As a strategic brand writer, I specialise in defining and expressing brand voice.
I collaborate closely with strategy and design leads to translate foundational thinking into distinctive verbal identities, brand stories, and brand positioning that’s fresh and effective in its sector.
Selected case studies
Dejumbling insurance with mischievous wordplay
I collaborated with Taxi Studio to develop an award-winning brand voice for fintech challenger Yoloh.
Coming soon
• Brand voice for a leading baby products brand (with Manifest London)
• Brand voice for a top global university (with Johnson Banks)
Shifting perspective with a poetic wobbly mirror
I collaborated with NB Studio and SEA to create ‘Conversion’, a two-metre-high fairground-style distorting mirror.
Coming soon
• Brand voice for a cutting-edge cybersecurity firm (with Territory)
• Brand voice for a major vacuum cleaner brand (with Taxi Studio)
Helping Bite Back capture the voice of a generation
I collaborated with youth activism organisation Bite Back to bring its spiky, witty and provocative brand voice – as defined by Wolff Olins – to life. This included a full rollout across the brand’s online presence.
Nick’s creative efforts ensured that our new narrative and tone of voice shone from every single page of our new platform.
Zoë Kelland – director of movement, Bite Back 2030
This was followed by an interactive digital experience – developed in partnership with NCS – to immerse young people in the world of Bite Back, and inspire them to challenge a food system set up to fool us all.
Nick has an incredible ability to quickly understand brands, their tone of voice, and complex topics and narratives.
Gina Garland – digital senior manager, Bite Back 2030
Helping TikTok connect with its community
I collaborated with Wolff Olins to help define, refine and roll out TikTok’s new verbal identity. The challenge was making sure the brand sounded as authentic and playful as its billion-strong community – transforming corporate announcements into culturally fluent content that felt genuinely TikTok.
This included everything from stress-testing voice principles to rewriting social posts, brand descriptors, internal HR comms and newsroom editorial.
Social post examples
Before: Here are some simple ways to relax with yoga
After: Downward Dog not picking you up? Relax with yoga tips on TikTok
Before: We’re loving @cherylholequeen’s makeup transformations. See them on TikTok!
After: Yaas queen! Create a look that slays with @cherylholequeen’s make-up tips on TikTok
More recently, I’ve worked with TikTok as a contributing editor for Creative Review, providing insights and advice for agencies and brands to engage with the platform more effectively.
We worked on a detailed global verbal identity project for TikTok that required both flair and attention to detail. Nick brought bags of both.
David Stevens – senior strategy director, Wolff Olins
Giving global healthcare a human touch for GSK
I collaborated with Wolff Olins to develop tone of voice guidelines for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as part of its global rebrand, helping the pharmaceutical giant speak with warmth and purpose.
Built around three core principles – we write to motivate, we write to unite, we write to relate – this included a comprehensive framework of before-and-after examples that rated how well each principle was executed, with detailed explanations of what changed and why.
Celebrating 50 years of the Virgin brand
I collaborated with Virgin and Thames and Hudson to write Virgin By Design, a coffee-table book charting the 50-year evolution of the Virgin brand.
Helping Virgin’s global family be more extraordinary
After Virgin By Design was published, I continued to collaborate with Virgin. One project was ‘Find Your Way To Extraordinary’ – a playful Tarot-inspired campaign to promote its central brand resource, The Virgin Way.
Built around four personas – The Architect, The Artist, The Analyst, and The Activist – the campaign engaged the global Virgin family at different levels, from senior brand leadership, to creative collaborators, to on-the-ground teammates providing face-to-face customer experiences.
Nick was quick to understand the Virgin brand’s principles and history and convey it seamlessly. He’s a joy to work with.
Charlotte Bufton – head of brand experience and activation, Virgin Group
Nick Carson 