Koto

How do you find a great name for your company? 📝 Art, science, or a little bit of both? Some people think it’s all about magic or luck, but there’s a clear process to finding the *right one*. Here’s the thing: your company could do just fine with a terrible brand name, but at Koto, we believe a good name helps your brand stand out, a great name becomes part of the cultural conversation, and a truly great name, when paired with a strong product, can outshine the competition and become a defining term in its category—or, even better, become a verb. Our advice: don’t rush this step. In our latest OFF Brand issue, we share our actionable playbook to help set you up for naming success. Read on → https://lnkd.in/ex9khwsN

Last week, OFF Social landed in Singapore 🇸🇬 The goal was simple: replace small talk with real conversations over great food. We brought together top leaders in marketing, branding, and design to share honest insights—celebrating wins, lessons, and the real stories behind their challenges. A big thank you to leaders from Ahrefs, A Wellness Holdings, Aspire, CIMB Singapore, GetGo Carsharing, Google, Grab, the LEGO Group, PropertyGuru Group, Proton , Trust Bank Singapore, Xora Innovation, and ZALORA Group for making it a really great evening. Want to join us next time? Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e7-ptvJj

Our CDO, Tom Hostler, sat down with The Brand Identity to discuss his role at the crossroads of brand and digital. He shared his vision for the studio, insights into the future of digital practices, the challenges brands face in aligning marketing with digital experiences, and how we're adapting to the ever-changing digital landscape. Read more → https://lnkd.in/eCStQ8gQ

Workday is a leader in enterprise software, transforming the 9-5 and reshaping the future of work as we know it. Together we crafted a vibrant, flexible brand around the idea: ‘A Brighter Workday for All.’ From a newly-refined logo, to a color palette reflecting the daytime sky, every element draws inspiration from the rhythm of the workday and reflects the company’s commitment to a brighter, more joyful workplace for everyone. Check out the full case study here → https://lnkd.in/g7C2qvs6 

Last week, we brought our invite-only dinner series OFF Social to NYC 🥂, gathering some of the city’s top senior leaders in marketing, brand, and design. It was a table of incredible minds and nonstop conversation among those behind some of the most-used apps and platforms — from Atlassian, Figma and Instagram to Intuit Mailchimp, Pinterest, Vimeo, and Waze. Huge thanks to standout leaders from Bloomreach, Clinique, Cool as a Cucumber, Current, Getty Images, IBM, JPMorganChase, Nike, Oatly, Public, Ramp, The Farmer's Dog, and more for making it a night to remember. 📍Next U.S. stops: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Austin. Interested in joining? Apply here: https://lnkd.in/e7-ptvJj

An AI companion for everyone. We were lucky enough to work with the Microsoft team to refresh the Copilot brand. The aim was to create a more intuitive design system that reflects the calmer, more helpful and supportive era of technology that Copilot is ushering in. The use of kinetic type and images bring to life Copilot’s speedy and fluent responses, reflecting the dynamics of natural conversation. As a system, it’s able to support Copilot’s advanced capabilities like Voice and Vision, adapting to you with a warm tone and distinct style that provides not only information but encouragement and advice as you navigate life’s everyday challenges.

Putting the process centre stage 📽️ When Kit (formerly ConvertKit) approached us to develop their new brand, the team asked to ‘rebrand in public’: to pull back the curtain and offer an inside look at our collaboration, in real time. Sharing the brand development out in the open was about more than transparency. As a leader in the creator economy, Kit has always focussed on building in public to give the community a real, authentic voice in key decisions. So we helped bring creators along for our journey by documenting our work together: sharing key milestones, unveiling brand assets and inviting conversation—every step of the way. Check out the full series on YouTube, and see the new brand in action on Kit’s new website. A special thank you to Nathan, Charli, David, Dave for the great partnership, and for trusting us to share the mic with you 🎤

Revolution or evolution? 🔁 When you recognize the need for brand change, the next question is: how much? How far should you go? What should you expect from each approach? Deep dive in OFF Brand Newsletter 4, to explore when to evolve, how to align business objectives with a rebrand, the pros and cons of each approach, and key examples to guide your decision-making. More → https://lnkd.in/eCSQ23gV

Seven years on from our initial project, we reunited with the Freetrade team as they launch a wave of product and service upgrades; a new dawn for the business and its customers. Together we’ve crafted a new digitally-led brand identity, with vibrant gradients, illuminated illustrations and aurora-inspired animations, that combine to bring Freetrade’s bold vision for investing to life. Full case study live now → https://lnkd.in/eVnDm_yz

Mars required a complete marketing overhaul for the next five years. We worked closely with them to develop a clearly articulated, future-focused strategy that could flex across their iconic confectionery to essential pet care, food, and nutrition. Given the scale and complexity of the challenge, we focused on creating a robust navigation system to create a consistent thread in their long-form animation.In collaboration with TwentyFirstCenturyBrand and Beginners.