NewGen by Together. A case study.

When two social agencies merged under the name NewGen — one representing some of the world's biggest creators, the other some of its biggest brands — they asked Together to help celebrate their union, plant their flag, and mark their territory, by conjuring up a brand to match their ethos: never standing still.

•Brand Design
•Website Design
•Web Development
•Copywriting
•Illustration
•Animation

Ben Wynn-Owen

Brand Creative Director, Together

A moving story.

Remember mass media? Remember advertising? The age of the influencer, with its Cambrian explosion of platforms and content formats, has revolutionised the way brands connect with buyers. NewGen’s big idea: A hybrid agency for both influencers and brands, designed to reach audiences in multiple subcultures on any of the screens they happen to be looking at, constantly adapting to the changing zeitgeists of technology and culture.

Can’t stop, won’t stop.

As the world shifts, NewGen adapts. That, in one sentence, is the new brand's core creative concept. Change and movement are built into its DNA: adaptive, fluid, future-proof, alive and bursting with energy. Every element is designed to express this, from all the different -graphies (typo-, icono-, photo-) to the metamorphosing logo. Nothing stands still.

Do the logo-motion. The shape-shifting logo is perhaps the element that best captures the spirit of the brand: it doesn’t stand still, and each of the secondary fonts refers to a different audience, from gamers to gourmets.

Flying colours. We gave NewGen a wide palette, bright, energetic and uplifting, ready for anything.

Screen icon. Iconography is obviously the brand element least suited to convey movement, but NewGen’s custom set is instantly recognisable at all levels, and displays a strong family resemblance.

Moving pictures. Dynamic and diverse are the keywords for NewGen’s photography, with two distinctive modes, portrait and action, boldly lit with a slight grain.

And… action. Finally, it should go without saying that actual motion graphics and animation are everywhere in the brand, often styled to mimic the viral gifs beloved by NewGen’s digitally savvy audience.

And now for something completely different.

For NewGen’s website we took the visual elements of the brand and put them to work in a practical setting. Fundamental concepts like movement and subcultures are present in spirit throughout, as well as interesting visual applications such as glitch effects.

A hero’s welcome. It’s off to the races on the home page, where a bunch of brand elements combine forces to underscore NewGen’s positioning and message.

Brands gonna brand … As a hybrid agency, NewGen needs to appeal to two very different types of partners: brands and creators.

… creators gonna create. While related, brands and creators care about different things, all of which the website is designed to address.

Socially inspired. The blog was designed to look and feel like the social feed of the platforms NewGen’s creators use.

Here comes everybody. NewGen’s voice and tone have an inclusive, welcoming vibe, setting them apart from the many agencies that prefer to come across as too cool for school.

Luke Bristow

COO, MD, Partner & Board Director, NewGen

With thanks to

Chris Parnell, Luke Bristow, Mike Craddock and Misha Ravat.