Studio Neon: Designing Atmosphere in Glasgow

Tucked into a converted warehouse on the south side of the Clyde, Studio Neon has spent the past eight years building a reputation for interior and experiential design that treats space as a form of storytelling. Founded in 2016 by Isla Rae and Marcus Dunbar, the studio started with a simple conviction: that how a room feels matters just as much as how it looks. That belief has carried them from early commissions in Glasgow's independent hospitality scene to large-scale experiential projects for cultural institutions, retail brands and property developers across the UK and northern Europe.

Origins and Philosophy

Isla Rae trained as a theatre set designer before pivoting to interiors. Marcus Dunbar came from architecture, with a particular interest in adaptive reuse. Their combined sensibility, theatrical yet structurally grounded, defines Studio Neon's output. Walk into one of their finished spaces and you will likely notice the lighting first. The studio is known for using light not simply as illumination but as a material in its own right, shaping the emotional register of a room before a single piece of furniture is placed.

The name itself nods to this fascination. "Neon" is not about garish signage. It refers to the idea that light can be warm, strange, specific, and deeply human. Early projects for Glasgow bars and restaurants leaned into moody, amber-toned environments that felt cinematic without being derivative. More recent work for museum exhibitions and brand activations has expanded the palette, but the studio's attention to atmosphere remains constant.

The Work

Studio Neon operates across three overlapping areas: hospitality interiors, cultural and exhibition design, and brand experience. In hospitality, they have completed projects for independent hotels in Edinburgh, a members' club in Manchester and a string of restaurant interiors in Glasgow that helped reshape the city's dining identity. Their work on Finnieston's Lume restaurant, with its layered use of smoked glass and indirect lighting, was shortlisted for a Scottish Design Award in 2021.

On the cultural side, the studio has collaborated with Glasgow Museums, the V&A Dundee and the Lighthouse on exhibition environments that balance curatorial intent with visitor engagement. These projects demand a different set of skills, combining spatial planning with graphic communication and careful material choices that respect the objects on display.

Brand experience is the fastest-growing part of the practice. Clients in fashion, technology and spirits have commissioned Studio Neon to design immersive installations for product launches, festival activations and pop-up retail. These projects are often temporary, which paradoxically raises the stakes. Every detail must land immediately because the space may exist for only a few days.

"We want people to walk into a room and feel something they cannot quite name. Not awe for its own sake, but a shift in attention, a sense that someone cared deeply about every surface and shadow."
— Isla Rae, Co-Founder

Process and Collaboration

The studio's process is notably research-heavy at the front end. Before any sketching begins, the team spends time understanding context: the neighbourhood, the client's brand voice, the habits of the people who will actually use the space. Mood boards give way to material studies, which give way to detailed 3D visualisations. Physical models still play a role, particularly for lighting tests. The studio maintains a small materials library in the warehouse, filled with fabric swatches, timber samples, resin tiles and glass offcuts that designers can handle and hold up to different light sources.

Collaboration is central. Studio Neon works closely with external fabricators, lighting consultants, graphic designers and, increasingly, sound designers. Projects often involve contractors and craftspeople based in Scotland, and the studio has built long-standing relationships with joiners, metalworkers and specialist painters in and around Glasgow. This network allows them to maintain a high degree of craft in their work while keeping the core team lean.

The Team

As of early 2025, Studio Neon employs around 30 people. The core disciplines include interior design, spatial design, 3D visualisation, project management and creative strategy. The culture leans informal but focused. Designers are expected to think across scales, from the layout of an entire floor to the finish on a door handle. Fridays often feature internal reviews where work-in-progress is presented and discussed openly, a habit borrowed from Isla Rae's theatre background.

Glasgow itself is part of the appeal. The city's creative infrastructure, its art schools, music scene, independent culture and relatively affordable studio space, makes it a natural home for a practice like Studio Neon. Several team members are graduates of the Glasgow School of Art or the University of Strathclyde, though the studio also draws talent from further afield.

What Comes Next

Studio Neon is currently expanding its experiential design offering, with several international projects on the horizon. The studio is also investing in computational design tools and real-time rendering, aiming to close the gap between concept and client understanding earlier in the process. For all the technological investment, the founders insist the work will remain rooted in physical sensation. Screens can show you a space, but they cannot replicate the feeling of walking through one. That difference, the gap between seeing and inhabiting, is where Studio Neon continues to find its purpose.