Juiced’s Robert Bedford and Niamh Dixon talk recent projects, studio merch – and plans to go global

Guys, it’s always great to catch up. How has the past 12 months been for Juiced?
Robert Bedford, Creative Director & Co-Owner, Juiced: Always great to catch up Billy. The last 12 months? It’s been a crazy whirlwind to be honest, but for me the biggest highlight was celebrating our fifth birthday in a brewery. We put on some bands, invited a load of pals and had some very questionable karaoke.

Niamh Dixon, Art Director & Co-Owner, Juiced: For me it would probably be having the big promotion to Art Director/Co-Owner. I’ve been at Juiced for five years and joined the team not long after Rob established the business in 2019… Seeing us go from strength to strength has been amazing.

Talk us through a recent project and what made it interesting to work on?
Robert: The recent projects we did for CAA and Netflix’s game division, NextGames, were super interesting, graphic kit & illustration-led projects. Another was a brand project for an indie game studio called Observer Interactive… We got to have quite a lot of freedom with that one and we really wanted to get across a retro aesthetic. We managed to create an awesome brand pack using analogue film and projection techniques. It was a super creative, fun project.

As one of the newer design agencies on the scene in licensing, how have you found ‘getting your bearings’?
Robert: At first, it felt very much like trial-and-error. But it’s helped establish what we are, our ethos and what we really love doing.

Niamh: When Rob attended Brand Licensing Europe for the first time representing Juiced in 2021, that was a key turning point. It helped us break away from solely focusing on brand development for local businesses and expand our horizons and actually see potential to think: “We could work with all these super cool people and licences”.

Licensing events and expos have been essential in creating a network for us. Every year, now have new and exciting introductions and meetings that help us slowly but surely solidify ourselves as a key player in the industry.

Would you say Juiced has a recognisable ‘design language’? Or is it more important to be versatile?
Robert: ’Making Cool Shit’ is the motto, and I think that translates to our design language. That being said, I’m a big believer in being versatile. Our wide variety of interests and skills let us get on with ‘Making Cool Shit’ in an authentic way. Some clients have met other clients and asked if their work was a ‘Juiced Special’ – so there’s no real giveaways, just a vibe.

Niamh: At face value, the “Making Cool Shit” punk/skater/alternative style that we’ve adopted as part of our brand may sometimes seem intimidating for family friendly licenses… There’s a worry that perhaps we’ll replicate this style and try to apply it to those brands. So it’s important for us to show off the versatility in our work because our brand personality can sadly be miscommunicated… We’re super proud to be versatile in our services and design outcomes, all while having a strong personal design language.

Are there any design trends you find inspiring at the moment?
Robert: Retro game graphics! I love old video game graphics and it’s been a super-strong trend over the last few years. I think more licences should embrace it.

Niamh: We’ve actually managed to integrate that style into a style guide for Netflix’s Stranger Things. We had so much fun curating this and would love to see other IP take the plunge.

I know you produce studio merch. What can clients – and future clients – look forward to pinching from you at Vegas?
Robert: We’ve produced a fully illustrated regulation deck of cards that feature a ton of extraterrestrials. They’ll be available at the show!

So if you want a copy of cool playing cards, hit us up. On top of that, we’ll probably have some t-shirts as well… It’s become a thing for us now; if there’s an event, we’ll likely have goodies!

Niamh: Merch as marketing is fun. How often do you come home after an event with a chunky stack of business cards that you have only a vague memory of who gave it to you after talking to hundreds of people? As a small business, it’s so important to stay in the memory of potential clients and investors. That’s why we love to come up with refreshing alternatives that have more chance of sticking in the minds of the people you meet.

What are some of Juiced’s key aims for the rest of 2025 and beyond?
Robert: More cool shit. More cool ideas. More fun things. We’ve recently been aiming towards bigger projects, and we want to continue with that. We also want to bring more Juiced products to market.

Niamh: A key goal for us in 2025 is to push our outreach onto a global scale! More events, more products – and to add more people into our network. We love meeting businesses, licensors and other creatives all over the world. Having opportunities and platforms like this is so essential in reaching these targets.