About us
The Surgery was founded in 2013 by Paul Cohen and Nick Cordell, built on a heritage of graphic design, brand thinking and digital craft. From brand development, print and sponsorship activations to retail environments and digital experiences, our roots have always been in creating work with clarity, intelligence and unmistakable creative polish.
As our relationships with clients deepened, one discipline consistently drew us in: internal communications. With the insight and encouragement of client and internal comms specialist Sarah Meurer, who later joined our leadership team, we made a deliberate decision to specialise. Carly Murray soon followed, strengthening our strategic capability and helping us shape a rare blend: design thinking and internal communications working seamlessly together.
Today, Sarah has returned client‑side, but her influence runs deep. As part of her legacy, we continue to run Barn to Boardroom – the internal comms event she and Carly launched over a decade ago. Now in its eleventh year, it remains one of the sector’s most valued forums for insight, challenge and connection.
This integration of disciplines has become our hallmark. Insight sharpened by creativity. Creativity grounded in human understanding. A combined practice designed to create communication which resonates and transforms.
We’ve grown intentionally, not exponentially. A 20‑strong team, proudly independent and purposefully lean. Strategists. Designers. Brand thinkers. Writers. Internal Comms specialists. All working side by side to deliver clarity, confidence and meaningful change for some of the world’s most respected organisations.
Our studio sits in a converted barn on a working West Sussex farm, a place with room to think, challenge, create and breathe. It shapes how we work: focused, thoughtful and always curious. A setting that invites fresh thinking and fosters great ideas.
We’re proud of our blue‑chip client list. Proud of the awards we’ve earned. But most of all, proud of the impact we create – work that helps people understand, connect and move forward with confidence.
This is The Surgery.
Independent. Insight‑driven. Creatively led.
Work that works®.
What drives us
Our mission
To create work that works – strategic, insight‑led, creatively crafted solutions that move people and organisations forward.
Why we do what we do
Because when people understand, believe, and feel connected to what’s happening around them, organisations thrive. Clear, purposeful and creative communication changes everything.
What we do
We combine human insight, strategic intelligence and creative craft to deliver internal comms, EVPs, brand, design and digital solutions that align and inspire your people.
How we do it
We listen deeply, think boldly and design with intention. We cut out the unnecessary, focus on what matters and turn complex challenges into clarity – and clarity into action.
The Great Surgery Bake Off has begun!
We love a bit of GBBO here. So much so we`ve even got our very own version of the show!
This is how it `bakes down`… we`ve each been paired with one of the 12 bakers on the show.
When their baker is eliminated, the matching Surgeon takes on a baking challenge inspired by that week’s episode and has a week to bring in the tasty goods.
Up first for biscuit week was Creative Director Nick whose biscuits really took the erm… biscuit!
In fact, we had to fight off the designers who wanted to snaffle a biccie before we could take a piccie!
Join us next week to find out which Surgeon has been elbow deep in flour and sponge cake….
The thing about good design is that you probably don`t really notice it.
Because it works and is effective.
Take a look behind the scenes at what really goes into making design work;
https://ineedsurgery.com/good-design-is-invisible/
New to internal comms?
Perhaps you’ve been tasked with getting an internal communications function up and running at your organisation?
Fear not, we are here to help! Start off by reading our basic guide to internal comms right here:
https://ineedsurgery.com/what-is-internal-communications/
"What, why, where, who, and when are just five little words, helpfully, all starting with a w.
Before creating your next piece of brilliant internal comms, start by answering these five little ws and you`ll get your message across effectively.
For more insight, check out our blog here: https://ineedsurgery.com/right-why-writing-right-is-right-for-writing-right-internal-comms-right/
#InternalComms #Writing
Everyone loves a good story, and creating engaging narratives which your people can believe in and feel part of is such an effective way of bringing them along on your business journey.
To get some top tips and storytelling insght read our blog here https://ineedsurgery.com/storytelling-it-aint-what-you-do-its-the-way-that-you-do-it/
#InternalComms #Storytelling
We`ll get to the point.
This is a post about Smart Brevity.
Smart Brevity is a communications approach designed to cut through information overload.
It`s a way to get your main message up front and in front of people.
Not easy when we`re all bombarded by messages every day.
To disover more, read our insights on Smart Brevity. https://ineedsurgery.com/a-blog-about-smart-brevity-you-say-this-wont-take-long-then/
What if the most valuable thing AI helped you do wasn`t work faster, but understand yourself a little better? 🤔
In this episode, we caught up with Kate Hughes from Cambridge University Press and Assessment to talk about an unexpected use of Copilot. What started as a weekly wellbeing check-in evolved into a form of self-coaching that helped Kate identify patterns in her thinking and make small but meaningful changes to how she works.
💡 Creating a weekly "Feelings Lounge" check-in to explore what`s energising, draining and looping in the background.
💡 Using AI to identify recurring patterns of self-doubt and imposter syndrome that were difficult to spot alone.
💡 Running small weekly experiments rather than trying to make dramatic changes overnight.
💡 Configuring Copilot to challenge assumptions rather than simply agree with them.
It`s an honest conversation about wellbeing, self-awareness and a potential side of AI that most of us haven’t explored.
Link in the comments and available from all the usual places. Take a listen 👇
Love `em or loathe `em, emails aren’t going away anytime soon.
But maybe, just maybe, we can make them a little less all-encompassing, a little more friendly and courteous, and even, perhaps, reduce the number we get every day.
Check out our top tips or read the full article here – https://ineedsurgery.com/emails-its-time-for-a-revolution/
