Bureau Bonanza is relocating to London while keeping Dublin roots.
Bureau Bonanza does award-winning design work but is nearly invisible to anyone outside Dublin's creative scene. Rachel Copley McQuillan runs the studio solo since 2017, with clients including Dublin Theatre Festival, The Douglas Hyde, Irish National Opera, and White Mausu. The portfolio is strong - IDI Awards, 100 Archive selections across six years, a Fonts In Use Staff Pick. But the website copyright says 2024, the most recent portfolio work shown is from 2023, Google Maps has the business pinned 100 miles from Dublin, there are zero reviews anywhere, and there's no contact form. The gap between the quality of the work and the quality of the online presence is severe.
Rachel founded Bureau Bonanza with Stina Sandstrom in 2017 in Dublin. Stina has since departed but still appears on some listings. Rachel now runs the studio solo, working with cultural institutions and food brands. She's relocating to London, creating a dual-city practice.
Each category scored 0–5. Click to expand the evidence.
The site loads, SSL works, but several fundamentals are broken or missing.
Zero reviews across every platform. No Google reviews, no Clutch profile, no testimonials on the website. For a studio that's worked with Dublin Theatre Festival and National Opera, this is a significant missed opportunity.
This is the strongest area. The portfolio work itself is genuinely excellent. The visual quality of projects like Saltwater Grocery and The Douglas Hyde identity is world class.
The work communicates quality, but the words don't. There's no clear articulation of what Bureau Bonanza does, who it's for, or why someone should hire them over another studio.
There is essentially no conversion path. A potential client who finds the site has no clear next step beyond admiring the portfolio.
The Google Business listing has the map pin placed approximately 100 miles from Dublin, near Athlone. The category is wrong. For a studio about to operate in two cities, local presence is critical and currently broken.
Very little written content for search engines to index. Cargo as a platform limits SEO options. The site relies almost entirely on word of mouth and the Dublin creative network.
Instagram is the only active channel with roughly 2,500 followers. Twitter is stale. LinkedIn is sparse. No presence on Behance or Dribbble where potential clients browse design work.
Despite genuine awards and prestigious clients, almost none of this is communicated online. No case studies, no blog posts, no press page, no awards section.
The outdated copyright, frozen portfolio, and broken Google listing all signal a studio that isn't actively maintained online. This creates doubt for potential clients.
Start with these three quick wins.
One-line change. Signals the studio is active.
Effort: 5 minutesRemove Stina, update Rachel as sole director, confirm Dublin address.
Effort: 30 minutesEven a simple email link and UK mobile number. Potential clients need a way to reach out.
Effort: 1 hourWhere this brand shows up online - and where it doesn't.
Ideas matched to this brand's strengths and audience.
Behind-the-scenes of how a project goes from brief to finished identity. Shows thinking, not just output.
Saltwater Grocery, Douglas Hyde, Dublin Theatre Festival. Process, decisions, measurable outcomes where possible.
What Bureau Bonanza actually offers, who it's for, rough pricing guidance. Helps potential clients self-qualify.
Structured headings, FAQ sections, detailed written descriptions. Gives AI tools something to cite when recommending design studios.
Rachel's perspective on design, branding, working with cultural institutions. Builds personal authority.
One case study becomes a LinkedIn post, an Instagram carousel, a portfolio page update, and a Behance upload.
Your audit scored 1.5 out of 5. The work is genuinely excellent — IDI Awards, National Opera, 100 Archive six years running. But the online presence doesn't reflect any of it. Here's what we'd fix.
You grant us access where needed. We do the rest. Delivered in a week.
Want to tackle this on your own? Copy the prompt below into Claude and it will walk you through everything step by step.
You are helping Rachel Copley McQuillan act on a brand audit of Bureau Bonanza. Here's what the audit found.
Bureau Bonanza is a design studio founded in 2017 in Dublin. Rachel runs it solo now (co-founder Stina Sandstrom has departed). Clients include Dublin Theatre Festival, The Douglas Hyde, Irish National Opera, White Mausu, and Saltwater Grocery. The work has won IDI Awards (Saltwater Grocery, Douglas Hyde Universal Design Award), been selected for the 100 Archive six years running, and earned a Fonts In Use Staff Pick. Rachel is relocating to London while keeping Dublin roots.
The audit scored 10 areas out of 5:
- Broken Basics: 2/5. Copyright shows 2024. No contact form. Meta description missing or generic. Portfolio frozen at 2021-2023 work. Built on Cargo with limited flexibility.
- Reputation & Reviews: 0/5. Zero reviews across every platform. No Google reviews, no Clutch profile, no testimonials on the website. For a studio that's worked with Dublin Theatre Festival and National Opera, this is a significant gap.
- First Impression & Brand: 4/5. The strongest area. The portfolio work itself is genuinely excellent. Saltwater Grocery described as 'world class premium branding'. The Douglas Hyde won a Universal Design Special Award.
- Messaging Clarity: 3/5. The work communicates quality, but the words don't. No clear articulation of what the studio does, who it's for, or why someone should hire them. No services page. No process description.
- Conversion Path: 1/5. No contact form, no clear next step for potential clients, no pricing hints or project scope guidance.
- Local Presence: 0/5. Google Business pin is near Athlone, roughly 100 miles from Dublin. Wrong category. No London listing yet.
- Discoverability & SEO: 1/5. Very little written content. Cargo limits SEO options. Searches for 'design studio Dublin' or 'design studio London' won't find Bureau Bonanza.
- Social Presence: 2/5. Instagram is the only active channel with roughly 2,500 followers. Twitter is stale. No personal LinkedIn for Rachel. No Behance or Dribbble.
- Content & Proof: 1/5. Despite genuine awards and prestigious clients, almost none of this is communicated online. No case studies, no press page, no awards section.
- Operations Signals: 1/5. Outdated copyright, frozen portfolio, Mediastreet listing still shows Stina as Director. Signals an unmaintained online presence.
The pattern: the quality of the work is genuinely excellent (4/5 on First Impression), but everything around it - how people find the studio, what they learn when they get there, how they make contact - is broken or missing. The gap between work quality and online presence is severe.
Prioritised actions:
This week (quick wins):
1. Update copyright to 2026. One-line change. (5 minutes)
2. Fix Mediastreet listing. Remove Stina, update Rachel as sole director. (30 minutes)
3. Add a phone number and contact form. Potential clients need a way to reach out. (1 hour)
4. Fix Google Business listing. Correct the map pin to Dublin, fix the category, add photos. (1 hour)
5. Update meta description. Clear description of what Bureau Bonanza does, where, for whom. (30 minutes)
6. Standardise social bios. All platforms should say 'London & Dublin'. Update Twitter bio. (30 minutes)
7. Add 2024-2026 portfolio work. A frozen portfolio is the biggest credibility issue after the Google pin. (2 hours)
This month:
1. Create Rachel's personal LinkedIn. Founder profiles build trust. Include role, clients, awards. (1 day)
2. Set up a London Google Business listing. Separate listing with correct category and photos. (1 day)
3. Write a White Mausu case study. Process, thinking, results. This converts potential clients. (1-2 days)
4. Collect client testimonials. Ask Dublin Theatre Festival, The Douglas Hyde, White Mausu for short quotes. (1 day)
5. Add a 'How we work' page. Process, typical project scope, what clients can expect. (1 day)
90 days:
1. Build location pages. Separate London and Dublin pages for local SEO. (1 week)
2. Start monthly writing. Process insights, design thinking, industry perspective. (Ongoing)
3. List on Clutch and Design Rush. Agency directories where clients search. Free listings. (1 week)
4. Implement review request process. After every project, ask for a Google review. (Ongoing)
5. Upload to Behance and Dribbble. Platforms where creative directors browse. (1 week)
6. Evaluate website platform alternatives. Cargo is limiting for SEO. Consider Webflow. (2 weeks)
Strengths to build on:
- Award-winning work: IDI Award 2022 for Saltwater Grocery ('world class premium branding'), Douglas Hyde Universal Design Special Award, IDI Nomination for Dublin Theatre Festival
- 100 Archive recognition across six consecutive years (2019-2025)
- Prestigious client list: Dublin Theatre Festival, The Douglas Hyde, Irish National Opera, White Mausu, Saltwater Grocery
- Fonts In Use Staff Pick for the Douglas Hyde identity
- Dual-city positioning: London and Dublin creates a unique angle
How to work with Rachel:
- Start by sharing the headline findings. The 0/5 on reviews and local presence will probably sting - but the 4/5 on work quality is genuine and worth acknowledging first. Ask what resonates and what she'd push back on.
- The Google Business pin being 100 miles from Dublin is probably the most surprising finding. The reviews score of 0 might be too - she may have testimonials that just aren't public.
- She may have recent work that simply hasn't been uploaded. If so, that's the fastest win - getting 2024-2025 projects on the site immediately changes the impression.
- The London move is a natural moment to rebuild. Help her think about what the London-Dublin dual positioning looks like online.
- Work through the quick wins together. The copyright update and meta description are literally five-minute jobs. The Google Business fix is more involved - walk through the exact steps in Google Business Profile.
- For the case study, help draft it in the session. She'll have the thinking in her head - the job is getting it written down in a way that shows process, not just output.
- She's solo. Don't suggest she does everything. The this-week list is about 6-7 hours total. The biggest impact items are the Google pin fix, adding a contact form, and uploading recent work.
- If she's considering leaving Cargo, help her think about the trade-offs. Cargo is beautiful but limited. Webflow gives more SEO control but requires learning. A simple static site with good content might be better than a fancy CMS she won't update.
We audit what's broken and fix it for you. Structured data, meta tags, product descriptions, Google Business — all of it.
Find out more