THE BOSS RESET.
As the BOSS Audio landscape evolved, so did its audience—and we followed the signal, leading a cross-functional team through a full brand reset rooted in insight, not assumption. Through focused customer interviews and segmentation work, we uncovered a meaningful shift: women were entering the category at a far higher rate than expected, changing not just who the brand was for, but how it needed to speak, look, and show up. That insight became the catalyst for everything that followed.
We rebuilt BOSS Audio from the chassis up—sharpening its rebellious DNA while modernizing its relevance for a broader, more style- and culture-aware customer. The brand’s attitude was re-expressed through bolder imagery, cleaner systems, and partnerships with iconic West Coast custom car education shops—most notably made famous by Pimp My Ride. These partnerships grounded the brand in real-world credibility while reconnecting it to its roots in customization, creativity, and unapologetic expression.
In parallel, we expanded and rebuilt the brand book to function as a true operating system—fully aligned to digital-first brand expressions across social, influencer programs, events, Amazon, and a rebuilt DTC experience. The result was not just consistency, but confidence: a brand that could flex across platforms without losing its edge.
That rigor and clarity paid off. The BOSS Audio brand book went on to win a 2023 Gold Davey Award for distinction in design excellence—cementing the reset as both a cultural and commercial evolution, and evolving an economy sound brand into an all-terrain audio entertainment brand.
HOTPEPPER, lit.
We helped Hotpepper Mobile launch its flagship Serrano phone into the U.S. through a national partnership with US Cellular—introducing a Chinese economy smartphone brand to a Gen Z audience that expects more than specs and price.
Our role was to define the brand from the ground up: finding Hotpepper’s voice, positioning, and visual identity for a young, expressive, value-driven consumer. We built a bold, rule-breaking system—fiery copy, highly saturated color, and playful confidence—that rejected category sameness while remaining credible in carrier retail.
That system came to life across a new website, brand identity, and in-store launch. To activate retail nationwide, we created custom welcome boxes for US Cellular store managers—turning staff into early brand advocates and giving the launch real presence beyond the screen.
The result was a vibrant, high-energy debut that positioned Hotpepper as more than a phone: a youthful, accessible tech brand built to scale across smartphones, wearables, and tablets—loud, colorful, and unmistakably Gen Z.
THE RAVEN’S LOGIC.
Raven isn’t just a name. It’s the idea made visible—and the system built around it.
We named the product by looking to the raven itself: an instinctive collector that evaluates what matters and shares those finds within its community. That behavior became the foundation for the name and identity of a customer-to-customer (C2C) marketplace rooted in trust and local connection.
GoodRaven is an invite-only app designed to empower hometown commerce by removing marketplace friction—no transaction fees, no commissions. The name signals intelligence, belonging, and earned access before a user opens the app.
That same thinking guided the logo and identity system. A restrained wordmark establishes confidence, while the centered red “r” acts as a mark of invitation and distinction. The raven icon is reduced to essential forms—conveying intelligence and warmth.
Together, the naming, logo, and identity create a brand that feels curated, human, and quietly valuable—signaling trust before a single transaction happens.
