WHO WE ARE

We’re a diverse team of strategists, designers, writers and digital experts who can turn our hand to most communications challenges.

We build brand identities, campaigns and communications for organisations that are driven by a social or environmental purpose — charities, social enterprises and green businesses amongst them.

What unites us is the belief that brand and communications should be used to accelerate the ideas and ambitions of those doing the work that really matters.

OUR VALUES

Like you, we’re a values-led organisation.

Of course we strive to embody integrity, honesty, dedication and diligence. But we also hold dear three principles that really express who — and how — we are.

They are:
Collectivism, Curiosity and Courage.

We commit to these in the way we work with each other, our clients and collaborators.

Nick Christoforou
Founder & project manager  

Nick is passionate about giving the ideas and organisations that are making our world a better place the platform they deserve. That’s why he founded Neo more than 16 years ago. He takes an explorative and integrated approach to every project, assembling and facilitating teams with the right expertise to provide the right outcomes. Nick’s also a trustee of a charity that supports communities in Uganda through a range of interconnected programmes — including sustainable agriculture, education and social enterprise.

Kelly Smith
Lead strategist & writer 

Kelly has a diverse background in journalism and communications, with 17 years’ experience helping people and purpose-driven organisations tell their stories to the world. She asks the questions that drill down into what really matters. And, having led from the front on a wide range of brand and communications projects, she has the rare knack of being able to see the bigger picture while exercising obsessive attention to detail.

As a trustee of a Brighton-based arts charity for the past four years, Kelly has supported education and social change programmes that invite people to explore their connection with each other and the world.

Gemma Monk-Hartley
Project manager  

Gemma is an experienced project manager with an appetite for big challenges. She combines strategic thinking, attention to detail and clear communication to help facilitate the best outcomes. She’s made happen complex brand and sustainability comms projects for the likes of Unilever, the BBC and M&S, and smaller projects for Teachers TV, Lake Tanganyika Floating Health Clinic and WWF. Gemma’s lifelong love of animals has developed into a passion to protect their health and promote their wellbeing. She provides non-invasive thermographic imaging for dogs and horses, as an innovative way of assisting veterinary diagnosis and preventative care.

Alissa Thaler
Lead designer 

Alissa is a multidisciplinary designer with a zest for experimentation. She blends technology and creative techniques to spark interest, engagement and challenge expectations.Having worked with creative teams in Vienna, Berlin and Brighton, she has diverse international experience from across the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Alissa brings a playful creative energy that supports innovation and freshness in our design work.

Alex Morrell
Designer 

Alex is a motivated, resourceful designer dedicated to making a difference. His designs are progressive, playful and human-centred and he has a strong eye for visual detail. 

As a recent Falmouth University design graduate, he’s collaborated with a diverse group of creative professionals and organisations, helping him to grasp the principles of interactional, purposeful and research-focused design. He’s committed to contributing his skills to work that matters and is inspired by great ideas that influence change.

Bridget Hamilton
Researcher & business consultant

Bridget has a sharp eye for new project opportunities where Neo can make a difference. In her own words, she does ‘business development without the hard-sell’. She’s worked with creative agencies for more than eight years; prior to that she spent 13 years in senior marketing roles.

In her spare time, Bridget runs a local branch of Cycling Without Age, a global volunteer movement combatting loneliness amongst older people. Whisking them out on her power-assisted trishaw is part of her own personal commitment to the environment, promoting greener transport and helping to sound the alarm on the climate crisis.

Becky Alford
Designer

Lee Suttey
Designer

Neil Hardcastle
Designer

Nicola Morland
Designer

Sam Ellis
Designer

Matt Chittock
Writer

Liane Baddeley
Writer & digital
content consultant

Angie Thomas
Videographer &
animator

Martin Atkin
Communications
consultant

Fran Swaine
Digital consultant

Rachel Collinson
Fundraising consultant

Greig Cooke
Web developer

Dan Murray
Web developer