Design Kompany is Dipika Kohli and Akira Morita.
The people we connect with are those with shared interests: traveling, looking at art, cooking, going to shows, taking pride in doing good work, asking questions, making films, getting friends together, jazz, other kinds of engaging music, and getting inspired in general.
Dipika
Dipika’s experience as a newspaper reporter plus training in engineering bring logic and inquiry to DK. Her first international travel was to Switzerland at age 2, and she’s since also been to Kyoto, Copenhagen, and Prague to find creative inspiration in architecture and modern design. In 2009, Smashing Magazine featured Dipika’s designs, and three Seattle galleries showcased her Sharpie artwork. This year in Durham, Dipika’s art was reviewed in the Independent Weekly and she’s been invited to show drawings this fall at a show about Durham personalities at the Durham Arts Council.
Akira
This year in Durham, Akira’s leading an effort to create a brand identity for the Cleveland-Holloway Neighborhood of town. He really likes serving the community. In 2009, Akira coordinated Blitz, a revamped art walk in Seattle for which DK designed a brand identity, poster, and postcard designs. For several years, Akira also ran the World Beer Festival in Durham, NC, for which DK also created a logo and poster design.
Thinking about design
Smart brand identity design is a process. It works best when we “get” each other.
This work is about communication. Really clear thinking. Our job is to take you from a blank sheet to a brand identity design and package that hits the exact right note.
Finding your authentic voice is the soul of DK. For DK’s clients, Dipika and Akira ask the big-picture marketing and strategy questions. What single outcome is most desirable to achieve? What would your business look like if you were wildly successful?
Together we do the work of DK: tap the best of what you have to offer the world, and make this substance at once compelling and clear. Design creates impressions. Impressions make people feel. Today more than ever, a sense of connection is what drives sales.
What we do at DK is help people figure out who they are, why they matter, and why customers should care. “Branding” and “marketing” are such loaded terms, but looking for and giving voice to strong, clear, and imaginatively articulated messages is what we’re all about.
