Can you share a few details about the founding story behind Design & Practice?
My partner and I founded Design & Practice with a shared vision rooted in our backgrounds in design. I studied interaction design, focusing on interface and new media arts, while my partner specialized in visual communication. We both gained experience working with prominent designers, including Marcel Wanders and Tom Dixon, in the product and interior design fields. When we came together to start Design & Practice, we wanted to build a branding agency specifically for product design, interior design, and art niches. Our mission is to create brands that resonate with the artistic and creative communities, offering designs that speak directly to their unique aesthetic and professional sensibilities.Can you talk a bit about the creative process of building a brand identity?
Our creative process for building a brand identity is deeply rooted in our studio’s multidimensional approach, where we blend art, design, and craftsmanship. As an artistic duo, we have experience across various specialties, from creating objects and designing exhibitions to crafting spaces and working with fine materials. This allows us to push the concept of branding beyond just visuals, crafting identities that are not only visual but also tactile and experiential. When we begin a branding project, we focus on uncovering the brand’s core principles. We capture its essence into something concise and memorable—sometimes just one sentence or a few words—that encapsulates its personality as clearly as you’d understand your best friend’s. Once we have this essence, we layer in creative elements step by step. Although our process is structured, we tailor it uniquely for each client, ensuring the brand identity develops authentically and reflects its true character.What software do you use in your work?
We rely on a core suite of design software, primarily InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, which form the foundation of our work. Recently, we’ve incorporated AI tools into our process, particularly for ideation and sketching, which helps us speed up certain aspects of design and explore new creative directions. Beyond software, our process is very hands-on and tactile. We use photography, traditional sketching, and a range of material experiments that take our work beyond the digital realm. For example, we often explore how to print on leather or engrave on bronze, which brings a unique depth and texture to our projects and reflects our commitment to creating distinctive, high-quality design.Can you share a success story with our readers?
In a way, every project feels like a success story because of the long-term partnerships we build with our clients. Most of our projects are multi-year collaborations, where we work with a brand from the ground up—not just designing a logo but growing and evolving alongside the company. We also often do rebrands, including also repositioning and reigniting the brand. One particularly rewarding project was our work with Antalis. We didn’t just create a brand refresh; we redefined the positioning and visual identity of one of their key paper lines – Olin. Building on that success, we went on to rebrand their entire collection, including Conqueror, one of the world’s most recognized paper brands. This involved everything from repositioning and rebranding to developing tools and campaigns for a compelling launch.What can we expect from the company going forward?
Looking ahead, we’re excited about integrating more of our tactile approach with cutting-edge digital techniques. We often refer to this blend as “Techctility,” where tech meets the tactile. This means creating projects that don’t just live online but also have a physical, luxurious quality that engages people on a deeper, sensory level. Currently, we’re in discussions with several brands that aim to stand out in the digital era without sacrificing that tangible, high-quality feel. Expect to see us exploring new ways to bring this tech-tactile approach to life, making brands feel as memorable in person as they do online.Is there anything else about your work that you’d like to share that we haven’t covered?
We see a big opportunity for brands to add value through their physical touchpoints next to their online presence, hence our focus on helping brands occupy both physical and digital spaces seamlessly. It’s a unique niche where we aim to create brands that resonate with people online while also offering a tangible, in-person presence. We see the value of high-quality tactile branded experiences next to rich online content as a growing opportunity to create more differentiation for premium brands, and it’s something we’re passionate about bringing to life in each project.To learn more about Design & Practice, you can visit www.designandpractice.com
