About

Studio

Violet Office is a brand design studio working globally across disciplines to create brand identities, motion design, digital products, and physical objects. We create thoughtful and brazen work that connects our clients to the world.

Locations

Los Angeles, CA
(GMT-7)

2926 Denby Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90039

Hudson Valley, NY
(GMT-4)

⌖ 42.157424
  -73.684312

Partners

Calvin Waterman
Calvin Waterman

Calvin’s multi-prong approach to design brings in his background in art, motion and product design. He is focused on creative and lasting solutions for his clients that go beyond trends. Before starting Violet he worked on the rebrand of AOL, Google and Microsoft. In 2012 he co-founded Mood, a skateboard company with a focus on releasing limited edition artist collaborations.

Max Ackerman
Max Ackerman

Max brings a strategic approach to the design process. He creates systems and tools that work today and into the future. Whether a website or a visual identity, the lasting power of the work is critical. Before starting Violet, he designed digital experiences for companies including Levis, Tom Ford, and Dwell Magazine.

Services

Branding

Your brand embodies who you are and how you express that to the world. We work with clients to create their brand through naming, visual identity, brand principles, and brand architecture.

Motion

Motion is a tool that can bring expression and deeper meaning to a brand. We produce everything from simple logo animations to a full blown motion system. We have extensive experience in motion design, production and implementation; including 2D, 3D, live action, motion toolkits, and UI.

Digital

We design and build digital solutions at every scale. We can help you build whatever is next, from rapid prototyping to global ecommerce to internal brand tools.

Physical

In a digital-first brand world, we see a renewed importance for physical objects as well as an obligation to account for the lifespan of a product. We offer design and production of publications, packaging, apparel, campaigns and objects that prioritize sustainability and longevity.

Design Principles

Branding = Storytelling

Your brand tells the story of who you are. Branding is the process of establishing your core ideals, refining them into guiding principles, and expressing them to your audience. As designers and makers, we see each expression as a piece of the story, whether it be an campaign, app icon, video, event or guidelines. Each piece fits together to create your brand, one that signals who you are to the world.

Design Is a Process

The design process is what makes good ideas into great ideas. It is drawing hundreds of S's to find the perfect form for a wordmark or enlisting a small army of artists to rethink how music can be visualized. For every design we’ve launched into the world, dozens of others were explored and presented throughout the process. Arriving at the right solution in the first round is great but rare, we bring our clients into the design process to find solutions we can all stand behind.

Tools Not Toys

Design is nothing without a platform, a vessel or a tool to bring it to the world. We have focused our practice around building tools that empower our clients, from brand guidelines to websites, motion toolkits or social media packages, what we make empowers you. You should be the authority on your brand and have the necessary tools and systems to keep building and evolving. These tools range from big to small but they play a role in every job we do.

Change Is a Constant

Every business evolves and grows over time, your brand identity should evolve as well. This evolutionary thinking is built into every brand identity we create. We like to think near and far and test our work in contexts that may not exist yet for your business. Anticipating change is part of our practice and something we encourage you to make a part of yours. Our approach adapts to your needs and whatever stage of business you are in.

Be Open

We seek out clients who are transparent about their practices and the services or goods they offer. We bring this same sensibility to our own process and output. This free exchange helps to propel concepts forward and inform the work we create together. It allows us to create common goals and align on a shared vision for the work.

Clarity Resounds

We strive to create clear ideas that resonate with your audience. We constantly refine designs to make sure they are aligned with your brand positioning. There is no one size fits all solution, so keeping the end user in mind is important at every stage of this process. Whether someone is interacting with your brand for the first time or the thousandth, the brand voice needs to come through.

Select Clients

Airbnb
Apple
Away
Buffy
Chobani
Dwell
Genius
Longchamp
MasterClass
MoMA
Nike
Outdoor Voices
Red Bull Music Academy
Rivian
Robinhood
Spotify
Uber
Universal Music
Vans
Vevo