2020 at KOTA studio

Introduction

Without a doubt, 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone. Our plans and workplace organisation took a 360-degree turn and completely changed. However, KOTA is doing well and this year wasn’t nearly as bad as we initially anticipated. We successfully managed to have everyone immediately set up for remote work (and eventually, shift to 100% remote working), grow our team and complete many really exciting international projects.

While we’re all looking forward to welcoming 2021, let’s take a quick look at some of our team’s favourite projects we’ve launched this past year!

 

James H. – Trace Solutions

Trace Solutions gave us a great opportunity to totally reinvent their website and brand online. We took them on a journey from a cookie-cutter template all the way to a bespoke and highly conceptual new site. We filled the new templates with bright colours, bold typefaces and bespoke illustration containing surreal collage juxtapositions. This was a transformative project for the client and most definitely not what you’d expect a proper software company to go for. It was a great creative opportunity for KOTA and it took a bold (and trusting) team at Trace to make it all happen.

Nat – Martin Building

Wanting to do something really special for Martin Building, we looked into new techniques and trends in user experience and interface design. These included a fullscreen grid-style menu and cutting-edge parallax animation, all of which was incorporated with an editorial style layout. The result is an elegant portfolio showcasing Martin Building’s most beautiful projects in the most memorable way.

This project was recognised by AWWWARDS, CSS Design Awards and Communication Arts.

Adrien – Integrate

Integrate Agency CIC, a social enterprise based in Lambeth approached KOTA looking to design and develop a new website. Their new fresh brand guidelines gave us a great opportunity to develop a vibrant and innovative site that reflects Integrate’s open, credible and collaborative brand values. We admire their dedication to empowering local communities and hope this platform becomes a useful tool in doing so!

Ed – Understanding Jewellery

‘Understanding Jewellery‘ by David Bennett and Daniela Mascetti is an encyclopedia of jewels and a trusted authority in the jewellery world. Their unrivalled expertise has now seen their knowledge translated into online digital formats. We shaped this passion for jewels into a brand with a simple message of ‘The Eternal Fascination, the Enduring Magic’ and expertly designed the Understanding Jewellery identity around this concept. This branding project is only the first part of our partnership with Understanding Jewellery – more to come in 2021!

James P. – SuperYachtsMonaco

KOTA were approached to design and develop a new, industry-leading website for SuperYachtsMonaco, one of the world’s top luxury yacht brokerage companies. This project was not only about lead generation but also about creating something unique to stand-out in the industry. SuperYachtsMonaco wanted to bring a fresh approach to yacht brokerage with their casual style prevalent throughout the new website. The stunning illustrations by Jason Brooks helped us convey the fun and playful aspect. This website went live just a few days ago and we’re all very proud of it!

Alex – Adams & Butler

Adams & Butler, an award-winning luxury travel agency, have approached KOTA with a task to refresh their brand and enhance the online experience. We took on the challenge and set out to deliver an industry-leading, beautiful website that portrays the brands premium feel and offline experience. The neutral colour palette and amazing photography became the dominating elements of this website, alongside clear CTAs and a smooth user experience.
We’re glad our SEO strategy contributed to a 37% increase in their organic search acquisitions just one month after we launched the new site. We’re hoping the results will be even better next year when the travel industry will start to recover!

Jonny – Jamie Oliver’s “7 Ways”

This year we had a chance to partner with Jamie Olivier and Penguin books to once again create the marketing campaign for Jamie’s new book “7 Ways”. This campaign revolved around recipes’ accessibility to all food lovers and conveying the concept of the book in the simplest way possible. It had to be vibrant, modern, bright, commercial and immediate, as well as visually match the previous “5 Ingredients” and “VEG”, being part of one trilogy. Challenge accepted and completed – with such an amazing result!

Matt – Goodman Masson

Approached by Goodman Masson, a pioneering recruitment company, we were faced with a challenge to quickly and effectively showcase the two sides of their business structure. We achieved this by creating a split-screen homepage clearly marking the difference between “Recruitment” and “RPO Solutions” services and making sure all users can navigate the site in a clear and understandable way. Carefully selected lifestyle images have led the design bringing life to Goodman Masson’s existing brand and staying approachable to the audience of all backgrounds and ages.

Other projects

Our other 2020 projects included the website for Cubico Investments – one the world’s leaders in providing renewable energy, branding for Brinkworth – award-winning documentary producers, video production and website for Luxmill – luxury complex in the heart of Belval in Luxembourg, digital platform for Sullivan & Stanley – London-based boutique change consultancy, as well as the site for Impact – top creative industry recruiters.

Of course, we can’t forget about the KOTA site redesign, which went live in January 2020! We’re glad we made this decision, as this year we noticed a significant increase in leads despite the slump in the creative industry.

Lots more in the works and we can’t wait to share our latest projects, including the website for EDGE10 Group and an e-commerce platform for Aardvark – both of which are developed by Bekah, who joined us a few months ago.

Stay tuned!