Case studies

Dancing to the beat

Based in Türkiye, Cray is a dynamic electronic music brand that creates transformative experiences through curated events. At its core, the brand celebrates the fusion of global trends with underground culture, emphasising freedom, connection, and the vibrant pulse of the electronic music scene.

“We wanted to capture the raw energy, freedom, and connection that Cray embodies,” says Çağıl Aygen, Creative Director of velvele, who took charge of creating the event’s brand identity. “Staying current with global design movements is something we deeply care about, so we made sure to blend contemporary trends with the spirit of the underground scene.”

A reimagined experience

Osklen, a Brazilian fashion brand, is known for two things primarily – avante-garde fashion and its commitment to sustainability and responsible practices in the fashion industry. The brand, which needed to pump life into its digital expression, reached out to Aparelho Studio to reimagine its website and shopping experience. For Aparelho, the work didn’t start exactly with the website, but with the identity. The team tweaked the identity to better meet the demands of a digital-first environment, swapped the brand typeface – taking it from an obscure version of Helvetica to a combination of Neue Haas Grotesk and Suisse Int’l – and redefined their brand imagery, providing a major update to product photography, stills, and lookbook imagery.

A modular update

The Portuguese sofa-maker ZERODOIS™ is sporting a refined identity, crafted by New York-based designer Sam George. The facelift coincides with the 20th anniversary of the furniture brand, whose modular sofas are known for their timeless, functional aesthetic, and high-quality materials (European woods, foams, textiles, and leathers), brought together with the expertise of local craftspeople.

Packed with flavour

If you’re not aware of what the iconic ‘Canada’s Cocktail’ Clamato is or entails, picture this – an umami experience that starts with a base of Mott’s Clamato juice, a savoury blend of tomato juice and clam broth, mixed with vodka, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, all served in a celery salt-rimmed glass. Often garnished with a celery stalk, lime wedge, and creative additions like pickled vegetables or even bacon, it’s a drink that’s both a cocktail and a snack in one!

Though popular among those who remembered it from the ’70s and ’80s, younger generations hadn’t fully embraced Clamato, often seeing it as a traditional drink favoured by their parents and grandparents. To win over these new consumers, the team at Mott’s Clamato Caesar partnered with Wedge to reimagine its identity in a way that would appeal to modern tastes while maintaining Clamato’s iconic status. The refresh aimed to highlight Clamato’s distinctive flavour profile and versatility, appealing to adventurous palates and contemporary drinking occasions.

Dripping with character

When 27b began working on the identity for the Japanese pop-up restaurant Kokoro, it wanted to create a brand that would stand apart in the busy food scene in Amsterdam. “The goal was to develop a distinctive brand that reflects the creative spirit of Kokoro’s team, while intentionally avoiding cultural clichés and any form of appropriation,” says Co-founder & Design Director Flavien Guilbaud. “Many ramen and sushi shops in Amsterdam and throughout Europe rely on Japanese symbolism to attract their audience and set expectations about their cuisine. At Kokoro, however, we embrace the opportunity to innovate through their pop-up concept. By daring to break away from tradition, we’ve created a fun, hand-drawn typeface that pays homage to calligraphy while incorporating a modern, funky twist.”

Reclaiming the power of pink

SNUG is everything that every other condom brand isn’t. The London-based brand was born out of a desire to challenge the status quo in an industry dominated by generic fits, masculine stereotypes, and outdated narratives around intimacy. Designed for “the girls and the gays,” SNUG champions “living large – in every sense of the word,” says designer Carla Palette, who was entrusted with designing its identity. “It flips the narrative on objectification, leveraging the same bold gaze historically placed on women and femme-presenting individuals, turning it into a tool for empowerment, confidence, and cheeky repartee. SNUG’s story isn’t just about condoms; it’s about creating a brand that sparks conversations, dismantles stereotypes, and serves pleasure with a side of politics.”

New design tool

Meet Kittl, the intuitive and collaborative design tool built specifically for graphic designers

“Many design platforms feel like obstacles rather than partners in the creative process,” says Tobias Saul, Co-founder of Kittl. He’s got a point – many of the most popular design tools today, with their host of features and techniques that often need how-to YouTube tutorials to break them down, can seem daunting to designers. Saul, who spent years working on these tools, decided to create something simpler and more intuitive, and so, he built Kittl.

“Kittl is a design platform built for designers, by designers,” Saul tells us. It simplifies the design process, and also ensures that it’s the right fit for any designer, no matter their level of expertise.

Kittl recently got an update with new added features – topping the list is their new collaboration feature which allows multiple people to work together on the same project.

Use code TBI for 25% off your monthly or annual Pro subscription.

Why are studios launching their own brands?

Mockups

“Kittl is a design platform built for designers, by designers.”

Tobias Saul, Kittl
16th January 2025

Jobs

Books

The Process Five

The Process Five is an exclusive showcase of unused and unseen branding work from ten world-leading graphic design studios, highlighting the ideas, concepts, mockups and sketches that led to their final outcomes.

Coming in at 344 pages, it is the chunkiest and most comprehensive book in the series yet with 571 process works included. It features never seen before insights and inspiration from projects by Pentagram, Play, Hugmun, Carla Palette, Resn, Studio Blackburn, Rabbithole, TRiC, Justified Studio and U.I.WD. for clients like OpenAI, Channel 4 and Getty.

Each project is accompanied by an in-depth interview delving into key details such as the timeline, team and challenges, as well as their candid thoughts on the end result.

Useful links

• Apply for a feature

• Post a job for free

• Visit our directory

• Search for inspiration

• Visit our store