When I visited the Windmill office of WM Designs, I felt it straight away: calm, clean, thoughtful energy. The kind of space where every frame, font and photograph seems perfectly, effortlessly placed. It’s the workspace and calling card of Fowey-based designer Will Maher, whose approach to branding and web design has turned his Fowey based design studio into a global creative force.

Will’s path to design independence started in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, where his first ventures into freelance work came less from glossy briefs and more from grit and resourcefulness. “I wanted control over my own destiny,” he recalls, smiling. After a BTEC in Graphic Arts and a degree from Leeds Metropolitan University, Will turned down the agency route, opting instead for self-employment. Now, 15 years later, a decision that has defined both his business and his belief in doing things differently.

His earliest commission? Designing football scarves for a textiles designer, followed by marketing materials for an engineering firm. Neither glamorous, but both foundational. They gave him time to shape the creative business he truly wanted to build. The pivotal moment came when a local bridal boutique, Lulu Brown, entrusted him with their entire marketing identity. Suddenly, Will wasn’t just designing; he was storytelling. “That project was where I really cut my teeth,” he says. “It taught me how to create a brand that people connect with emotionally.”

That thread of emotional resonance, detail and trust runs through everything WM Designs now delivers. From Fowey to LA and pretty much everywhere in between, Will and his team have crafted brands and websites for clients as varied as the Fowey River Gallery, Perfect Charter in Majorca, MVE Global Talent agency and even global movie brands. Yet, as he puts it, “the attention we give the local shop owner is the same as we give to a global brand.”

What makes WM Designs special is that boutique authenticity: the sense that design is personal. Clients don’t get passed off to account managers or layers of production; they speak directly to the creatives doing the work. And those creatives, Will insists, are everything. “Jack,” he grins, referencing his young designer, “is phenomenal - he has grown into his craft beautifully.” 

Beyond deadlines and design boards, Will is also part of something quintessentially coastal: the RNLI crew in Fowey. “When I moved here, I didn’t really know many people,” he says. “Joining the crew was a way to meet others and give something back.” His eyes soften when recalling the rescue of a terrified young paddleboarder: “Seeing that fear change to relief when we arrived, that made me really understand exactly why we do it.” Balancing rescue calls with running a business might sound impossible, but for Will it’s just another rhythm of life by the sea. “People understand. That’s what living in a coastal community is all about.”