Expression Games

Expression Games is a Manchester-based service provider for the games industry focusing on full cycle development, co-development and new IP projects for publishers and partners. Founded by former Playstation employees, the team behind Expression has been built with strong cultural values at the forefront. The gaming service provider amasses over 150+ years of combined experience within its team and harbours a uniquely progressive ethos of supporting the next generation of industry talent while championing diversity and inclusion, something not frequently focused on in gaming circles. And this certainly came across when we were approached by Expression’s passionate startup founder. 

Seeking an empowering new brand identity that would inform sleek web design, forward-thinking copy and ToV – and a brand deck for investors that conveyed the layered concept of their next-level gaming – we were excited to get started on creating a new brand for Expression.

To gain an in-depth understanding of the gaming industry we researched the sector, analysing competitor brands. Additionally, we conducted valuable meetings with the team at Expression to decipher the brand’s core values, attributes and culture as well as defining their unique selling point. 

What came across in abundance, was that honesty, trust and collaboration are instrumental to the values of the Expression team; this, coupled with a commitment to the education and development of the next generation of gaming industry talent, is at the foundation of the creative make up of the agency, as well as being what makes Expression unique against a wide backdrop of other companies that share the same market space.

Whilst the Expression team’s strong values, gaming expertise and experience informed and inspired the internal brand, we quickly developed a focal point for the external brand. Once we had defined that the purpose of Expression is not just to paint pictures with narrative driven gameplay, but to tell stories that bring life and depth to new IP projects, the brand’s new proposition became clear to us.

To meet our objectives, we provided the client with several brand identity concepts – contrasting thoughts and ideas that encompassed what we had learnt about the creative vision of Expression. 

A layered visual identity style in eye-catching shades of navy, yellow and white was selected. The position of a well-experienced, people-first, progressive gaming brand is expressed with carefully considered photography depicting people of multiple genders, ethnic backgrounds and ages, in an immersive video game environment. 

Complete with blue aesthetic tones to match the core brand colours, layered text and fluid yet abstract background shapes that fit together like pieces of a puzzle – the chosen concept also expressed movement. Combined with sharp copy lines, the new brand elements summarised perfectly the company vision of ‘Next Level Gaming’.

Integral to the outward-facing brand identity, we armed Expression with a new tone of voice, copy and headline messages that we mapped across all new assets, including the website and investor brand deck. 

Since Expression has a partnership with the University of Bolton, supporting the education of students at college and university levels, it was integral that the tone of voice remained approachable for budding gaming professionals, allowing vital growth of the startup brand with potential new recruits, whilst defining clearly its benefits, values and mission, for future investors and partners. 

We equipped the client with an expressive tone of voice that the team could use across digital and physical assets to push their values and demonstrate the team’s technical expertise and prowess.

We designed and created an investor brand deck to strongly communicate Expression’s services, expertise and USP to potential investors and collaborators. 

A welcome first for us here at Glorious, on top of creating the Expression visual brand, we also extended our services into the virtual world, with additional identity work for a new video game that’s currently in the works. Watch this space!