What's in a name

We used to refer to ourselves as "an agency with many faces" for years. A filler we resourced to whenever we had to explain our different brands and our business model.

The velocity of change that started in 2020 demanded a different approach.

As our team grew and evolved, it became more diverse in nature and skillset. Every new teammate remapped the adjacent possible of our company.

As individuals we're a strange mix with very different backgrounds, nationalities, cultures and skills. A rare breed of experts, leaders, poets, rebels and geeks, working remotely four days a week and ditching the rule book.

We found ourselves in need of a brand that was able to convey that.

We needed a story to tell ourselves.

Who is it for?

That's first and only question in branding, and the one that's more often overlooked.

From day one we decided that the new brand had only one audience that mattered: Us.

It had to be conceived from the ground up as a narrative that united us through timezones, skillsets, experience levels, career paths and personalities.

It's single purpose is to nurture a feeling of ownership over everything we're doing. Of uniqueness over how our daily work helps us shape ourselves, and how we shape the organization in return.

That's how the totem concept came into play. A totem, in the collective imagination, is a collection of avatars creating a whole that's stronger than the sum. A symbol of what we are or want to be.

As we drafted ideas, this unfolded pretty easily:

Many Views.
Many Ideas.
Many Skills.
Many Cultures.
One Team. One Totem.

Simple on purpose

Our logo is a simple shape. Design-wise is just a square shaped by two number ones, or a split T. As branding narrative artifact, these clean lines represent more to us:

A window to peek into our ways.
A door to unexpected adventures.
A mirror to identify, and to foresee.

Many Views, Many Cultures

We create an environment where being opinionated is the norm. Where we all speak our minds and choose our fights. Where there's freedom through accountability.

Our brand is reflects that. The symbol / totem / avatar is nothing more than an excuse to introduce ourselves to the world.

Our logo is customized for each of us. We all get to pick a visual that represents us or it's important in a way. The logo, thus, becomes nothing more than a canvas, a sawabona that introduces us to the world and reflects our singularities.

Many Ideas, Many Skills

We created a set of core mottos to complement the logos. Those ideas take shape in different lettering styles.

We get to pick the textures, styles, colors, and motto, resulting in a fully customized experience of what the brand is for each of us. A framework that lets us choose how we're connected to the overarching narrative.

The message itself becomes design. The design becomes expression.

The stories we tell ourselves

One Totem was built to work as the anchor, the constant of our team.

As a fully remote company, our brand is our office, our common house. A tale that can remain truth to ourselves and operates at the center of our day to day. And stories are important because they're a place to go back to.

Everything we do in the future — and we have big expectations — is rooted in who we are, individually + collectively.

Welcome to One Totem. Our House of Ideas.