About

Design Bug is a small but mighty team of designers, developers, copywriters and marketers.

Hey there, we’re the Design Bugs.

We’re your branding (and business) besties.

If you have ambition, we have the design smarts to match. For over 13 years, we have been working with clients who want to take control of their brand and their story. When your brand reflects just how good your offering is, things start to change for the better.

Led by sister act Kristy Coady and Rebecca Geraghty, we run a small but mighty team of graphic designers, marketers and copywriters from our studio in Newcastle.

Get to know our team

If you’ve made it all the way to this page, chances are you want to get to know us a little better. Read on to learn a bit about our design experience and specialities – plus a few fun facts that you’ll be able to drop into conversation when we eventually meet up for coffee.

Kristy Coady

Founder & Creative Director


Kristy is our founder and creative director overseeing and contributing to all projects at Design Bug and sister business, Swell Magazine. A perfectionist at heart, Kristy keeps both our office and projects in-check. A typical day for Kristy can include everything from client communication, project management, strategising and overseeing design projects, directing photoshoots, creating the pages of Swell Magazine and making sure there is adequate coffee and snacks at all times.

Kristy graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Visual Communications (Design) HONS in 2007. Her passion is in print design (hence starting a magazine!) while her creative eye, attention to detail and the passion she puts into every project has contributed to the ongoing success of the business. She loves meeting with clients, learning about their businesses and cheering them on as they grow.

Rebecca Geraghty

Creative Director & Web Designer

Bec is our all-rounder. She wears multiple hats (and wears them well) including chief web designer, creative director and marketing ideas extraordinaire. She’s a problem solver, knows how to “talk-geek” with our technical providers and translate it into plain english. Bec’s calming presence and dry sense of humour rounds out the team perfectly. She can sum up any scenario with the perfect gif in expert time – it’s a real skill.

Bec graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Visual Communications (Design) in 2012. Bec joined Kristy at Design Bug while still studying and has been a driving force ever since. It took Kristy a while to “let” Bec do more than find stock photos and lay out simple text files, but now Kristy will be the first to tell you that Bec is the superior designer. Her concepts are original, well thought out and executed to perfection.

Claire Cresswell

Senior Designer

Claire is our senior graphic designer, creating brands, focused marketing materials and custom illustrations for our clients. She jumps from project to project, bringing a keen eye and a whole lot of pizzaz to all that she creates. You’ll also find her wonderful illustrations on the pages of Swell Magazine.

Claire graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Visual Communications (Design) HONS in 2007 and again in 2017 with a Masters of Digital Media. Beginning her career in Melbourne and moving back to Newcastle via Sydney, Claire brings her big-city studio experience to Design Bug. Claire loves being able to work with a diverse range of clients, always ensuring each brand we create is impactful and truly embodies the personality of their business.

Hannah Mills

Marketing & Copywriting

Hannah is our resident professional storyteller, working across both Design Bug and Swell as a copywriter and marketing expert. Having graduated from the University of Newcastle with a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) in 2011, Hannah has since worked with not-for-profits and international governments as a communications specialist and marketing all-rounder. 

Hannah’s job is to not only ensure more people know about the great work that we do, but also help our clients take their copywriting and marketing to the next level. She says she’s had a passion for good storytelling and clever content from an early age, which has carried forth into her adult life. She admits she can be known to fixate on TV shows or other pop culture, and is often dropping obscure references into office convos.

Sance Lord

Business Development

Sance is Business Development Manager for Design Bug and Swell, managing partnerships, advertising campaigns and corporate distribution – plus generally spreading the good word about what we do. Prior to joining us, Sance spent over 15 years working for multiple large media organisations in Sydney, and most recently managed corporate partnerships for the City of Sydney. She has a Graduate Certificate in Marketing from UNSW.

Sance says being part of the Design Bug and Swell team has allowed her to draw on that experience and she loves having the opportunity to get to know the wide range of amazing people and businesses who also call Newcastle home.

Our History

It all started in an MRI machine (for real)

Sometimes the universe has to intervene to make you go for it. That’s how our story begins…

Kristy (on the right) had been dreaming of starting her own studio for years. But she happened to quite like her job, so decided not to mess with a good thing.

That was until a serious back injury put her in an MRI machine, where there was nothing else to do but think. And there is something about an MRI machine that makes you think deep (and not just about what’s for dinner).

Design Bug was born there and then, and little sister Bec came on board pretty soon after. Didn’t realise we were sisters? That happens all the time – but while we don’t look alike, we have an intensely strong sisterly design intuition.

Now here we are 13 years later, with a small studio that designs with heart and soul. We know that working with an agency can be intimidating, so we’ll never weigh you down with fancy jargon… and we don’t mind if your babysitter cancels and your kids have to come to work. That’s just life.