Back from the long, hot summer.

This year’s summer feels like it’s the best it’s ever been.

Long, hot days reminded us of childhood summers of the past, and whilst we didn’t have water fights this year, we’ve all managed to take a much-needed break from work by visiting Penrith, Cornwall, Burgas, Dubrovnik, Murcia, Valencia, and Madrid – to name a few places – taking a break from the screen and seeking inspiration offline.

Our senior developer, Rob, also tied the knot in the Lake District!

As we start the new academic year, we’re back in the swing of things.

This newsletter looks back at what we’ve been up to over the past few months and what lies ahead for the remainder of the year.

Lucky for Some: 13 Years of EXP.

We marked 13 years of EXP in June. It’s hard to believe that what started from a garden shed has matured into a team of specialists working on exciting projects for major clients.

The last 13 years have seen the world change: from Brexit, a pandemic, shifts in technology, and the introduction of AI (had to mention it somewhere, of course).

Our focus and aim haven’t changed: creating work that gets results through strategic direction and creative vision.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been part of it – our team, clients, collaborators and everyone who has supported EXP over the years.

Experience, shared.

13 years of experience is useful, especially when you can share it.

Over the summer, Tom Grattan joined panels at Lancashire Business View, LIFT, and the Ecommerce Leadership Summit South 2026, bringing some of the lessons we’ve learned at EXP into conversations with businesses, founders and other industry leaders.

Events like these give us the chance to share what we’ve seen work, hear different perspectives and connect with people facing many of the same challenges we help our clients solve every day.

Key Takeaways:

Lancashire Business View: Put Yourself Out There. Winning ‘Business of the Year’ at the Sub36 Awards in 2015 introduced EXP to a new audience, winning new clients and accelerating growth. If we didn’t enter, we wouldn’t have won. Sometimes you’ve just got to put yourself out there.

LIFT26: Don’t Ask, Don’t Get. Tom spoke about the importance of ecosystems and how our wider networks help us to attract new work and deliver projects. Introductions can often be hard, but you’ve got nothing to lose by introducing yourself to someone new.

Ecommerce Leadership Summit South: The summit at Shoosmiths London explored a number of topics – and AI was a recurring feature. Panellists from Tatti Lashes, M&S, The White Company, and Arcadia discussed how AI can be great for processes and systems, but it fails to connect with people and deliver human experiences that are useful or enjoyable. Basically, keep it behind the scenes if you want to use it.

Burneside to Manchester… and London.

In June we delivered a new campaign for James Cropper, asking ‘What Colour is Manchester?’

Working with the last UK speciality coloured paper mill, the campaign explores the connection between people, paper, and place – drawing upon the paper mill’s industrial heartbeat in Burneside with Manchester’s industrial heritage – just in time for the Independent Paper Show at Soho House.

Fraser and Tom hit the streets of Manchester with Zoe Lovell as they asked the people of Manchester what colour their city is. The resounding answer was, of course, Network Yellow – inspired by the worker bee, trams, and buses – Beetham Blue and Palace Red inspired by landmark buildings.

In August on the hottest day of the year armed with SPF50, the team headed to the capital to launch the next phase to ask What Colour is London?

The social content is being released on the James Cropper accounts. Keep your eyes peeled for the chosen colour of London!

The Future of Social

Social media is changing and we’ve put together a new report to help you prepare.

This summer we launched our Future of Social Report, that explores proposed restrictions on social media access for under-16s and how it will change the way brands build relationships and communicate with younger audiences.

The report sets out five practical steps brands can take now, from building earlier brand recall to investing in first-party data.

Download The Future of Social Report

Back to School

And as if that wasn’t enough, we’ve been reflecting on our work for Lancaster High School that launched last year. Students will be returning this year for their second year with a new name and refreshed look and feel, positioning the school with a more prestigious identity.

Read the Lancaster High School case study