Neon has a wonderful ability, brilliantly intuitive and supremely analytical at the same time, to seek out and find the heart of an institution — and then to express its essence with a visual acuity that not only hits the mark for its aficionados, but also finds it many new fans. Bravo!
Neon delivered a highly creative and intelligent graduate recruitment campaign that was bold, innovative and elegantly executed at every touch point. Their in-depth research into our target audience, along with their understanding of the Nabarro brand, meant that the concept sent out just the right message. This resulted in real differentiation from our competitors and fantastic feedback from the students on campus.
Working with people who view themselves as both experts in the future and creative lateral thinkers is most design agencies worst nightmare. Neon rose to this challenge and were both flexible, accommodating, challenging and inspirational at all the right times. I believe the design is fresh and critically evokes the feeling of energy and transformation. The directional nature of the design challenges us to always focus on the deliverables and ultimately, the impact our thinking must have on our clients business.
Neon were a really great partner for our naming and rebranding work. The enthusiasm and care that they put into the pitch carried on throughout the engagement. They consulted widely with our management team and demonstrated a strong grasp of our business fundamentals and opportunities, resulting in a strong and compelling brand idea. Their creative work was innovative and pushed us to a new level in terms of how we present ourselves. The internal launch was made particularly successful because of the video developed by Neon, which gave a powerful strategic rationale for our new name and identity, and brought it to life in a way that proved inspirational to the team.
Neon did great work for The Futures Company. We had a difficult
branding challenge, which they mastered brilliantly. They started
by defining a process within which we could focus on key issues,
and with that we were able to articulate a set of criteria that
successfully guided the rebranding of our company.
They exhaustively developed creative alternatives for us to review
and provided insightful counsel as we narrowed down our choices.
Once the decision was made, Neon developed an outstanding video
and presentation for us to use in introducing the new company
identity internally and to our clients. We rely closely on the
rulebook of branding guidelines they prepared. Every step of the
way, Neon was a close collaborator and a nonpareil strategic branding partner.
We were impressed by Neon’s direct, professional approach. The Neon team was given a complex brief which involved unifying the many disparate directorates of the Company, each with their own constitutions, priorities and agendas, into a distinct and comprehensive brand. This was achieved through research which enabled Neon to get beyond the surface of the Company and into its very being. The outcome was an accurate assessment and the resulting rebranding not only embraces all the existing elements of the Company but also incorporates a framework for future initiatives such as the proposed Goldsmiths’ Centre in Clerkenwell due to open in 2011.
Neon Creative worked with Engage for Change, a strategy consulting firm specialising in leadership and employee engagement, to create a more compelling brand identity. Our new world of engaging little fellows actively helps us express our thinking with disarming charm through intelligent observation. This was then incorporated into our new sharper credentials presentation, and featured in the design and creation of other thought leadership collateral materials.
In the process Dana not only provided great creative insight but also added real business value by challenging us to find better and more interesting ways of expressing our vision and purpose in words and visuals. He encouraged us to distil our offering to get to the heart of what needed to be communicated quickly, but in way that demonstrated us living our brand — bringing charm, wit and above all engagement to serious business issues concerned with driving business performance. In a world of increasing media noise, ‘cut through’ communications are essential and Dana has been very successful in creating such materials for Engage for Change.
Dana also demonstrated great listening skills but with the strength of character (and humour) to achieve consensus from a client with vast array of different views and opinions, providing clarity, direction and above all timeliness so that the work was completed to meet strict deadlines and budget. He has been an absolute pleasure to work with, highly professional and responsive and has become not just a trusted partner but someone whom we see as an integral part of our team.
Neon’s work is one of the boldest uses of the D&AD logo for some time, a clean, simple and elegant solution to the brief. It was a good experience working with them, they brought great enthusiasm and creativity to the project.
Neon was able to understand the essence of my business and has
brought that out perfectly in the identity they created for me,
which I’m absolutely thrilled with! It says everything a potential
client needs to know about what I do, from the artistic flair to the
ground itself.
Creating my business card in the form of a plant label reinforces
this still further; what’s more it’s fun and it’s different and it’s the
envy of every garden designer I’ve given it to — who wish they'd
thought of it first! More importantly, the quality of the design and
the execution sends the right message to my potential clients that
they will receive a garden constructed with craftsmanship and
attention to detail, and that they are right to put their trust (and their money) with me.
We are so delighted with our experience of working with Neon
on re-branding our company. Not only have they produced some
wonderful work for us, but they also had the skill to successfully
advise us on where our company needs to go and how best to
compete in our overcrowded market.
As a young company going through the daunting task of
re-branding, we couldn’t have asked for better people to manage
our expectations and hold our hand throughout the whole process.
Our new logo, which everyone compliments, really demonstrates Neon’s creativity. The web site
positions us as a leader in our industry, and appeals to the
top garden designers in the country. Thanks again for all your
hard work.
Neon have helped us name, position and bring to life our unique vision for reinventing life in Varna. The vibrant, organic and refreshing imagery brings colour and life to both the project and the city. The name has positioned us well in a market full of irrelevant names in regard to property and adds status to the development itself. We are delighted with the response as we are perceived as fresh, new and innovative.
It is always a pleasure to work with Neon, many thanks as ever.
An exciting next step for our dream and vision of creating a unique experience and a unique brand. We see a world of possibilities ahead of us, with a simple and dynamic brand mark, with a language of multi-dimensional movement.
We’re totally stoked about the whole thing, it got us recognised, our posters are not just pinched but in demand and T-shirt sales went mental. Awesome work, we love the little dudes! Big love and respect from the Hormones.
“Neon were responsive, rigourous and always had one eye on future implications, which was refreshing. They helped us get firmly back on track in a very short period of time — if only we could have started out with them.
The new CharacterLab animated brand mark is excellent, it really delivers a sense of the virtual world we were looking for. Neon have very quickly become trusted strategic and highly creative partners to Added Value.”
As a garden designer I was daunted and apprehensive at the thought of handing over the creative process to someone else but I'm happy to say that I was delighted with the results. The identity Neon came up with presents me, and what I offer, perfectly to potential clients.
From start to finish the team were a pleasure to work with, they communicated their ideas exceptionally well and I really felt my feedback was taken on board, making me feel I had real input into the design.
The response so far to my new identity has been fantastic, and their supplementary promotional ideas have proven invaluable and distinguished me wonderfully from my less imaginative competitors!
When you work at Nike you always look for the unexpected answer to your brief. Thanks to Dana’s vision, creativity and passion for the brand, Nike kept a great feeling with the work provided under Dana’s supervision. More than 75 pan European campaigns later the energy and creativity remained the same. Not easy. Many thanks for it all and in the name of Nike but also Foot Locker. Our confidence never failed. Good luck for your future project Neon. It can only go in the right direction.
Dana Robertson is an exceptional designer. I know that because after founding The Partners in 1983 I have overseen and mentored what I suspect must be a thousand or so young designers. I would only describe a handful as exceptional.
His design analysis is spot on. He is very perceptive, and can get to the heart of the distinguishing characteristics of a company. This ultimately provides the final solution and ensures that the result is unique.
Dana has experience in handling extremely large and also very small projects. He devotes his creativity and talent to both equally because he wants to make a small identity as efficient and remarkable as the largest PLC. I found his self-belief, commitment and drive really impressive.
The other quality he has, which sadly a lot of designers lack, are his personal communication skills, charm and good humour. This ensures even a long running and complicated job is a comfortable one. He is incredibly calm even when things are at their most frenetic.
I am often asked to recommend individual designers, invariably it’s Dana.
In a world where design is treated by some as a commodity, it is
refreshing to discover an emerging star that can lift the perception
of what design is, what it represents and how it can become a very
strong commercial tool. It is rare to discover a talent that can
embrace the detail and apply that to wider horizons.
Dana Robertson is such an individual. He has emerged from
famed and spirited academies of design and branding agencies
to create Neon —
a new generation of design and design thinking
where his experience and leadership qualities enhance his
potential for him to become one of the creative luminaries in the
world of design
and innovation.
Neon is both a noun and an adjective — it describes a brightness in
a world of mediocrity. Neon will shine brightly to become one of
the most exciting design and branding talents to emerge over the
next few years. Whilst not as good as Michael Peters, they’re good
second runners! I endorse Dana and his team’s talents with pride and enthusiasm.