When Robots Moved In: Our Collaboration with Hasie & The Robots
If you’ve walked through our offices lately, you might have noticed some new faces. They don’t talk much, but they’ve definitely made an impression. They’re bold, bright, and unapologetically robotic.
These mechanical misfits are the work of Hasie & The Robots - the creative alter ego of artist and industrial designer Johan Johnston. Known for his colourful, offbeat take on the world, Johan was the perfect partner when we decided our walls needed more than just a fresh coat of paint.
Turning Ideas into Art
When Johan talks about his process, it’s not about making something that looks good, it’s about showing how ideas work.
“The inspiration for all of this has been drawn from where ideas come from, how ideas work,” he explains. “Especially within the agency and for Rogerwilco as well. I just thought it would be really cool to showcase how ideas are made in my mind, through my mind, and create these robotic environments that show that process.”
That’s what you’ll see across the murals: worlds built from the bones of imagination. Circuits and wires that act like thoughts. Robots that feel like metaphors for creativity itself: structured, mechanical, but always human at the core.
The Robots Have Personalities
Each piece in Johan’s series has its own story, a small world with its own purpose. There’s the Idea Purveyor, a big robot who keeps all the ideas packed neatly in his bag, ready to hand out when inspiration strikes. Then there’s the Ideas Port, a kind of space hub where all the creative ships come together to drop off new ideas.
The Idea Walker is another favourite, like a dog walker for thoughts, taking them for a stroll while you think things through. It’s a fun, almost literal way of showing how ideas move and shift in your head.
And, of course, there’s the “cool-ass robot” that Johan added simply because… well, why not? Not everything has to have a deeper meaning. Sometimes cool is enough.
It’s playful, clever and slightly absurd. The good kind of absurd. The kind that makes you stop and smile before you realise there’s something deeper going on.
The Colour of Creativity
You can’t ignore the colour in Johan’s work. It’s loud and deliberate, almost like a visual brainstorm frozen mid-thought.
“Usually, I go to the extreme,” he says. “It’s either black and white and greys, or it’s super colourful. For Rogerwilco, I chose super colourful because we wanted something that has impact and carries cool ideas.”
Each wall bursts with its own colour palette . “We’ve got greens for the robot purveyor, purples and pinks and oranges for the dog walker. The spaceport is blue and magenta. And the two bigger panels are bright yellows, blues and pinks with big characters on them.”
Designed to Inspire
At the heart of all this is a simple idea: art should make you feel something. Preferably, it should make you think differently.
“I’m hoping it creates small little moments of ideas within yourself,” Johan says. “Where you can airplane mode your brain and stare at something cool and hopefully be inspired with a better idea.”
That line stuck with us. Because that’s exactly what these murals do: they give you permission to stop. To look up from your screen. To switch off for a second and maybe switch on something new in your head.
The Right Kind of Collaboration
Working with Hasie & The Robots didn’t feel like hiring an artist; it felt like collaborating with someone who speaks the same creative language. Johan builds ideas visually the way we build them digitally. There’s structure, experimentation, and a bit of madness in both.
His murals don’t just sit on the walls; they’ve become part of how the space thinks. They’re a reflection of what Rogerwilco is built on: imagination that never stands still.
As Johan puts it, “It’s enough to catch your eye without you even knowing what it is, but then you’re drawn closer to study it a little bit more.”
Watch the Full Interview
Curious to see the work and Johan in action? Watch the full Hasie & The Robots x Rogerwilco interview.
