Studio Roo lettering vault, an animated sequence of hand-lettered words

We help ambitious brands and communities bring their identity to life by creating visual stories, identities, and public spaces.

We believe art and design are powerful forces for change. They shape how people and places are remembered and create meaningful connections.

If we’re going to tell a story, it’s going to be a big story. An enormous story. An epic story. Or tell no story at all.

Torn paper scraps showing hand-lettered Studio Roo logo variations

Where it started

It started with a pencil

In 2020, Riley founded ROO Creations, drawing custom portraits to commemorate loved ones. What began as a personal art practice grew into a much wider creative vision. Before long, Riley's work had expanded beyond portraits and into branding, illustration, murals, and creative direction.

Studio Roo is the next evolution: an art-forward creative studio where art and design work in unison. Each project is created to leave something worth remembering.

Riley Johnson, founder of Studio Roo
Riley Johnson · Founder

Made by hand

Sketch first, always

Studio Roo was built from fine art, and that foundation still shapes how every project is approached. Ideas are researched, sketched, and explored before they are refined digitally, painted at scale, or developed into a complete visual system.

That hands-on approach keeps the work personal, intentional, and original.

A hand drawing a detailed pencil portrait at a wooden table
Concept sketch, in progress

The studio

An artist that thinks like a studio

Riley works in the space between the independent freelancer and the full-scale studio. Not so small that ambitious projects outgrow its capabilities, but not so big that your work gets passed between too many decision makers or lost in the shuffle.

Riley leads each project from the first conversation through the final result, bringing in trusted collaborators when the scope calls for it. You get the personal involvement of an independent artist with the range and reliability of a studio.

The Studio Roo workspace, with the studio wordmark etched on the glass doors
The studio · Ohio

Every great project begins with a story.

Let's make something worth staring at.
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