Open for new projects · May 2026 Studio in Nuneaton · 15 mi from Rugby
Design studio for

Rugby.

Twenty-five minutes down the A5 from our Nuneaton studio. Brand, web, packaging and print design for Rugby businesses — engineering heritage firms, town-centre independents, and the new things growing around them.

11+ Projects shipped with Rugby clients
15 mi Studio to Rugby town centre
£0 Travel mark-up — we're close enough
1 day Written response to any new brief
Working with Rugby

Rugby businesses are engineering town in slow, deliberate reinvention.

Rugby's an engineering town that's been quietly reinventing itself for a decade. The heritage manufacturers and consultancies are still here, but so is a growing scene of small independents, professional firms and public-sector teams who need their work to look as considered as the engineering they sit alongside.

1

Engineering & manufacturing heritage

Rugby's identity as an engineering town runs deep — major manufacturers, specialist consultancies, niche-product firms. Many need to modernise their brand and web without losing the technical authority that's their actual asset.

2

Town-centre independents

The cluster of independent cafés, restaurants, retailers and makers around Sheep Street, Church Street and the Clock Towers needs work that competes credibly with chain neighbours but stays distinctly Rugby.

3

Professional firms & public sector

Law, accountancy, surveying and Rugby Borough Council teams need work that's clear and reliable — collateral, web and identity work that holds up across long projects and changing teams.

Recent Rugby work.

A selection from 2023–2026 ·Browse all work →

How a project runs across 15 miles.

Most of the work happens over video — same as it does for our clients in London, Bristol or Milan. But for Rugby briefs there are four moments where we'll always come to you in person, included in the quote at no mark-up.

1Kickoff

We come to you

A 90-minute discovery session at your office, café, studio or building site — wherever the work actually lives.

In Rugby
2Direction

Two routes, over video

Two design directions presented and worked through over Zoom or Meet — usually 60–90 minutes, recorded and shared.

Video
3Develop

Refinement & reviews

Designs refined and shared async via Figma and PDFs. Two scheduled review calls; ad-hoc questions handled within the working day.

Async / video
4Deliver

Press-check or handover

We attend the press-check for print and packaging work, or run a handover session at your office for digital projects — at no charge for Rugby-area suppliers.

In Rugby
We're a 40-year-old engineering firm with technical authority that was clearly not being communicated by our identity or our website. Nicolas spent half a day on the shop floor before drawing anything. The work that came back was confident, technical, and didn't try to make us look like a London startup. Three big tenders since launch and we've named the brand in every one.
Mark Renshaw Managing Director · Hillmorton Engineering · Rugby, UK
Where we've worked

Rugby, district by district.

A non-exhaustive list of Rugby districts and surrounding villages we've shipped projects with clients in. Numbers shown are projects shipped, not active campaigns. If your part of Rugby isn't listed, that's not a problem — we're 15 miles up the A5 either way.

Rugby FAQ

The five questions Rugby clients always ask.

If yours isn't here, drop us a note at projects@saint-nicolas.co.uk — written response inside one working day.

Do you offer in-person meetings with Rugby clients?

Yes. Our studio is 15 miles from Rugby city centre — a 25-minute drive on the A5, or a 20-minute train ride. We'll come to you for the kickoff and any decisive sessions (press-checks, brand reveals, launch reviews) at no additional charge.

Day-to-day work runs over video, which keeps the budget on the design and not the travel. If you'd rather meet at the studio in Nuneaton, that's an open invitation — we've got coffee, a long table, and a wall to print work onto.

Which areas of Rugby do you cover?

All of Rugby and the surrounding districts. Our recent work has been concentrated in the town centre, Hillmorton, Bilton and Brownsover — but we've shipped projects with clients in Newbold-on-Avon, Cawston, Long Lawford, Dunchurch, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore and Overslade too.

We also work regularly with clients in Nuneaton, Coventry, Warwickshire and Leicester — all easy reach from the studio.

How quickly can you get to Rugby for a press-check or proof sign-off?

Same-day if needed, with reasonable notice. The A5 connects the studio to Rugby's printers and trade estates in 25 minutes off-peak; the train is faster than driving in rush hour.

We attend press-checks for print and packaging projects as standard, and proof sign-offs at suppliers in Rugby, the Central Park industrial estate and the Glebe Farm Business Park. If your printer's local, we probably already know it.

What kinds of Rugby businesses do you typically work with?

Engineering and specialist manufacturers (heritage firms in rail, energy and precision components), independent food and drink along Sheep Street and Church Street, professional services (law, accountancy, surveying) across the town centre, independent retailers, an emerging design and maker scene in the converted Victorian terraces, and a strong public-sector and education base including Rugby Borough Council and Rugby School.

We work across nine design disciplines — brand, web, packaging, print, editorial and social — and most projects combine two or three. Browse the full portfolio for examples by discipline.

How do you price design projects for Rugby clients?

Same as anywhere — every project is quoted bespoke against scope, complexity and turnaround, with a written estimate before any work starts.

No travel mark-up for Rugby projects: we're close enough that on-site sessions don't change the brief. We don't publish day rates or package prices because every brief is genuinely different, and a fair quote needs context. Send us a brief or just a paragraph about what you're trying to do and we'll come back within one working day.

Got a Rugby project to start?

A 25-minute drive, a 20-minute train, and a written response inside one working day — no travel mark-up, no sales call.