The new craft of brand
MK Insights
Brand as/is product, and the enduring
value of the designer in the loop
Q1 2026
For much of its history, ‘brand’ lived mainly in communication: In stories, symbols and signals, logos, colour, typography and campaigns. All the tools that help people recognise companies and tell them apart. Branding grew alongside advertising, and much of the discipline reflects that heritage.
Today, the way we experience brands has changed. Our most meaningful encounters with a brand happen through the things we live with: the objects we touch, the systems we rely on or work with, and the interactions that unfold throughout the day.
In these moments the product is no longer simply carrying the brand. It is the brand and it’s both physical and digital at once - Mono and Koto.
The most coherent experiences emerge when these two dimensions are conceived together from the outset. When industrial design, interaction design and system behaviour grow from the same idea, the result feels natural and resolved. When disciplines are divided (or even in competition) the resulting objects, even when beautifully made, can feel fragmented or intrusive.
The craft of making sits at the centre of this balance. Materials and manufacturing shape outcomes in ways branding alone cannot. Processes and assembly influence proportion, junctions, tolerances and longevity. When these realities are understood, products feel calm and inevitable.
Integration creates new demands. A contemporary experience is shaped as much by software, interface, responsiveness and ecosystem integrations as by material presence. The calibration of sound, the choreography of light, the flow of user onboarding, the restraint and tone of notifications and responses are all forms of the new craft of brand.
Marantz Brand Book
Marantz Horizon - the embodiment of a new brand identity and experience strategy.
Created with Marantz by Monokoto.
The challenge of the new future
As products gain intelligence through AI, the physical object becomes the anchor of trust. They are the tangible expression of an otherwise invisible system. The design of the objects and the interactions become crucial to how that embodied intelligence is perceived. This is the challenge of our time across the key industries that Monokoto operates within - home, consumer technology, automotive, aviation, hospitality.
Organisations often underestimate how much multidisciplinary craft is required to achieve alignment across the new surfaces of their brand. It demands fluency across industrial design, engineering, CMF, UX, software and brand strategy. External partners can play a crucial role, bringing cross-industry perspective and longer-term thinking beyond immediate product cycles.
Ultimately, the most important currency for a brand is trust, and the most important role for design is creating the language, objects, interactions, spaces and experiences that embody the values and behaviours that create trust.
Mono/Koto in practice - Milo
The idea of Mono/Koto is perhaps easiest to understand through the projects themselves. A great example is Milo - The Action Communicator.
Designed for outdoor group activities such as skiing, cycling and climbing. the challenge was not simply to design a device that allowed people to speak to each other, it was to create a product that felt completely natural to use in motion, in weather, and in moments when attention is focused elsewhere.
The physical design of Milo communicates clarity and confidence. The form is compact and robust, designed to clip securely to clothing or equipment without interfering with movement. Materials and construction needed to withstand snow, dust and impact, while remaining comfortable and unobtrusive during long periods of wear.
The application of the visual identity through material process, colour and form is considered, subtle and adapted to the harsh environments Milo devices will be used in.
Communication is instant and natural, without the friction or the distraction of screens. Milo manages audio clarity and adapts to movement and environmental noise. The technology and the product recede into the background so that the experience feels effortless.
The physical object is high quality, is durability and trustworthy. The interaction is intelligent, responsive and simple. Neither alone would create the Milo experience; it is their integration that allows the product to feel simple and intuitive in moments where complexity would otherwise dominate.
The product embodies the trusted Milo experience.
The experience is the brand.
Learn more
For more information on our process around brand and product creation, or to set up an introductory meeting, please make contact.
Pete Hamblin
Co-founder and Director
pete@monoko.to
Nicky Rinks
Business Development Director
Selected Credentials :
Naim Audio
A re-definition of British Hi-Fi
mu-so, Uniti, Statement - Monokoto created a UXUI design language, signature elements of new product industrial design, and supported a series of strategic moves from Naim and their world-class team of engineers, designers and makers in the west of England.
Created in partnership with Naim by Monokoto
Stannah 158
A new brand language in form, interaction and materials
Winner, Red Dot Design Awards 2026
Created with Stannah by Monokoto
Archipelago
Personalised flight concept by Monokoto
Industrial Design / CX / User Interface Design
New thinking on interactive surfaces in a personalised cabin
Archipelago is a concept project exploring the possibilities when combining digital behaviours, physical environment and deeply personalised interactions. Crew, passenger, environmental and interaction elements are combined with an exploration of new typologies of control and digitally reactive surfaces. Make contact to learn more.
Monokoto attend the world’s most influential events for our industries.
Let’s meet :
AIX
Where the world of Aviation meets.
Hamburg, Germany.
SXSW
Media, Technology, Fashion and Music.
London and Austin.
Tech Week
The leading European deep tech event.
London, UK.
CES
The technology show.
Las Vegas, USA.
IFA
The European consumer technology show.
Berlin, Germany.
1:1
For an immediate conversation - make contact to set up a call or meeting and discuss your needs.