Astrik Studio was one of only five businesses to be shortlisted for Marketing and Advertisement StartUp of the Year for Wales.
Annabelle founded Astrik Studio in April 2025, wanting to bring the ‘design challenge’ from her time at university into her work. While she was a student at Loughborough University, she was passionate about healthcare and human-centred problems. She now brings this passion into her business by working with wellness and health-related brands to enhance their online presence and communicate their value.
Annabelle said:
“Along the way I've had to evolve well beyond design, from quite technical video editing to showing up on camera, helping clients bring their brands to life in engaging ways.
“Being named a finalist feels like a real full-circle moment. Loughborough's Graphic Communication and Illustration course gave me the thinking skills to connect ideas, solve problems through design, and push the boundaries of what good design can really mean- and I bring that into everything I do. To have it recognised at a national level in my first year of Astrik Studio means a huge amount.”
Astrik Studio provides support in a wide variety of marketing areas, including logo creation, social media content, photography and more.
In her first year running Astrik Studio, she went from two to five retainer clients and worked with over ten different businesses. She has been successful in achieving over 10-times the average engagement for her client, David Lloyd Club on their TikTok page.
Recently, Annabelle has brought in another Loughborough alum to work with her. She is interested in working with more Loughborough graduates in the future and hopes that her achievements can inspire current students to explore their passions.
The UK StartUp Awards regional finals will take place in June 2026 where regional winners will be crowned and have the chance to move on to the national final.
Congratulations and good luck, Annabelle!
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