10 questions to celebrate 10 years of L&L Written by: Izzie Gilleard

A chat with Co-founders Mat and Ben, giving goss of the highs and lows from the last 10 awesome years of Lyon & Lyon.

So obviously you’re twins. What’s it been like working together all this time?

Mat: Its fun, tough, emotional and ultra unique. There’s no doubt there’s some super magic that happens between us which we’re able to leverage and put back into L&L. From a creative perspective we’re able to approach a brief with a unified direction but then bring our own flavour individually. Ben’s always the one in initial client meetings coming up with the mad off the cuff ideas and I’m all about getting real deep on the why and the strategy. A proper good double team!

Lyon & Lyon has been on quite a journey for the past 10 years. What inspired you to kick-start this adventure, and tell me, how has Lyon & Lyon changed since day one?

Ben: We’ve always created together in some form, bands, art, toy design (at age 8!), we always knew we would start a creative business together, we just didn’t know what. Every member of our close family works for themselves, it must be in the genes. Day one, we had no real idea what we were doing, just happily failing, learning and growing. Now, we have a lot of processes and structure but still aim for that day one naivety, it helps us play and embrace failure, that’s where real originality lives. 

Looking back, what moments or accomplishments stand out as the “wow” highlights in Lyon & Lyon’s history? How’d they shape the company’s vibe and style?

Mat: Working with Who Gives A Crap was a big highlight, they’re a huge worldwide brand, with an authentic and disruptive outlook, making a positive impact on the planet. They epitomise the kind of clients we’ll be working with in the next 10 years of L&L.

 

Go on, can you share a “yikes” moment Lyon & Lyon faced? How did you get through it, and what did you learn along the way?

Ben: Like loads of businesses, Covid was defo squeaky bum time. We had work drop out instantly and work coming in dried up. Thankfully we adapted quickly adding a digital design and motion design team, which landed us some big projects and shaped a whole new area of our practice. 

 

Lyon & Lyon is all about conscious design. How have you guys put that into practice while working with clients and running the business over the years?

Mat: Yeah it’s always front of mind when working with any client but with some we can have more impact than others. We worked with a vegan bacon brand and proudly sourced and developed the most sustainable pack possible. It featured an innovative UK bio wrap for the bacon and a glueless card outer (using clever card engineering) printed in soy inks. It was 100% biodegradable at home throughout – no funny business.

 

The design world is always spinning. What cool changes or trends have you noticed, and how has Lyon & Lyon kept up or even led the way?

Ben: We’re a progressive agency, early adopters of the 4 day week and we launched a sustainable sister agency UNDO UNDO UNDO back in 2019 which has since become part of L&L. You can’t really talk about the future of the creative sector without talking about AI. It’s been a pretty big focus for us since late ‘23 but I think we have so much more to learn both in terms of its capabilities but also how we work alongside it. AI is clearly very powerful and has the potential to have the biggest shift in the creative industries but the last bastion of AI is thoughtful creative thinking and ingenious solutions,  thankfully that’s our power card!

 

Do you have a project that sticks out as a standout memory for Lyon & Lyon? What made it special, and how did it make an impact?

Mat: The calling card of L&L, is an ingenious beautifully crafted idea/hook, that is deeply connected to a brands identity. An idea that moves people and brands. One project from back in the day was Twisting Spirits– some IT geeks turned gin geeks. We wanted to take their love of data and apply it to the often traditional world of gin. TS’s gins have very distinctive flavours. We wanted the consumer to experience each flavour before tasting it, which is hard with a clear liquid.

We open sourced their ingredient data, representing every ingredient as a coloured bar, the more of it the bigger the bar. Each flavour is printed onto it’s own tactile embossed GFSmith Colorplan, so it feels like it tastes.

 

Since creativity is key, how does Lyon & Lyon keep those creative juices flowing? Any secret recipes for success within the team?

Ben: It can be hard to be creative on demand and to deadlines. The key is play, to be child-like, to look at the world with nativity and curiosity. Looking outside of the world of design is so important, look up, look outside, always be aware and open to inspiration. Inspiration is like a sprite you have to be ready to catch it or else it won’t visit you again. 

“Inspiration exists but it has to find you working” – Picasso

 

Failing that, jump in the shower with a waterproof notebook, that helps think through ideas and connections. So much so that I created it as a product for Luckies of London.  We try to work with brands that are at the bleeding edge in their field, learning about a new sector or technology keeps things interesting for us. 

 

What’s the big dream for Lyon & Lyon in the future, especially with the design world constantly evolving?

Ben: My dream for the future of L&L is to be THE AGENCY for deeply creative yet truly commercial work that excites and smashes the brief. All whilst working for major brands that have a profound positive impact on the world.  I hope we can give back more, to support and inspire young talent to do something exciting and positive with their creative skills. 

 

For those itching to start their own design agency, what golden advice would you give based on Lyon & Lyon’s wild ride over the past decade?

Mat: This advice is true for any intrepid business owners. Owning a business can be really taxing and a 24/7 gig. Before you take a leap into something like that, think about the end at the start. Try and focus on the why, what’s the purpose of this business and why are YOU doing it, what do you want from it. If you’re clear on that from the start it gives you a north star and helps stay focused when times are tough.   

Thanks for tuning in,
Love and lols,
Lyon & Lyon twins, Benny and Mat.