A Profile of Dana Robertson

DANA and his wife Sue arrived in Arundel just over six years when Sue was pregnant with their daughter Chloe. Sue’s family live near Bognor and her sister lives in Walberton so they already had connections in the area. The railway access to London was also a draw and on the first weekend here, they saw a townhouse in Nineveh Shipyard and bought it. ‘It got us into the heart of Arundel really quickly. We’ve loved living here and Arundel has been very welcoming- there’s a real sense of community here which is lovely. The town is very arts orientated and hugely creative – I love hanging out at Tim’s café on Tarrant Street, the creative’s lifeboat! Dana also adores the water – the river for paddle boarding and swimming and the sea at West Beach for surfing – ‘pre-Covid I even did local triathlons.’

Originally Dana was an Essex boy born in Romford. Having attended a failing local school, he found his imagination and interest sparked by a book by Neville Brody – the leading graphic designer of his generation. He ended up doing a Foundation Course in Thurrock run by an inspirational group of designers whose influence got him into Norwich Art School, where he spent a happy three years. On graduation he dreamed of joining The Partners, the leading agency in graphic design at that time and seen as the place to work. Pipped at the post by a (still) friend he took a job at Silk Pearce, ‘which was probably the best decision I’ve ever taken because Jack and Pete, the guys who ran it, are amazing craftsmen and I learned a huge amount.’ After two years however the call of London, and The Partners specifically, became too great and he applied again. In a strange turn of events, his interviewer Peter Carrow, an Associate Partner and a great designer, was actually leaving The Partners and he tempted Dana to accompany him to Glazier, another top- notch design agency. Not a particularly happy workplace, Dana toughed it out for a year before finally being rescued by The Partners who this time did offer him a job.

The job of his dreams was just that – he worked hard to exacting, award-winning standards on a diverse portfolio of brands and was well rewarded for his efforts. However, five years later after the company was bought by WPP and a number of key people were leaving, he decided to go freelance. His first freelance role was at Identica, a company owned by another of the very top names in design, Michael Peters. This eventually led to his appointment to a dual role as Senior Creative Director and Board Member of both Identica and sister agency, Tango. ‘It was a tough few years because Identica had gone down a bit and I was trying to sort out the creative output, the people, the studio’s dynamic plus doing my own client work as well.’ The role also covered creative direction at Tango, more of a youth brand agency who worked on Nike, a very demanding client.

Eventually however the inevitable pull of working for yourself became too strong and Neon was born in 2007. He deliberately kept it small and still works with a few, trusted and talented colleagues including his wife Sue, also an award-winning designer from The Partners. It is still extremely hard work, but he enjoys that. He also likes the collaboration with others without the inevitable employment headaches, although wants everyone to enjoy the work. Now living in Arundel and having Chloe, the time he saves is very well spent!

The challenges the pandemic has brought other companies has just reinforced Dana’s business model. Remote working, flexible teams and strong project work is the future. Dana’s diverse client base are all well served by his business model

The challenges the pandemic has brought other companies has just reinforced Dana’s business model. Remote working, flexible teams and strong project work is the future. Dana’s diverse client base – from global ratings agency Moody’s to The Goldsmith’s Company, from Jaguar Racing Formula 1 Sport- all are well served by his business model. ‘Technology has helped to facilitate this development and the costs of it have come down. At the end of the day people buy you and as long as you keep delivering to a high standard, size really doesn’t matter. We can still do global campaigns but our ideas are fulfilled by others. Things have changed at the clients too. Brand managers no longer want a flashy agency with a slide in reception! It’s now about ‘bang for bucks’ and clients have realised however big the agency, it’s a small team that actually produce their work. I think Covid will cement that and clients will get used to commissioning people who only work virtually.‘

Sue is also working freelance and building up a client base here in Arundel – with Chloe now at St Philips it allows her more time. She recently did a brand identity refresh for Arundel Castle and her focus will continue to be local.

His involvement with Akin started when James Stewart of Zimmer Stewart suggested a get together of the creative individuals in town. ‘I have to say I am hyper- allergic to clubs and organisations, but at the first meeting there were a lot of like-minded people and it was all about commercial creativity.’ He was asked if he wanted to lead the movement and write a manifesto, so he decided why not? ‘It’s powered by creative good will to get stuff done. There is no formal hierarchy but lots of discussion and its testament to the people involved that we have achieved a lot. We had some great speakers down pre-Covid though sadly that’s on hold for the moment.’