We observe and analyze social and cultural trends and their interrelations with technological, economical, and political progress, focusing on digital society, the changing workplace, and social innovations. An in-depth diagnosis of cultural shifts and emerging phenomena inspires all of our work. It also generates the input and content for books, publications, and clients' projects.
We develop formats for various media and live events, which combine content, form, and audience participation in unique ways. Our formats draw from both design thinking and social engineering and are a key element in many of our projects. Often, we appropriate, extend, and revert existing formats, giving them a new twist. A format should hover between the idea and the brand, bridging both.
We make sure things look good – and prize subtlety, functionality, and common sense above all. Design as we understand it does not stop short at print and web but includes multiple touchpoints, be it the packaging of a brand or the location of an event. Rooted in strategic thinking and applied philosophy, our designs embody the ideas they transport.
We outline and design the dramaturgy, mechanics, and the content for expert and client workshops, moderate discussions, and document the results. Each workshop is individually tailored to the subject; we do not believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Nonetheless our toolbox does contain some well-proven elements in addition to some nifty stuff such as digitally enhanced live interaction and collaboration, competitive knockout challenges, visual recording, and live reader production. For corporate clients we often conduct workshops in the context of team building and organizational development, but we also sometimes sink our teeth into strategy and business innovation.
We don't do event management. That being said, we do have a track record of occasional but outstanding one-of-a-kind events for larger groups (with sometimes hundreds of participants) both on our own initiative and for corporate clients. In these cases we do everything from the programming and event production to moderation. We also devote a lot of thought to the design of the location, which means both the overall environment of the space, the "scenography," and the details, like signage systems.
Strategy is the art of reduction. We show clients how to get rid of anything that does not look and feel like their brand. After shedding all but the essentials, we develop the brand essence, corporate identity, and marketing strategy in a hands-on, no-frills manner, skipping the usual branding mumbo-jumbo and Powerpoint-overkill you get from ordinary branding agencies. In our opinion, good strategy should be dead simple. One sentence, one master idea – that's it. But achieving that simplicity is hard work; honing the essence and putting it into action takes time and effort.
