Building brands across borders, cultures and time zones

For Above Diamond’s founder Wit Sudjaiampun, the challenge was clear: his Bangkok-based custom jewellery business had outgrown its original branding, particularly online. In considering what he was going to do next, the complexity was deceptive. His primary target was to serve local Thai clients keen for a highly tailored in-person Above-branded store experience authentically, whilst building an outstanding online presence.

During our conversations, we concluded that the two could feel continuous, with a common feeling and thread. Walking into one of the Above stores in Bangkok and choosing your engagement ring was always going to be an incredible moment. With the right user experience, scrolling their new website needn’t feel all that different.

Debating how exactly we would achieve that proved to be the highlight of a great collegiate experience. It ended up being just one of the collaborative insights we found, that transcended working six time zones apart. These learnings are then built into the design process we’ve honed across many such international design projects. Building brands across borders.

Working while our client sleeps, then running through our brand schemes or new layouts was an inevitable part of the work and we quickly fell into a great, efficient working rhythm. It’s counterintuitive: the right international partnership doesn’t just overcome distance but transforms what could be complicated into a competitive advantage.

What is the universal blueprint for international collaboration?

Five principles that work from Bangkok to Dubai

1. Communication rhythms overcome time zones

A great collaboration means distance dissolves. During the Above project our six-hour time gap became irrelevant once we had established consistent patterns of communication. The daily Slack check-ins, weekly video calls, real-time collaboration on apps such as Figma mean collaboration and design evolution became streamlined. As Wit put it: “They operated like an in-house team.”

2. Cultural understanding managed with technical skill

Translation requires real flexibility. Whether it’s the Thai script integration for Above, the lengthy technical terms used in German for our web catalogue for manufacturing firm ORIS, or Arabic right-to-left web layouts, cultural authenticity demands technical rigour.

We applied this systematic approach when designing for Dubai/Saudi financial services firm Outliers, where our work flipped effortlessly between Arabic and English. As we discovered there, truly bilingual sites require twin visual languages, not just translations”. In this project, both languages need to feel equally native and intentional. Much of the success of the Outliers project was built on the experience of working with Above Diamond, which became the foundation for tackling broader cross-cultural design challenges.

3. Build systems, not just solutions

For Above, we defined a detailed and careful spec before we began the design and build. The team needed to manage their site in two primary ways. The first was the bulk upload of data about diamond product, which was managed via a live database which integrates with our new website. Second, they needed an editorial independence within their new website, publishing a near-constant stream of story and product-led blog articles.

I am proud to say that because of the teamwork, and this joint care and preparation, since we completed the project, the site has run highly successfully, entirely independently of our involvement.

4. Sector knowledge transcends geography

With many years of working in both financial services and diamond jewellery, we find there are many common threads to these industries that can inform our work and help clients. In essence, whether our design work in the Middle East centres around high-value transactions in Dubai’s DIFC or bespoke craftsmanship in Bangkok’s jewellery district, understanding what builds success in a sector can matter more than physically working in the location.

Diamond industry work varies enormously. Over the years we’ve worked on a series of projects such as the rebrand work for Above, implementing existing guidelines on a large e-commerce site, or working with industry heavyweights on a high-profile new market research project. Much of this work across the sector has operated under non-disclosure agreements, but the principles we’ve learned consistently apply across cultures and markets.

5. Empower client independence

Two great examples here. As I mentioned, for Above, we created the systems in tandem with Wit, built the technical foundations and then empowered their local team. Similarly, Outliers have total access to their entire site, but particularly are updating deals, news and business activities, in English and Arabic, publishing both concurrently.

The lesson? Time and again, we’ve found that this concept of a ‘build, train, empower’ model for web tech works across cultures and time zones.

What should an international brand design process feel like?

As Wit reflected on the process: “The experience we had working with Richard and his team on the Above Diamond project was so seamless.”

This captures something crucial about international partnerships done right. Much of our work sits at the intersection of trust and value: private wealth management, bespoke hand-crafted products or real estate services. Whether it’s Above Diamond’s custom jewellery, Outliers’ venture capital investment, or European manufacturing, these businesses rely on credibility.

We understand how good design can be tailored to speak to these audiences. While the design approach varies every time, core principles that work for Bangkok’s high-value diamond market apply to Dubai’s financial sector: authenticity, expertise and exciting digital experiences reflect the calibre of the business.

One final word from Wit, whose kind words about our collaboration I appreciate so much: “The end result is a lot more than just a refreshed logo and a new website. It’s the intangible, yet visible value that we now have to provide for our clients and create a remarkable, meaningful experience for them.”

Working together, building brands across borders

Ready to build your brand across borders? Whether you’re expanding internationally or targeting diverse markets, we’d love to explore how we can help. Call us on 020 7351 4083 or get in touch directly via email.