Jolt Digital's Hot List (Part 1)

Here at Jolt Digital, we believe in that fantastic work-play balance, because under all the quality work, there’s some big personalities that make up the pillars of Jolt Digital as a whole – us lot!

Every so often, I like to pull people away from their desks, and ask what makes them tick – from music, to games, to marketing campaigns!

Introducing Jolt Digital’s Hot List (part 1)…

What are you watching right now?

Jon:
Severance S3 has been a mindbender, and recently finished Mobland which was incredible.

Michael:
Currently re-watching Cowboy Bebop in preparation for Lazarus: Shinjiro Watanabe’s most recent anime production. Plus I’ve been keeping up with Valorant e-sports. After my favourite team, Fnatic, made it to 2nd in the recent major that happened in June, I’m looking forward to seeing how far they can go on their road to Champions at the end of this year.

Fern:
I love to wind down to easy watching stuff. Stressful day? I’ll watch pure comfort (The Simpsons, Rick & Morty, South Park etc.). Currently though, I’ve been watching all the Trainwreck documentaries on Netflix – like the Poop Cruise one – why didn’t anyone just poop in the red bags?

I’ve probably been watching too many awful crime documentaries, but I’ve had to stop because I think it was giving me nightmares!

Hannah:
The Bear season 4! I think it’s a pretty groundbreaking show, the way they do the visual storytelling is next level and really makes you feel like you’re in the chaos of the kitchen with them. It’s a great balance of showing human flaws and how we connect with each other and find purpose in what we do day to day, in a really beautifully artistic way. Incredible cast too!

Alex:
Recently watched season 2 of The Gold, it’s about the true story of the Brink’s-Mat robbery in the 80s where £20M+ of gold was stolen. Worth a watch if you haven’t seen it already!

Baanji :
So, this month’s top watches in no order have been:

Hunter X Hunter
F1 Grand Prix – obviously!
Mercy for None
Mashi
Yellowstone, a TV series about a cattle range / cowboy family in the US. It oozes drama, crazy twists and a gripping storyline. To be honest it scratches my itch of farm-related content.

What are you listening to?

Jon:
I’m on the Turnstile hype, they sort of take me back as they feel like a blend of Linkin Park, Enter Shikari and Beastie Boys. Also loving chilled vibes: Khruangbin, Common Saints, Pale Jay, SAULT, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Beams.

Michael:
Chillhop Essentials Summer 2025. On cassette, of course.

Fern:
Kneecap 🙂 Tiocfaidh ár lá. Specifically “Guilty Conscience” – what a total banger. I was meant to go the Fontaines DC gig that featured Amyl and the sniffers and Kneecap – WHAT A DREAM! But luckily I saw the a couple of weeks ago at Glasto! They are doing amazing stuff. Getdown Services also are a great punky electro jokey song band that are defo worth getting into for a dance.

Hannah:
Doechii – I’ve hopped on the bandwagon, and I’m not getting off anytime soon.

Baanji:
Sisqo and older RnB – holding onto my youth for as long as possible and the idea that good/ridiculously amazing songs to profess your love in the rain in a leather jacket still exist.

Alex:
The sounds of the English summer outside the window.

What are you playing or reading?

Jon:
Games: Cyberpunk, Power Washing Simulator (really), Rocket League
Books: How to Measure Anything by Douglas W. Hubbard + Discworld series (book 12 of 41!)

Michael:
Game: Hollow Knight (replaying while waiting for Silksong)

Fern:
Book: Instructions for a Heatwave – character-driven, emotional, highly recommended.
I’m probably the only one who doesn’t game. Although I played enough Sims 2 during Covid for a lifetime, so that’s probably enough.

Hannah:
Book: Butter by Asako Yuzuki – dark suspense, social commentary, and food symbolism

Baanji:
Book: Grow your agency to the first £5M and beyond – re-read regularly.

Alex:
I’ve been playing Core Keeper with my sister. It’s a mix of Stardew Valley and Terraria. Farming + Building.

Which is your latest favourite brand/company/product?

Jon:
Monkey Sox – these guys are actually one of our clients, and it’s a please to work with them, I think they’ve got great values, and a fantastic concept.

Kaotiko – Barcelona-based fashion

Proper Tacos – amazing food in Nags Head Market, London, one for the tex-mex lovers!

Gillette – the jingle is a banger.

Michael:
Citizen Sleeper 2 – narrative-rich game

Arrma 223s Typhon buggy – for RC car hobby

Fern:
FabBRICK – uses textile landfill waste to make building bricks! French origin – Really great concept, just needs to be pushed more into mainstream practices.

Hannah:
Studio Arhoj – ceramics brand mixing Scandinavian and Japanese design. Latest collection: fried egg ceramics!

Alex:
Sneak – It’s a natural sugar free energy drink. I just think the branding and how they market their products is well done.

Baanji:
Fav brand right now is Sonos – amazing headphone company.

Any marketing campaigns or ads you thought were particularly good recently?

Jon:
HungryPanda – making moves in the Asian food delivery space, challenging Deliveroo and UberEats.

Michael:
I spotted this one in London Bridge, I thought it was funny and good use of customisation – It’s by a VPN company called Mullvad VPN

Fern:
I love marketing campaigns that involve humour to capture their audience, as it really works on me – like the classic Skittles Advert where everything he touches turns into skittles. Safe to say I have dark humour. Or adverts that use music to immerse the viewer into a multi sensory experience like the BMW advert with Bicep’s Glue.

Hannah:
Walton Goggins Goggles – incredible name, incredible social marketing.

Baanji:
Campaigns or ads I’ve seen is “The Big One” with Stormzy – a short doc shot on iPhone.

Which tools are you exploring?

Jon:
Make.com and N8N for AI + automation workflows & CursorAI for web development

Michael:
Our team has been exploring GSAP and Matter.js implementations. Personally I’ve been learning to develop a sci-fi space mining game in Godot game engine.

Fern:
Exploring social media scheduling tools like Buffer and Sprout. Doing more work with TikTok and Meta, which has been interesting to use it in different ways depending on our client needs.

Hannah:
Figma recently introduced fresh features that combine so many elements of platforms like Adobe, I really recommend checking that out, it’s really revolutionary in terms of bridging the gap between design and web development.

Baanji:

AI voice for call handling and real-time AI assistants for websites.

Alex:
Seeing what we can automate in the dev process to minimise repetitive tasks.

What are you learning about?

Jon:
I’m learning a lot about managing a growing team, and learning to become more comfortable with public speaking! I’m also relearning some of the specifics of photography, videography and design. It’s nearly like riding a bike… when you fall off it hurts.

Michael:
How to solder together and link up a range of modules on RC cars, such as auxiliary lighting, speedometers, and FPV camera feeds.

Fern:
Safe to say I’m learning a lot, more and more every week!

Learning the ropes of my role as Digital Marketing Coordinator.
Ad optimisation, client management, web dev, design practices.
I’m picking up a lot of web-related tasks, it’s been so refreshing to have a role leaning into this too as it’s something I find so interesting!
Away from work, I’m learning how to live in London. It’s a big old place. I do feel I’ve lucked out by commuting out of London, instead of in it! I’ve only ever lived in Bristol and Brighton (as well as growing up in rural Wales).

Hannah:
Figma have released a new set of features that incorporates AI and other new technology into its design practice, allowing for more streamlined efficiency.

Baanji:
I’m currently learning more about AI support agents, and how they can be used to create LLMs to power work flows but done locally and offline.