Category Archive: Creativity
The only prompt you need is doubt.
Doubt has a valuable part to play in any creative project. That may sound counter-intuitive, when we know that clients come to us not only for brilliant brand thinking and compelling creative ideas, but also for clarity and conviction. But really good creatives always experience feelings of doubt. Not because they lack confidence, but because […]
The value of being restless.
There’s a certain expectation that comes with this job. To think deeply. To guide or create serious brands and meaningful campaigns. To apply insight, craft and experience in a way that delivers something commercially effective and memorable. That’s the baseline. That’s what we’re commissioned to do – and we’re fine with that. But behind all […]
Barcode Fighters: Neon x Bitmap Books Return for Fatal Fury: Garou Densetsu – The Ultimate History
Our collaboration with Bitmap Books continues to evolve, and this time it’s packed with punches, nostalgia, and unmistakable SNK attitude. Following the success of our previous barcode collaborations, we’ve once again teamed up with the brilliant team at Bitmap Books to create bespoke illustrated barcodes for their latest release: Fatal Fury: Garou Densetsu – The […]
The gift of being present.
Being present. It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But in a fast-moving, increasingly automated world, with constant time pressures bearing down on all of us, it’s something we have to actively work at. And in creative work, it matters more than ever. Because being present isn’t just about care. It’s about making sure the right problem […]
Uncomfortable. Truths.
Really good work rarely comes from a place of comfort. In the creative world, we often talk about alignment. Getting everyone on the same page, smoothing edges, removing friction. It sounds like progress. But the best results rarely come from harmony alone. They come from tension. The good kind. Built on honesty, respect and the […]
What kind of creative are you? Apparently… The Guide.
Most creatives have taken one of these tests at some point. What kind of thinker are you. What type of mind. What box you sit in. Usually, you take the result with a pinch of salt. But occasionally, something comes back that feels… uncomfortably accurate. I tried Adobe’s “What kind of creative are you?” test […]
The value of a great brief?
It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of a good creative brief. Quite simply, it’s what inspires and enables creative people to produce their best work, and deliver the best results. A good brief helps shape everything that follows. The initial thinking. The overall direction. Even fine details of execution. Good briefs can often be a […]
Time. And time again.
The value of time. In the creative world everything seems to be getting faster. Faster tools. Faster expectations. Faster decisions. And we are all good with that. That acceleration is good for business. But one thing has not changed. Great ideas, conceiving them, nurturing them and developing them, still take time. When discussing new projects […]
The value of joy. Or perhaps J.O.Y.?
Joy. It rarely appears in a branding brief. But it plays a part in almost all the most successful projects. True, on the surface branding and campaign conversations tend to focus on serious things: data, strategy, performance and objectives. But bubbling away just below that, if you’re lucky, there can be something less formal, less […]
The curious value of curiosity. The value of “Ooh… look over there…”
Why human curiosity counts for more than ever, creatively and strategically. Creativity and curiosity have always gone hand in hand. In our branding and design work at Neon, curiosity takes different forms. Sometimes it can be structured and methodical, the leave-no-stone-unturned research that helps us gain an in-depth understanding of organisations, audiences and markets. At […]
Variety in creative work isn’t just interesting. It adds real value.
The value of variety. One of the pleasures of working in branding and design is the wide range of challenges that come across our desk. Over time, that variety proves valuable not just for us, but for the brands we work with too. It does more than keep things interesting. It becomes a genuine creative […]
Bitmap Books – a brilliant little collab…
After discovering a while back that friend and former colleague Sam Dyer had started his own publishing house focusing on video games as Bitmap Books, we’ve been collab-ing with some great little details in regard to subject related barcode art. So it was lovely to see a LinkedIn post from Sam pop up in our feed […]
New brand identity for the London barristers Field Court Chambers.
Neon creates the new brand identity for London barristers Field Court Chambers. Neon Brand Consultancy has created a contemporary new brand identity for Field Court Chambers, part of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn — one of the four Inns of Court in London. Recommended via Neon’s long and successful creative relationship with Nabarro LLP […]
Argonon in the news…
Great to see our / Neon’s rebrand of Argonon Group being rolled out, shown here in good ol’ US of A… A fav project of ours, working with a real champion of creativity Argonon‘s CEO James Burstall If you would like to see more of how Argonon’s brand showcases its creative output and solves how to communicate such […]
Neon rebrands Argonon.
We recently had some great feedback on a pitch for our work for the production company Argonon (which helped us win the pitch) but it reminded us that we had not popped this rebrand of Argonon on to our journal, so here it is… As an award winning independent international media group encompassing nine production […]
Blast from the past / amazing discovery while geeking out…
We live in a wonderful creative community and when you come across someone you worked with years ago doing something different and amazing it is a real joy. And that was the case when I was indulging my passion of gaming over the years, on buying yet another book from Bitmap books who produce stunning […]
Some old news, but the good news was the humbling comparison…
A bit of Friday feeling! A friend just sent in this old article from around the time Ray Gregory friend of Neon and graphic design tutor / god retired from Norwich Art School. I had obviously missed this at the time and was a lovely note and send off by Gareth Roberts – and to […]
We forgot to mention… that we won an award for our work for Moody’s ESG!
Hey, a big congrats to Moody’s ESG Solutions’s team for winning the Most Effective Campaign for a Green Product at the Financial Services Forum, Awards for Marketing Effectiveness 2022 with it’s Comprehensive Coverage campaign created by Neon. You can see our ‘Comprehensive’ campaign the work here. This followed on from the strategic positioning job that […]
Simple but hilariously effective creative use of a little bit of cardboard…
A bit of fun / I love simple ideas… Hmmm, history seems to repeat itself for me in regard to being a boxed toy… Love this simple but hilariously effective creative use of a little bit of cardboard, promo-ing the new Barbie film. …I also loved being immortalised as another action figure as part of […]
A great read by James Burstall our client at Argonon.
I’ve been meaning to drop a post about this book for a little while, ‘The Flexible Method’ a quick and very useful read by James Burstall CEO of the Argonon group (a multi award-winning independent global production group – click here to see our rebranding work for Argonon). It is refreshingly candid, super insightful and with […]