Your Bag is Empty
simplified design with rohan peterson
a game-changer in the digital editorial space, badlands journal was born from creative duo rohan peterson and his partner talisa sutton’s love of creativity, fashion and design. coupled with their multidisciplinary creative agency, badlands studio, the pair have built a reputation for minimal aesthetics and premium design.
we chat to rohan at badlands’ surry hills headquarters about his latest projects, life with a newborn, and his simple approach to daily style.
hi rohan, thanks for having us at badlands journal hq. can you tell us a bit about the latest projects you’re working on?
a lot of branding at the moment! we've recently rebranded a predictive a.i. company, doing new logos or rebrands for several fashion labels, and designing packaging for several clients' new product ranges.
what influences would you say most inspire your design aesthetic?
i'm not sure if there's one thing that inspires or influences the badlands studio aesthetic, but in general we try and pare things back to their cleanest form - nothing superfluous.
how did the idea for badlands journal come about?
talisa and i both have editorial design backgrounds, and wanted to design something together that used those skills and allowed us to do things our own way. it also forced us to learn new skills - we've designed two custom typefaces for the journal, which we use throughout the site and the magazine, and learn how to integrate things like ecommerce for the journal's new shop.
what’s the best part about working with your partner on a day to day basis?
i get to work with my best friend :) we have complementary skills and styles, and bounce ideas off each other to reach the solution.
what would be your dream project to work on?
we'd love to work on a large-scale hospitality project, like a resort or luxury hotel, along the full scope of creative.
"
i'm not sure if there's one thing that inspires or influences the badlands studio aesthetic, but in general we try and pare things back to their cleanest form.
"
how do you spend your time outside of work?
life's changed a huge amount recently, but on weekends t and i will still usually go out for breakfast, visit family or take lúa to the park.
you’ve recently welcomed your first child, lúa. what’s the best part about being a dad?
it's all pretty great, but making lúa laugh is the best thing by far. she has the best smile and she likes to laugh.
what are you currently:
- reading?
i'm re-reading the stars my destination by alfred bester, and about to start catch & kill
- watching?
we're watching on becoming a god in central florida at the moment
- listening to?
lúa
rohan's edit
photographs by hannah roche