Outside-in brand strategy: why we built a studio that thinks like your clients
Posted 6 days ago in design chat
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How to brand a consultancy business with style: Kenzie Falcoz Khalil on launching Thoughtfully
Posted 4 weeks ago in brand identity, design chat
Kenzie Falcoz Khalil spent a decade building brands and experiences for other organisations before launching her own. Here she reflects on what it took to brand a consultancy business and why standing out was always the point.
There is a particular kind of clarity that only comes from years of working inside an industry. Kenzie has spent a decade building brands, communities and experiences for venture funds, family offices and technology companies across Europe, the Gulf and the United States. She has run summits that have become a fixture on the regional calendar and built brands that are now globally recognised in their industries. When she decided to launch Thoughtfully, her own consultancy that, as she puts it ‘builds moments, spaces and identities for ambitious businesses’, unsurprisingly she arrived at the brief with a real sense of precision.
We have worked with Kenzie over the last couple of years, most notably on the Outliers Builders Summit, held last October in Riyadh. Working alongside her has deepened our understanding of the Gulf market she operates in, whether that be the founders ‘building differently’ or the investors backing them. In particular, the Outliers web design project required a unique take, blending our London design sensibility with the specific visual and cultural intelligence the market requires.
With that depth of experience working together, when Kenzie and I sat down in Dubai this past January to review our designs for Thoughtfully, the conversation was fascinating and decisive. Having defined the creative direction, we invested time in a process of refinement to agree on a characterful and unique piece of graphic design. I’m proud to say that the result is one of the most considered brand identities we have produced.
Just recently, I spoke with Kenzie about what it felt like to sit on the other side of the table, the thinking behind a wordmark that deliberately breaks every convention of the markets she serves and what has happened since Thoughtfully launched.
Our design work to brand a consultancy business for Thoughtfully
You’ve spent a decade building brands and experiences for other organisations from the inside. When it came to commissioning your own identity for Thoughtfully, what was the hardest part of being the client rather than the strategist?
It felt surprisingly natural, actually. I came to it at a moment of real clarity, no doubt about the direction. When you spend a decade working inside venture funds, family offices and technology companies, you’re always thinking about other people’s audiences. But because I’d been working inside the same industry the whole time, I started to deeply understand what these people actually wanted from an experience perspective. By the time I sat on the other side of the table, the decade of work had done the editing for me. I wasn’t figuring out what I wanted, I was refining it. I wanted something that reflected who I am, because I put a lot of myself into my work, and at the same time felt genuinely refreshing for the tech and investment world. This industry runs on rinse and repeat: the same events, the same content, the same visual language. I wanted to build something that would resonate with the people who are building differently and want to stand out.
The Thoughtfully wordmark is deliberately unconventional for the markets you work in — technology companies, financial institutions, ambitious businesses. What were you trying to signal with that visual choice?
The identity is deliberately unconventional because that’s exactly what Thoughtfully is. Not for everyone. For the people who want to build differently and be remembered for it. I craft experiences and bring people together in a way that is considered and differentiated, never formulaic. The wordmark itself has two parts, Thought and Fully, which is intentional. It reflects exactly what we do and how we do it.
“What made it work was that Richard and his team were patient with the process and flexible with the time it took.
“We’ve collaborated on a number of projects together, so there’s an ease to how we work.
“He understood what I was trying to build, and that made all the difference.”
Kenzie Falcoz Khalil
Director, Thoughtfully
‘The most considered experiences are always the most remembered’ is your founding belief. How did that philosophy shape the brief you gave Richard Chapman Studio?
The brief was simple: something that stands out while remaining timeless and elegant. The burgundy and pink were very deliberate choices. This industry lives in black and white, literally and figuratively, and I wanted the identity to feel like a contrast to that without being loud. The split of Thought and Fully was also intentional from the start. I wanted a name that meant something without giving it away immediately, that created a moment of curiosity. The identity had to reflect the work: considered, precise, and with a point of view.
Now that Thoughtfully is live, what has the early reaction been from the clients and collaborators who know your work — and how do you feel about it?
The reaction has been more affirming than I expected. The thing that keeps coming up is the name: people saying they wouldn’t have chosen anything different, that it fits. What’s struck me is that the strongest reactions have come from people who already felt the gap. They’re not surprised Thoughtfully exists, it’s complementary to what they’re already building. That was always the intention, and it’s good to know it’s landing.
How was the process of continuing your work with me and the team?
Working with Richard on this was a process. We went through many iterations, a lot of back and forth, and it took time to land on the final result. But that’s exactly how it should be when something matters. Richard knows the audience I serve really well, and that showed in the research he brought to the work. The design didn’t happen by accident, it came from hours of genuine immersion in the brief. The icon especially went through multiple rounds to get to something that felt visually memorable and distinct. What made it work was that Richard and his team were patient with the process and flexible with the time it took. We’ve collaborated on a number of projects together, so there’s an ease to how we work. He understood what I was trying to build, and that made all the difference.
Our take — and a unique partnership
Thank you to Kenzie for her time and for a set of answers that are as precise and considered as the end product of our collaboration itself.
I really loved Kenzie’s acknowledgement of her experience and how it has shaped Thoughtfully: a decade of work had done the editing. In addition, the observation that her industry “runs on rinse and repeat — the same events, the same content, the same visual language” is one that resonates well beyond the Gulf. It’s clear to me that Thoughtfully exists precisely because Kenzie decided to do something about it and this new brand reflects that decision in every detail. The fluid, modernist wordmark blended with the striking burgundy and pink palette is a truly stand-out identity we’re so proud to have in our portfolio.
What is so interesting about our collaboration is that while this story is about us working for Kenzie, the bigger picture is of us working alongside Thoughtfully. For clients in the Gulf and internationally who are building something ambitious in the events, experiences or brand space, Thoughtfully and Richard Chapman Studio represent complementary capabilities that have been tested across multiple projects together. If that sounds like the kind of collaboration you are looking for, we would be delighted to discuss how this would work to your benefit.
Ready to brand your consultancy business?
Richard Chapman Studio specialises in brand identity and web design for consultancies, professional services firms, and ambitious businesses across the UK, the Gulf and beyond. If you are building something that deserves to be remembered, we would love to talk. Get in touch: +44 20 7351 4083 or email us directly.
