https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog daily 0.75 2026-03-18 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-march-2026-authagraph monthly 0.5 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/82e204a6-144b-40d5-a16f-cb5b1295b9ea/960px-Projection_AuthaGraph.png Blog - Idea for March 2026: the AuthaGraph - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-february-2026-omics monthly 0.5 2026-02-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/0b9a6517-c705-4190-a91c-e08f0b5201aa/sangharsh-lohakare-Iy7QyzOs1bo-unsplash.jpg Blog - Idea for February 2026: omics - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-january-2026-wicked-problems monthly 0.5 2026-01-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/751aaa8d-b35c-487e-87a5-0e99ec6ed0d0/IMG_6754.jpeg Blog - Idea for January 2026: wicked problems - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/aw4ht05c6xuljd933pywk7y1riasqo monthly 0.5 2025-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/c8df55fe-441e-493f-a57e-c16cd903c35e/tempImageQCVmCR.jpg Blog - Idea for December 2025: lüften - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-november-2025-solopreneur monthly 0.5 2025-11-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/70a77df4-52e5-4148-b20e-52c75f3bdda0/tempImagefHo4VT.jpg Blog - Idea for November 2025: solopreneur - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-october-2025-coexistence monthly 0.5 2025-10-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/5d8833d9-2927-45de-9d33-e5dff4eaaf62/tempImagec5AYzp.jpg Blog - Idea for October 2025: coexistence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-september-2025-kotahitanga monthly 0.5 2025-09-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/a1c4ac38-01cb-4808-84cd-850baf6a39ce/IMG_5845.jpeg Blog - Idea for September 2025: kotahitanga - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-august-2025-touching-grass monthly 0.5 2025-08-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/50eba0aa-e5c1-45be-a9e7-e4a117374658/tempImageuNTc92.jpg Blog - Idea for August 2025: touching grass - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-july-2025-jagged-frontier monthly 0.5 2025-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/68d04ba5-c1cf-4e6d-8d5d-dde88fd547ae/tempImagexADPo3.jpg Blog - Idea for July 2025: jagged frontier - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-june-2025-hopepunk monthly 0.5 2025-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/36083759-b656-42e8-959d-048bc2830a08/Screenshot+2025-06-13+at+10.17.55.png Blog - Idea for June 2025: hopepunk - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-may-2025-cynefin monthly 0.5 2025-05-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/2c990106-e3fe-4c4f-b46d-4c22ac10cf77/IMG_3460.JPG Blog - Idea for May 2025: cynefin - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-april-2025-kanso monthly 0.5 2025-04-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/e86ced80-9944-4004-ac2c-cb5e1183b13d/IMG_5391.jpeg Blog - Idea for April 2025: kanso - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-march-2025-sonder monthly 0.5 2025-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/229b54c8-4bc4-4cc9-9840-9305362f85d5/IMG_5334.jpeg Blog - Idea for March 2025: sonder - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-february-2025-recycling monthly 0.5 2025-02-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/e556f5b3-1869-4c6f-9c66-e75aade60cde/Screenshot+2025-02-14+at+12.25.23.png Blog - Idea for February 2025: recycling - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-january-2025-the-chart-of-everything monthly 0.5 2025-01-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/8974820f-aa37-4b3d-b0b5-481b0388c935/image_12372e-Universe-Plot.jpg Blog - Idea for January 2025: the chart of everything - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-december-2024-imagination-science monthly 0.5 2024-12-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/3df3dcfa-78d4-49f2-a40c-297c6397bac7/IMG_5003.jpeg Blog - Idea for December 2024: imagination science - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-november-2024-heterophany monthly 0.5 2024-12-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/0933351e-ec70-4579-9a83-a59f87cbd01e/Screenshot+2024-12-01+at+11.14.02.png Blog - Idea for November 2024: heterophony - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-october-2024-remue-mnage monthly 0.5 2025-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/4aeb784c-fa15-4bae-bc4e-707a388792da/Screenshot+2024-10-14+at+13.37.10.png Blog - Idea for October 2024: remue-ménage - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-september-2024-expo-58 monthly 0.5 2025-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/6350cfd7-a042-445f-94a4-5157a3d87571/IMG_4405.jpeg Blog - Idea for September 2024: Expo 58 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-august-2024-transnational-education monthly 0.5 2024-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/50e8b6ff-68c1-4bb0-b220-52a34322dcf5/nicholas-gould-ksd_l9m-fe8-unsplash.jpg Blog - Idea for August 2024: transnational education - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-july-2024-arte-util monthly 0.5 2024-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/dcb024d8-1069-4713-bbf2-8f8b404bd73f/Screenshot+2024-07-24+at+14.02.16.png Blog - Idea for July 2024: arte útil - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-jun-2024-brand-day monthly 0.5 2024-08-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/2d1286ed-6c4b-401b-ade9-faa05c1f31f5/Screenshot+2024-06-14+at+08.59.30.png Blog - Idea for June 2024: brand day - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-may-2024-doggerland monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/7dc5b552-e317-4a03-a78f-6fa3ea66561e/800px-Doggerland.svg.png Blog - Idea for May 2024: Doggerland - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-april-2024-eco-brutalism monthly 0.5 2024-04-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/09d0cadb-8c8b-4a87-9741-d48f6b4fbb8e/philippe-collard-gSF2C2cuI34-unsplash.jpg Blog - Idea for April 2024: eco-brutalism I was introduced to this tantalising idea by a student who’s planning to build a hotel in this style by the sea in Brazil. At its simplest, it seems to be raw concrete softened by luxuriant plans. There’s a paradox: one thing concrete isn’t is eco. And like all new things, it’s not new - an early example is the Habitat housing designed by architect Moshe Safdie for the Montréal Expo of 1967. But it does provoke thought: how can architecture combine plain honest construction with sustainability, and maybe become regenerative? Photo of Habitat Montréal by philippe collard on Unsplash https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-for-march-2024-hierophany monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/10eafcac-e92e-48cc-a83b-ff0816512a84/tempImageDnszLI.jpg Blog - Idea for March 2024: hierophany - Make it stand out Blocking, Norfolk, December 2022 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-february-2024 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/d3f9f6c6-2a7c-4fb5-b31c-2134c7278f32/IMG_3237.jpeg Blog - Idea for February 2024: dialogic - My idea of the month is dialogic I’ve learned this month the difference between dialectic and dialogic conversation. Dialectic conversation ends in agreement, consensus, the one right answer. In branding, this is the big idea (or the central idea or the essence or the core). It’s the one thought that inspires and guides and filters everything. It’s central to the practice of brand leadership or brand orientation. But is there always one answer? Is today’s polarised culture addicted to the view that there’s one right answer? Can there be many answers, all at the same time? That’s what dialogic conversation aims for. And maybe that’s how we should think about branding. I owe this to John Willshire, whose new essay is as always crystal-clear and beautifully provocative. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-january-2024 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/8f9f6c06-dc13-42be-aae8-b5d17dd7ac1e/mishaal-zahed-jhjixIHT5cg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Idea for January 2024: cobbauge - My idea of the month is cobbauge Why don’t we make buildings out of earth, mud, soil, clay? It’s cheap, it’s everywhere and (as well as being brown) it’s green. It turns out that it’s not so good at heat insulation - but now a new material, called cobbauge, has been created, which solves the problem. The brilliant Norwich architect Anthony Hudson is building a house from it, and explains it all in this fascinating piece. Photo by Mishaal Zahed on Unsplash. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-december-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/538e51d9-7d3e-40ec-aa2c-739c0f62758c/IMG_2994.jpeg Blog - Idea for December 2023: greenhushing - My idea of the month is greenhushing One of many things I learned at the 2023 Brandland conference. Greenhushing is when an organisation does sustainable things, but doesn’t talk about them - mainly for fear of being accused of greenwashing. It’s a complex conundrum: you may save yourself from accusations, but you’re also not spreading the word about sustainability (or, a better term I think, regeneration). Maybe 2024 will bring us the answer… https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-november-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/e1214cd5-1c5e-46cc-af32-e724fc607f8c/davide-cantelli-98Pk5OO_aG4-unsplash.jpg Blog - Idea for November 2023: crenel and merlon - My idea of the month is crenel and merlon The concepts you discover when you’re a brand consultant… Here are two beautiful words I learned from a client yesterday. In battlements, the merlon is the stone bit, and the crenel is the gap between the stone bits. It feels good somehow to know that. This excellent photo is thanks to Davide Cantelli on Unsplash. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-october-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/81b46e9f-b207-490f-96a3-b5be67cd19c7/IMG_2835.jpg Blog - Idea for October 2023: prompt engineering - My idea of the month is prompt engineering This is the new science (or art) of writing thoughtful questions for ChatGPT, in the interests of getting more thoughtful answers. Alina Veselaya introduced me to the concept, and you can see what a good prompt engineer she is by trying her extraordinary GTP-based app. You answer a few questions about your business, and it instantly generates a brand strategy - which, as she’d agree, is good and solid, but not amazing and original - at least not yet. You can find it on Alina’s website: scroll down to ‘AI branding’. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-september-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/bc4a3a72-27d6-4bf7-8698-5f868bb396da/Screenshot+2023-10-24+at+18.01.48.png Blog - Idea for September 2023: MAYA - My idea of the month is MAYA This is ‘most advanced yet acceptable’ - a thought from one of the last century’s greatest designers, Raymond Loewy. I’ve just been reading about him: I didn't know that, though he worked in America, he was born and died in France. He designed everything from Pennsylvania Railroad trains in the 1930s to the interior of Concorde in the 1970s. And the Exxon, Spar, TWA and New Man logos. I like the challenge of MAYA: go way beyond the conventional but not so outré that it’ll never make an impact. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-august-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/484bdbef-01f5-45ed-8608-83bb06c91ff6/IMG_2553.jpeg Blog - Idea for August 2023: la rentrée - My idea of the month is la rentrée As August topples into September, my idea of the month is a thing in French, which really should also be a thing in English: the moment of re-entry, when we return from holidays feeling reconstructed, when schools, businesses, politics all kick off again, when new stock comes into the shops, when important new books are published, and new television shows launched. It’s a kind of second January - but with more freshness and anticipation. Maybe it’s all a bit less dramatic in today’s always-on culture - but it’s still a moment I enjoy. (My image isn’t about re-entry but reconstruction - I love the way this old sign at Binham Priory is now also part of the heritage of the place.) https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-july-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/acc46986-0bdc-4eca-a7a1-8d6fbf69b914/IMG_2411.jpeg Blog - Idea for July 2023: liminal - My idea of the month is liminal I’ve always liked this word, meaning ‘at a threshold’, with all its deeper connotations in anthropology. This liminal scene is the astonishing Snettisham Beach in Norfolk, where land merges into sand into mudflats into sea into sky: threshold after threshold after threshold. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-june-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/eecbb13f-c62c-42f4-a6b5-f9a6a6231027/Corporate_Memphis_%282019%29.jpg Blog - Idea for June 2023: corporate Memphis - My idea of the month is Corporate Memphis Corporate Memphis: an unlikely pairing of two words, this is the ubiquitous illustration style used (in particular) by tech companies to look human, quirky and inoffensive. I hadn’t realised that this style is a thing, with a name, and even with an opposition: people against its attempt to sanitise corporate capitalism. A fascinating corner of the brand culture we all live in. Image by Katharina Brenner, creative commons https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-may-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/d7149948-2da8-464b-ba6e-3581069cf323/IMG_2092.jpeg Blog - Idea for May 2023: haptic culture - My idea of the month is haptic culture This bridge over London Wall is tantalisingly not touching anything - but ‘haptic’ is the opposite, it’s all about touch. I knew the word from interface design, but now it’s being used much more widely to talk about communication through touch. Actually this goes back to at least 1982, and ‘haptic poetry’ goes back to the Dada movement. But it’s popped up twice this month. First in talking to one of my current clients, who offer an unusually touchable experience. And then also in the extraordinary relaunch of the Sainsbury Centre, the art museum at the University of East Anglia, where they’re overturned the museum convention ‘do not touch’. I’m going to see this for myself on Friday - can’t wait. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-april-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/80eb99db-59fb-42b5-888e-c22567587562/IMG_1997.jpeg Blog - Idea for April 2023: World Café - My idea of the month is the World Café World Café is a workshop format that I tried for the first time last week. People sit at tables like a café. You put a question to the room, and each table discusses it for 20 minutes. Then everyone shuffles around, joins another table, and you put a second question to the room. And so on. You then ‘harvest’ ideas from all the discussions. Ideally, you dress the room to look a bit like a café, as we did with little vases of flowers. The format works brilliantly, both to create a relaxed atmosphere, and to mix people and ideas togeth https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-march-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/4c3c55c7-74e1-4dc5-a266-7e77202b4325/IMG_1894.jpg Blog - Idea for March 2023: urbex - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-february-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/ccbe27ac-22e5-44c5-b99a-1b5d0cb53af3/IMG_1677.jpeg Blog - Idea for February 2023: authentic learning - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-january-2023 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/f04d330f-2fa5-4c03-ae93-2d30dbb747ea/openai-avatar.png Blog - Idea for January 2023: ChatGPT - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-december-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/49d6c3f1-56f9-402b-b19d-dbd881635e63/tempImage5PBzzY.jpg Blog - Idea for December 2022: regenerative - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-november-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/8292037a-294e-4d3c-bacd-b0dc6fbbdf3f/Superellipse_chamfered_square.svg.png Blog - Idea for November 2022: squircle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-october-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/fbea3ffb-5ae8-41b4-8c46-0cb078b13e15/NMM_Blog_5-1024x322.jpg Blog - Idea for October 2022: merchants’ marks - My idea of the month is merchants’ marks These are medieval logos - of which there’s a particularly fine crop in Norwich, thanks to the research of the pioneer antiquarian John Kirkpatrick, and his modern counterpart, graphic designer Darren Leader. Darren gave a great presentation on his work this month, in an event organised by Brandland. These logos are a fascinating mixture of the totally mysterious and the strikingly modern. Most seem to be based on runes - a system of symbols from Germanic cultures used before the Latin alphabet was adopted. Some of them convey not just a merchant’s identity, but also their values, in particular using the mystical ‘sign of four’ - and in that way these really are not just medieval businesses, but medieval brands. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-september-2022 monthly 0.5 2025-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/739b3858-3de0-4df1-9d8b-518b7bea0683/tempImagePKkyzO.jpg Blog - Idea for September 2022: social imagination - My idea of the month is social imagination We came across this recent piece of work by the excellent stone carver Teucer Wilson in Wiveton in north Norfolk. The phrase is a bit glib perhaps: who could disagree? And though it’s often attributed to Confucius, or to Eleanor Roosevelt, it seems to have been coined by a preacher called William L Watkinson. Anyway, it feels like many of us have spent too much time cursing the darkness recently: instead we need the social imagination to shape a future that’s socially and spiritually better, not just technologically more clever. And that’s the argument in Geoff Mulgan’s book, Another World is Possible, and in this podcast. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-august-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/3cc7a3b9-19c6-4e2b-bda7-f20f5a54c091/tempImagesYktfJ.jpg Blog - Idea for August 2022: bazaar economy - My image of the month is the same thing 9000 years later Here’s Tesco using the imagery of a seal to signal quality and taste … and that little bit of mystique that turns a commodity into a branded product. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-july-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/bd991c8f-6822-452b-960f-469910a04ba3/tempImagetRdw9w.jpg Blog - Idea for July 2022: global majority - My image of the month is from Brandland This is Minnie Moll of the Design Council kicking off our first ever Brandland conference at UEA in Norwich - with the challenge we all need to rise to: how can branding reduce consumption, rather than just fuelling it? https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-june-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/6ddf5218-b2c7-488f-b7b5-cc97942956d8/tempImagekI5auG.jpg Blog - Idea for June 2022: dietrologia - My image of the month is a May garden Does anyone remember a fantastic radio drama by James Saunders called Random Moments in a May Garden? I can’t find a recording or even a script, so maybe it’s not as good as I remember. Anyway, we visited three Norfolk gardens in May, and had random moments in each: the beautifully austere rooms of Silverstone Farm (shown here), the rambling and numinous Elmham House with its deep ice house, and the wonderful blue palette and grass maze at Warborough House. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/against-the-grain monthly 0.5 2022-05-20 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-may-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/bd7e3d6d-4254-4954-90da-4fef1916a8ab/tempImagePe4qQM.jpg Blog - Idea for May 2022: The Volume - My image of the month is this fabulous creature A found artwork, by an anonymous artist, drawn in chalk on a pavement round the corner from us. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-april-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/dbd455f2-d508-48cd-a1de-4d672612d22c/tempImageFPzCXr.jpg Blog - Idea for April 2022: deep history - My image of the month is blue Sea and sky at Sheringham, Norfolk. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-march-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/4b73340f-7b5a-4d9e-baad-69a80f093051/064BC5CE-EDA8-404D-8152-CDBB0A6A10E5.jpeg Blog - Idea for March 2022: complex contagion - My image of the month is Google’s new London building Designed by Thomas Heatherwick with BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), and known as KGX1, this huge ‘landscraper’ is 300 metres long. At the stage in construction, it looks uncannily like the Pompidou Centre, but you can see its final look here. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-february-2022 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/fecd5551-c033-463c-b757-c1f59c0455b1/243558A4-D39F-49EF-8AAD-B9E7B8401FD3_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - Idea for February 2022: 1922 - My image of the month is Terence Conran The man who introduced me to design. I was brought up in dowdy Gloucester, and when Habitat opened in Cheltenham in (I think) 1971, I encountered a new visual world. Jump to 2022, and Habitat is in every Sainsbury’s - not quite the original high style, but Conran would, I think, have approved of this democratisation of his vision. (I’ve just been reading this biography, which is too long and very repetitive – and reveals more about Stephen Bayley than about Terence Conran – but it’s still an entertaining read.) https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/metaversity monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/92c6fff4-0506-4de3-87c7-5c0caf2ddbd1/Screenshot+2022-01-16+at+09.56.32.png Blog - Idea for January 2022: metaversity - My image of the month is this Swedish self-portrait A detail from a self-portrait by the Swedish artist Lennart Rosensohn (1918-1994), made at the start of the second world war. I love his eyes, and his green moustache. Bought from our friends at Scout. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-december-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/831d3c93-c09a-4140-9325-22f0d54675fa/1F8CB93B-5F48-47C5-94DA-33B7799D5709.jpeg Blog - Idea for December 2021: DAO - My image of the month is light … cast on to a wall through a small window in the November gloaming, at Waterden in north Norfolk. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-november-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/ee4c06fd-1bc8-49dd-9f95-471100d18ad6/2C38EA58-A5A0-4A3D-99AC-E6EE338E56E4.jpg Blog - Idea for November 2021: quick commerce - My image of the month is instant fire Inevitably, as I’m publishing this post on 5 November. These fireworks were actually last weekend, at Blakeney Quay in Norfolk. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-october-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1634743057780-2IT0FNRE0M8SHSOIW3MY/E5A9B5E6-8B80-4739-9A40-5F7480BDB9BA_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - Idea for October 2021: metaverse - My image of the month is space Real space, not a metaverse, at the seemingly endless Brancaster Beach in Norfolk. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-september-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1631194063525-689M8HNZWC6OADPBG7CD/6D299507-A1CD-48AF-B646-749CB1D8245E_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - Idea for September 2021: non-fungible token - My image of the month is also a digital thing My eye was caught by this non-fungible artwork on a new block of flats called ‘101 on Cleveland’. In estate agent clichés, it’s ‘a boutique collection of 88 stylish apartments in fashionable Fitzrovia’. But I can’t find out who created this work, or what the other binary numbers mean: any info welcome. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-august-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1627896261176-CF82GB7TKC60OBRX0QCV/8E795418-322F-4F5D-835D-604B363E8708.jpeg Blog - Idea for August 2021: neijuan - My image of the month is Woodside Square A smart piece of vaguely Dutch urbanism in Muswell Hill, north London, designed by Pollard Thomas Edwards. It’s been home for the last two years - though this month we’re moving up to Norfolk. The design has cleverly created a real sense of community here. which we’ll miss. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-july-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-june-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1622638924114-GEKGT81G40YK5GPFNL0C/6B95FF71-0675-46B7-BD93-AF11039C4B4C_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - Idea for June 2021: Bildung - My image of the month is mustard I’m not a huge fan of mustard, but I’m fascinated by this lid, because Colman’s mustard hasn't actually been made in Norwich for years. And yet brands like to have homes. And Norwich has many more than you’d expect - Aviva, Barclays, Bernard Matthews, Colman’s, Kettle Chips, Lotus, Naked Wines, Start-Rite, Virgin Money and many more. Why is Norwich such fertile ground, I wonder? https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/its-the-most-important-decade-for-humanity monthly 0.5 2021-05-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1620833009584-T33UGK8BK78AMHUI5CCU/210528_0176_IKEA-1.jpg Blog - ‘It’s the most important decade for humanity’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-may-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1619965580879-4IFRVKKPSKV2CATRYLKE/5B4C351B-EB6A-4A87-A909-E52FE965D3A4.jpeg Blog - Idea for May 2021: ubuntu - My image of the month is cherry blossom Just round the corner from home, pink on deep blue, as the tree just starts to come into flower. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-april-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1617901264450-4VKUGQERY3KTEIP1PJCX/tempImagegFjssK.jpg Blog - Idea for April 2021: mana - My image of the month is this abstract painting Found on eBay. British and maybe 60 years old. With a framer’s label on the back - Henry Vinson of Blandford Street, in 1960s typography. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-march-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1614533136389-SXXNKXYK5YDZ7GT9BX15/IMG_0222.jpg Blog - Idea for March 2021: nostos - My image of the month is three pots of flowers. Just bought on eBay, painted with striking gesture and colour. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-february-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1612182790018-IGCE47NKVL72B8R3IJF8/IMG_2750.jpeg Blog - Idea for February 2021: saccade - My image of the month is this fantastic viaduct. The viaduct takes the Northern Line into Mill Hill East, but no-one on the train will ever see what goes on below – bricks, water, graffiti and an endless perspective. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/from-big-idea-to-big-strategy monthly 0.5 2021-01-29 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-january-2021 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1609326300466-GPOY1H3O98106JIHOXDQ/IMG_1370.jpeg Blog - Idea for January 2021: zoonotic - My image of the month, though, is more cheerful. We bought this picture on eBay, and we know very little about it. But I love its suggestion of a winter feast to come. And the composition – all that extra space above the figure. And the glinting light. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-december-2020 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1607340156640-DYT1ZMZX9J9CX1CD67GQ/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Idea for December 2020: lagom - My image of the month is a design survivor. This road sign near us predates Margaret Calvert's redesign in 1964, and therefore old and rare. I love the Gill-like '3', the dynamic arrows... and the fractions. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/51ksjfxsh4dsm29doi5rvfltz47av3 monthly 0.5 2021-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1606590106486-5QTKR14AVRGRGGNTWEJV/Valerie+Van+den+Bossche.jpeg Blog - ‘Why I’m obstinately optimistic’ https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-november-2020 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1607339479663-NDOAZTVD192ZF0R7RBFX/Screenshot+2020-12-07+at+11.11.11.png Blog - Idea for November 2020: cyber-waste - My image of the month is actually video - of Gertrude Stein. If you find the world perplexing, here's Gertrude Stein to explain it all. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/branding-panacea-or-poison monthly 0.5 2021-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1606645149747-69P09V70BEC3UIQCNJPB/Jon+Alexander.jpeg Blog - Branding: panacea or poison? https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/idea-and-image-october-2020 monthly 0.5 2024-03-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1607338203945-PQB1TK8SJ30W9RMMEUPR/IMG_2341.jpeg Blog - Idea for October 2020: cultural democracy - My image of the month as we head into darker afternoons. We bought this on eBay - any ideas about artist or location? Maybe Camden Town School? https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/blog-post-title-two-2jsmr monthly 0.5 2020-09-30 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/why-great-strategy-and-design-often-fails monthly 0.5 2020-12-07 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/blog-post-title-four-nynbd monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/blog-post-title-three-ct2wf monthly 0.5 2020-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1601373583637-O8P7VGC6DI82NFI6K8V1/Screenshot+2020-09-29+at+10.59.17.png Blog - One company, many brands https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/blog/blog-post-title-one-e3pbg monthly 0.5 2020-09-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1601384194542-H9KRTY8489JOYN5Z0WJ7/ross-sneddon-NAPBJyy5Eqg-unsplash.jpg Blog - Branding’s Copernicus moment Ross Sneddon/Unsplash https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/consulting daily 1.0 2025-01-16 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/teaching daily 0.75 2025-01-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1604579831977-JRY4W70AE5PGJC6JLDZD/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash.jpg Teaching - Learn branding for free If you’d like a quick, interactive overview, join our free online course, The Secret Power of Brands. You’ll learn through videos, articles, quizzes, creative tasks and a lively online conversation with classmates. Almost 100,000 people have already signed up for this 5-star rated course. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1601369418465-8O205U7UFDAOG009TK7S/Robert+teaching.jpg Teaching - Help your company learn The key to growth for organisations is learning. I’ve helped develop learning strategies for large organisers like Daimler and Allianz GI, using the power of online social learning. I’ve run classes at companies like Danone and Ericssson. And I’ve taught at Copenhagen Business School, London Business School, LSE, Northwestern and many others. Get in touch and let’s explore what your people could learn. https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/writing daily 0.75 2021-01-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1609784998439-QYAGLBKH19IUNI2HQJAL/71CS53TDFlL.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1609785086763-XSRMI20NGYCVT56BXD6T/41TFEjHLmCL._SX316_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1609784507423-T80I4D9D6AT414USFVUA/hope-house-press-leather-diary-studio-IOzk8YKDhYg-unsplash.jpg Writing https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/contact daily 0.75 2020-09-30 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/clientlist daily 0.75 2025-03-31 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/services daily 0.75 2024-02-07 https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/media daily 0.75 2025-01-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1609782939059-5FUYQ986TPWTGRV3FPQ2/the-bottom-line-bbc-radio-4-rWdat2uMB_C.1400x1400.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/347a3289-829d-4e01-b79e-a20e54c6d7b5/glenn-carstens-peters-npxXWgQ33ZQ-unsplash.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/accf9fb5-0dd0-406d-bb20-a35160b4cdea/jonathan-velasquez-c1ZN57GfDB0-unsplash.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/cad639ea-5daa-4780-a213-1b2bc33c6704/jacob-pretorius-NDOeL6E8Vxs-unsplash.jpg Media https://www.robertjonesbrandconsulting.com/about daily 0.75 2025-01-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f02eb53d20d7c084f33ec63/1625750390471-MMFS4BZMG0ZZUXCSZ2UJ/RJ_DSC4639.jpg About - About me I’ve been a brand consultant for over thirty years, and I'm still fascinated by brands and branding. I’ve worked with over a hundred companies, large, medium and small. I’ve worked in every field – from banks to business parks, professions to palaces, climate change to crisps. My role is to help clients go further. To reimagine, recreate and realise their best strategy and their best brand. I believe businesses, and brands, are about ideas. About the interactions between ideas, purpose, culture, spirit and design. I’ve seen how brands have changed and evolved over the years, becoming more sophisticated, more purposeful – less about image, more about the whole experience. I live in beautiful north Norfolk, and I have three parallel lives. Working as an independent brand strategist, for clients across the UK. Teaching as Professor of Brand Leadership at the University of East Anglia And helping turbocharge the creative economy of my region, through the fast-growing network, Brandland.