We’re a global branding studio based in Tokyo, working with founders around the world.
We design intentional brands for tech startups in 4 weeks — a moat your competitors can't copy and your customers can't ignore.
We’re a multidisciplinary crew doing what we love.
Our team combines backgrounds in branding, strategy, copywriting, product, and entrepreneurship. Before working with founders, we worked at top-tier agencies and helped shape brands and products for companies like Nissan, Hilton, Evian, Yamahe, ANA, and Casio.
Our approach is rooted in the care, craft, and creativity characteristic to Japanese design, applied to the specific challenges of young tech companies.
OMOIYARI
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We design for the unspoken needs of your audience, what they deeply desire but rarely put into words.
FUKINSEI
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We craft brands that stand apart in an increasingly homogeneous world, giving them quirks and intentional imperfections that make people actually connect.
MA
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We strive to make complex products and technologies feel simple, cutting everything until only what matters remains, every word, every pixel, every idea.
Can you help with my deck?
Your deck is often one of the most strategic and urgent touch-points. So, yes, we can help you design a deck that’s on-brand and compelling. We prefer to do that after a proper brand engagement, but in some cases, we’ll be able to start with that.
What if we’d like to keep our logo?
It’s very common for founders to want to retain some elements of their current brand, whether it’s the logo, a brand color, or a tagline. We’ll give you our honest advice on that specific element, but at the end of the day, it’s your brand, your call, and we’ll do our best to work within your preferences.
Do you handle development?
For websites, yes, using Framer. Websites live in the details, and we’ve seen too many of our designs fall flat when we’re not in control of how they’re built, so we prefer to do it ourselves. If you insist on a different technology (Webflow, custom code, etc.) then we’d rather introduce a development partner that we trust.
For product, our clients usually have very strong engineering teams, so we’re used to delivering UI and prototypes. We can also stay involved in a supportive capacity during implementation if that’s needed.
Who will I work with?
You’ll work directly with Raphael or Apolline, nowthen’s co-founder + our design team. Our team is made up of senior experts across brand design, copywriting, web design, product, and strategy. Everyone has hands-on experience working with startups, so you’re always dealing with people who get it and know how to move fast.
