“If you could pick the best office to sit in as a designer, wouldn’t it be surrounded by writers, art directors, people coming up with mad ideas? To be part of an organisation that’s thinking creatively in lots of different ways?”

Adam Rix is discussing his move to Wieden + Kennedy in London, where he is heading up its latest venture, a standalone branding and design company named Not Wieden + Kennedy.

Rix, who was previously at Music in Manchester and over a 20-year career in design has worked with clients including Nike, Manchester City Football Club, and the BBC, is partnered at the new venture by brand director Anika Ramani, who joins from Interbrand. The duo are leading an 18-strong team of designers, creative technologists, motion designers, 3D artists, brand strategists, and writers.

The name of the new company is a somewhat irreverent nod to wider perceptions of W+K – for while the agency has long-standing connections to design, including recent branding projects for Nike, Sainsbury’s and Formula 1, as a network it is most associated with advertising.