KOBI

At KOBI we zero in on the products, without the dreck. We provide round-the-clock services to a few exclusive partners. We do use words like strategy, agility, UX, UI and service design, but we’re at our best when we can fuse things together. We merge and meld different methods, approaches and work styles to best serve our clients' unique demands. We are two product designers at the top of our game. You talk directly to us. No client team. No mix-up. No information lost in the shuffle. No weeks-long back and forth. Our conversations flow seamlessly, from client to lead designers. But we pull in extra brain power when we need it. 

COLLECTIVE 

Together we uncover, discuss, invent and bring projects to life. A fusion of minds and approaches from different fields, working relentlessly towards shared goals. We bounce ideas off each other. We share knowledge and expertise. We mentor one another. We grow together. We work on each other's projects. This is our collective evolution that doesn't cost you more, but produces results beyond your expectations.

Yes, we say we think off the beaten track. But we really do. Read our mind here.

No Crap

We don’t make you shell out for crap. Because we don’t mystify things. We don’t spin a yarn about why this or that design has a deeper meaning or why a logo needs an elaborate narrative. If people recognize your logo, it’s because they love the product. And for us, the end product is the bullseye. One unified entity subsuming all the buzzing concepts like brand strategy, brand design, UX and UI. 

Affective Design  

If it doesn’t sway, it won’t stick. We can keep fine-tuning the radius of a button for months, we can validate processes and test functions for days, but that’s just scratching the surface. What matters is the wow effect. If we had 6 billion euros to cut the flight time by an hour between London and New York, we’d rather spend that money on providing hyperfast internet on board or hiring celebrities to serve the drinks. Those are wow factors. You need more than UX and UI. You want your product to linger on in people’s minds and make them come back for more. That’s what we do.  

Product validation 

Instead of charging you for fancy-schmancy prototypes or developing processes that already exist as best practices, we always ask the basic question. Let’s say you want a webshop with different product lines. Before you splurge on the design or the testing of the checkout process, we gauge if people need it the way you’ve dreamt it up. If the answer is yes, then we proceed and keep asking the questions: do you need all the product lines? That’s how we keep focusing on finding and wiping out the risks every step of the way, and if necessary, we change course to always follow the valid path. And if the validity of your product bears out, we perfect the processes and infuse them with the wow effect.

Efficiency 

There’s no silver bullet. And we know that adhering to rigid processes derails us. So we relentlessly adapt. We are in overdrive. But we always know when to stop: when sweating blood over tweaking features and functions stops adding to the wow effect and starts eating up resources. We forge ahead like a freight train: full-throttle, steady, unruffled, our eyes fixed on the big picture without getting bogged down with stuff that doesn’t serve the wow effect.  

Target audience 

That’s what gets us all psyched up. Finding the people who want your product. We go and explore the terrain. We talk to people and sound them out. We never assume. We figure out needs they don’t tell us about. We research the user. And the buyer. Usually they are the same, but when they’re not, it’s the buyer you want to get. Say you want to create an integrated campaign for an alcohol-activated vehicle immobiliser application. It’s not the inebriated husbands – the users – we have to win over, but the angst-ridden wives – the buyers – waiting for them at home with the children. And we do that with copy that makes them listen and stirs up their desire to act. Because we know how to use language and tone that speak not only to your audience, but to the needs and desires they can’t articulate yet.