Case Study
Designing Childhood: A Playful Yet Purposeful Identity for Smartsters
Discover how Codesign created a minimalist yet expressive identity for Smartsters, a kids' furniture and décor brand that celebrates creativity and free growth.
Kids deserve more than just furniture; they deserve spaces that inspire imagination and creativity. That’s where Smartsters comes in. This digital-first kids’ furniture and décor brand, created by Think9, identified a gap in the market: affordable, well-designed products for children that foster growth and development. But creating a brand that stands apart in a space filled with stereotypical, gender-coded aesthetics is no small feat. To do so, Smartsters partnered with Codesign to craft a fresh, versatile, and meaningful brand identity.
Smartsters wasn’t just another kids’ furniture brand—it aimed to redefine childhood spaces with thoughtful designs that support emotional, physical, and cognitive development. The challenge was to reflect this mission in a visual language that feels modern, endearing, and distinct. It needed to avoid the loud, over-decorated aesthetics that dominate the category, while ensuring the identity would resonate with today’s digital-savvy consumers.
Codesign has been instrumental in shaping Smartsters, when we were just an idea. They intuitively understood the brand and played a vital role in its zero to one journey. We engaged not only to achieve a brand identity system that was designed for the digital consumer but also more holistically to get the principles of the product design in place. —Ashni Biyani, Founder, Think9
Codesign approached the project with simplicity and strategic intent, crafting a brand identity that balances functionality with charm. Here’s how:
Brand Resonance:
The brand identity reflects the Smartsters ethos of fostering creativity and exploration. Its design avoids overwhelming branding, offering a clean canvas that encourages children to grow freely.
Brand Expressiveness:
The logo, affectionately named “Spot,” is the star of the identity. Dynamic and playful, Spot adapts to various formats and applications, from furniture details to large-scale billboards. This versatility brings an unmistakably Smartsters feel to every interaction.
Brand Recall:
The minimalist approach ensures high recall value. With limited but impactful assets, the brand stands out in the D2C space, cutting through the noise to grab attention.
Brand Differentiation:
Breaking away from traditional child-focused designs, Smartsters’ restrained identity avoids gender coding and character-based visuals. This conscious choice allows the focus to remain on meaningful messaging and product design.
