London-based creative studio YeahNice is demonstrating that small teams can achieve big results in the competitive design industry. Founded in 2023, the studio has quickly established itself as a challenger brand that cuts through industry noise by helping clients in technology, lifestyle, and entertainment sectors find their competitive edge through creativity, clarity, and distinctive attitude.
Strategy Director Matt Huckle explains that YeahNice positions itself as "a creative brand and design studio for challengers," emphasizing efficiency over bureaucracy. "For us, being a challenger isn't about market share," Huckle states. "It's a state of mind. Everyone's got a challenge on their hands, whether you're a start-up or a blue chip company. We like working with clients who look at those challenges with a chip on their shoulders and the desire to find the angle that's going to win."
The studio's founding philosophy emerged as a direct response to the founders' experiences at larger agencies. Huckle describes how YeahNice was created after witnessing "how much time and budget can get lost in layers of process and hierarchy." The team wanted to build something "leaner, faster, and more creative," prioritizing sharp ideas over slow processes and direct collaboration over hierarchical structures.
This approach has proven successful during YeahNice's first year of operation. The studio has expanded beyond its original technology focus into cosmetics, founder-led businesses, and financial technology sectors while adding in-house motion design capabilities. The founders remain hands-on in all work, maintaining what Huckle calls "no suits calling the shots," which creates an atmosphere closer to a creative collective than a traditional agency.
YeahNice's company culture centers on three straightforward values that function more like a practical mantra than corporate rhetoric: "Creativity leads the way," "Don't f*ck about," and "Be nice." Each principle reflects deliberate decisions to eliminate unnecessary elements and focus on essential outcomes. "'Creativity leads the way' is our number one value," Huckle explains. "It guides all our decisions, from how we approach new business and board meetings to always putting the work first, even if that means over-delivering."
The second value addresses the studio's reputation for agility and reliability. "We're agile, we do what we say we'll do, and we deliver on time," Huckle adds. The third principle ties directly to the company name and philosophy. "We're called YeahNice, so we've really got to be 'Be nice.'" For founders who have experienced the traditional agency environment, kindness and enjoyment are considered non-negotiable elements. "Creative work should be fun," Huckle emphasizes. "Clients tell us they enjoy the process as much as the outcome, and that matters to us."
The YeahNice team maintains a compact but balanced structure with two creatives, one strategist, and one client services lead. According to Huckle, this combination ensures every discipline has a passionate voice in decision-making processes. "Client service is in brainstorming, strategy feeds directly into design, creatives think about delivery," he explains. "What ties it together is shared ambition: each of us is constantly pushing to do better work and build the reputation of the studio."
This collaborative mindset appears in projects like HeySavi, a technology brand working to redefine online search functionality. "Not exactly a small goal," Huckle jokes. "We had to create something that communicated a new user journey to both investors and early adopters." The resulting visual identity, built around a flexible speech-bubble device, distilled a complex proposition into something simple, memorable, and scalable, perfectly embodying the YeahNice philosophy of "find the truth, distill it down, and build something flexible."
Another notable project is the "You've Got What It Takes" campaign for Female Founders Rise, a community of nearly 10,000 female and non-binary entrepreneurs. Created pro bono, the campaign utilized dynamic visuals, animated statistics, and interviews with real founders to inspire others to pursue entrepreneurship. This represents the type of purpose-driven work the team wants to expand.
YeahNice's operational process reflects its "Don't f*ck about" philosophy through deliberate simplicity. "Our process is simple because it doesn't need to be complicated," Huckle states. "We use a tried-and-tested framework to take us from discovery to delivery that can flex as we need it to." Every project begins with direct interviews to understand project requirements, with creative team members involved from the first day. "That means there's a direct line between the client and the people doing the work. The result is sharper work, faster turnaround, and a process clients actually enjoy."
This lean operational structure allows the studio to "do more with less," extending budget effectiveness without compromising creative quality. The model appeals to both start-ups and global brands, particularly those tired of bureaucratic obstacles and seeking more human-centered approaches.
While YeahNice works with numerous technology clients, the studio maintains a measured relationship with technological advancement. "There are two things AI will never give you: authenticity and craft," Huckle argues. The team has experimented with generative artificial intelligence for exploration and prototyping purposes, but always maintains human oversight. "It allows us to do amazing things that used to take us hours," Huckle explains, "but it's just a tool and, like any tool, it's how you use it that matters."
The studio has developed branded AI prompts for clients, helping in-house teams create consistent assets while maintaining brand integrity. "But there's always a person in charge at every stage," Huckle adds. "We're never going to rely on a largely unproven technology based on probability to try and create unique and exciting creative work. What really excites us is craft."
For YeahNice, success measurement focuses on longevity rather than initial project delivery. "We want clients to come back because they want to, not because they have to," Huckle explains. This approach involves providing clients with tools and confidence to manage their brands independently while offering ongoing support through regular brand check-ins and campaign extensions. "It's one of the reasons we've had a 100% return rate so far, and as those relationships deepen, the work only gets stronger."
Huckle believes YeahNice's small size represents its greatest competitive advantage. "We're a speedboat, not a tanker," he laughs. "We can move quickly, make decisions fast, and get to great work without bureaucracy. Clients work directly with senior creatives rather than layers of account teams, and they trust us to deliver in ways bigger agencies often can't." The studio's challenger mindset reflects their own business DNA. "Being a challenger ourselves, we understand the mindset of our clients and share their urgency."
Looking toward future growth, YeahNice is channeling this energy into expansion plans. With new client acquisitions in progress and ambitions to enter the drinks and spirits sector, the studio shows no signs of slowing momentum. The team even blended their own whisky earlier this year "for research purposes, of course," demonstrating their hands-on approach to understanding client industries. Among process-heavy agencies and jargon-filled presentations, YeahNice continues building its reputation with a refreshingly human philosophy: creativity first, no nonsense, be nice.
