Rebecca Zettler have clearly put their hearts and souls into creating something warm, beautiful, and human. Plants everywhere, thoughtful lighting, natural materials—just a lovely, grounded energy all around.

We’re still nomadic at heart, but we’ve finally found a place that feels like home. Big thanks to Aaron and Rebecca for having us. 🌿

Are there forces that seem determined to keep Indiana from becoming the best version of itself?

Sadly, yes.

Are there others pushing in the opposite direction? Happily, yes. Health by Design is one of them.

One of the highlights of our fall was helping them refresh the branding for the Indiana Walk & Bike Summit: a two-day event that brings together people from across the state to imagine healthier, more human ways of moving through the world.

Our goal was to give the event the energy to match its participants—a look that’s part bicycle, part Indiana pride (that badge hides a subtle “I”). The result gives Health by Design a bold new voice for a critical gathering. And if it helps make Indiana a little more walkable and bikeable, we’ll happily take our small share of the “w.”

Happy birthday to the one and only. Wise ones know. Salute her if you see her.

Marigold — an Indy institution that celebrates its 36th (!) birthday today — has been supplying with natty duds for years. Recently, we got the chance to return the favor, giving the brand a light makeover while retaining its core DNA: bright, warm, welcoming and, of course, stylish.

This Saturday! Featuring Wishy! Still one of our favorite projects! Exclamatory sentence fragments are fun!

A while back, we helped our friends Dan and Jamie brand their new distillery, Hi & Mighty. Great people, *excellent* taste in gin, and a clear idea of what they wanted to build.

We helped name and build the brand, and designed packaging for their first line of spirits and canned cocktails. One of those cocktails—Lemon Shake Up—became kind of a big deal.

Fast forward a couple years, and that one drink has spun off into its own brand: Shake Up. We partnered with the Hi & Mighty team through the entire spin-off process, from research and strategy to brand and packaging design.

This case study is a look at that process. It wasn’t always pretty. A beloved mascot had to say goodbye. But sometimes you have to kill your darlings in order to fly.

Link: https://www.matineecreative.com/shakeup-casestudy/