Partner Update April

Connecting brands with exceptional creative talent and industry insights

CREATIVE INDUSTRY PULSE ✹

Attention Economics: Why Brands during Milan Design Week Are Investing in Sound Experiences

Milan was electric this year. Between our daily morning catch-ups with members and partners at Pasticceria Cova and visits to see our members' work exhibited at Alcova, a clear pattern emerged in how brands are approaching experiential design.

Design Week has quietly outgrown itself. What began as a trade show has transformed into one of Europe's cultural moments of the year. Fashion brands were early pioneers in this expansion, but now we're witnessing tech companies like Google claiming their cultural territory with ambitious installations. This blurring of boundaries is redefining what design means in 2025.

Stone Island’s listening room in collaboration with Friendly Pressure.

The most talked about brand experiences this year? Everything revolved around listening rooms and music-driven installations. Nike collaborated with Berlin-based record label PAN and launched a new shoe inspired by Berlin’s club culture. Stone Island and Friendly Pressure created a high-fidelity sound system with a program of week-long DJ sets and talks. Meanwhile, Vans took over Triennale with Tim Hecker's compositions that transformed sound waves into physical environments you could feel in your bones. After years of Instagram-optimized visual installations, brands have rediscovered that ears are the new eyes.

What does this mean for your brand? While everyone's fighting for visual attention, sound offers fresh territory for connection. It's a powerful marker for cultural belonging and a strategic element for installations and pop-ups. We observed how the right sonic environment naturally drew people in and significantly increased dwell time—visitors weren't just passing through for a quick photo, but settling in to experience the brand more deeply.

✹ Our MDW25 Playlist is up ✹

EMERGING TREND: THE DECENTRALIZED BRAND VOICE ✹

Content Monotony Kills Engagement: Why Loewe and Other Leading Brands Are Intentionally Breaking Their Own Rules

The most forward-thinking brands are tossing out the old playbook of rigid consistency. Why? Because people get bored seeing the same style, faces and perspective over and over again.

Brands like Loewe have figured this out—intentionally incorporating different voices, styles, and perspectives into their content mix. This approach creates surprise moments that make audiences stop scrolling and rediscover the brand from unexpected angles. It's strategic inconsistency: keeping people engaged long-term by breaking patterns in ways that reveal new dimensions of your brand's personality.

Loewe jumped on the Italian Brain Rot trend. Off-brand? Maybe. Engaging? YES.

The approach is simple but powerful: be intentionally off brand—while still delivering authentic storytelling true to your brand's values. Give more freedom to creators to reinterpret your brand. Mix polished brand videos with creator collaborations, skits, founder perspectives, and behind-the-scenes glimpses. Let different visual styles coexist within your ecosystem. When audiences can't predict exactly what's coming next from your channels, they're more likely to keep checking in.

MEET NEUEHAUS FREELANCERS ✹

Meredith | Art Director & Designer Based in Berlin

Meredith moves easily between brand development and digital experiences, bringing both big-picture thinking and careful execution to every project. Her work on websites for The New Yorker and Vogue Magazine shows how she translates established brands into digital experiences while respecting what makes them special. When you need someone who can think across disciplines and keep the story consistent, Meredith delivers.

Meredith’s work for The New Yorker: Art Direction and Web Design.

Tom | Senior Designer Based in London

Tom works across branding, print, and digital design with the kind of perspective that only comes from seeing the big picture. His work with luxury brand Rimowa demonstrates his talent for balancing heritage with contemporary relevance—something many established brands struggle with. His designs communicate clearly while elevating the overall experience, with an attention to detail that sets the work apart.

Tom’s work for Rimowa: Design across Social, Print and Web.

Cecilia | Creative Producer Based in Amsterdam

When projects need to happen smoothly across 25 global markets, Cecilia is the person you want. She manages the entire production process—from brief to delivery—keeping everything on time, on budget, and true to your story. Having worked with Wieden+Kennedy, Ogilvy, and Zalando, she knows how to navigate complex, multi-channel production. Her strength lies in adapting creative concepts to work effectively across different markets and platforms.

INQUIRE

THE NEUEHAUS ADVANTAGE ✹

• Experience That Shows: Our members typically bring 8+ years of experience to the table, which means getting things done with high-quality output.

• Fewer Back-and-Forths: Projects typically see 20% fewer revisions—meaning faster timelines and less feedback circles.

• Ready-Made Teams: About 65% of our members have worked together before, so they hit the ground running instead of figuring out how to collaborate.

• Beyond the Portfolio: We don't just look at work samples. We interview everyone personally and check references to ensure exceptional skills and ownership.

• Community First: Most new members join through recommendations from existing talent, creating a network built on trust rather than cold applications.

Finding great creative talent shouldn't be a full-time job itself. Whether you need a complete creative team or a specialist for a specific project, we can connect you with the right people within 48 hours.

Let's talk: [email protected]

Sprezzatura: The Art of Studied Carelessnes

Italians have gifted us many concepts, but perhaps none captures the essence of Milan Design Week better than sprezzatura. Coined by Baldassare Castiglione in 1528, sprezzatura describes the art of making something extraordinarily difficult look effortlessly natural. It's that perfectly imperfect shirt cuff, the casually brilliant remark, or the design that appears spontaneous despite months of planning. Something to channel as we return to our desks this week.

Your NeueHaus Team

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