1. What is Kocha?

Long story short, Kocha was my grandfather’s surname. If I represent someone I love, I’ll work twice as hard to make his name worthwhile. So yes, Kocha is the right name for my studio.

Kocha’s grandfather


2. Value Proposition

I’m pretty much fascinated by words. Some people say the word can limit our perception, and most people cannot imagine further than their words.

I used Brand Desk to help me push the boundary.

‍

Ideally, we need five words that represent who we are and who we are not—which is;

We are:

  • Timeless—Sustainable
  • Simple—Honest
  • Focused—Mindfulness
  • Curious—Imaginative
  • Experimental—Creativity

We are not (with a reason why):

  • Aggressive: We put people first and, then, work toward happiness
  • Exclusive: We’re accessible, affordable, and accountable
  • Futuristic: Fully present is our priority
  • Mass-market: Instead of mass-market, we rather have our own unique point of view
  • Serious: We are serious about not being serious

And I use those brand keywords to defined the studio’s mission and vision which is:

Mission

Helping good people create new value through design

The relationship lasts longer than the design. These days my happiness is to know that my design can be helpful to others. I love to work on a project where I can have a meaningful relationship with the people I work with. As simple as complicated as that.

Vision

Close the gap between strategy and execution

I want to help people transform their idea into something tangible as quick and as little resource as possible. I knew it was going to be hard to get designer work directly with the client. But I believe this is an honest way to get the most out of the project.

3. Studio Framework

At the time I wrote this article (Feb 2019)—I’ve learned (the hard way)—to develop some of our studio’s framework and define our value proposition design, which includes:

Our core values: How do we run our business

  1. Anthropology: We identify and deliver our value from the perspective of the people who use our products and services.
  2. Balance: We are striving for the best possibility via fewer possible resources.
  3. Creativity: We allow our minds to make new connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.

Read more

Our design process: How do we design

  1. Imagination: Start from the conceptual point of view.
  2. Design: Visualise concepts.
  3. Experimental: Work through the concepts.
  4. Affordance: Functional the concepts.
  5. Simplicity: Constraints and simplification its forms.

Read more

Our design standard: How do we judge a good design

  1. Feeling: Is it appropriate and aesthetic?
  2. Thinking: Does it solve the right problem?
  3. Sensing: Does it have the right balance?

Read more‍