Other Studio shows why matcha branding doesn’t need to shout green

Matcha branding tends to follow a familiar formula. Vibrant greens dominate the palette, whisks mid-motion fill the frame, and the usual cast of bamboo, tea bowls and ceremonial gestures make their predictable appearance. It often works, but it also means most matcha brands end up looking remarkably similar. When Other Studio began working with The Matcha Kyōto, Creative Director Samuel Gadd knew the path forward required restraint rather than decoration. The Matcha Kyōto exists to share the story of traditional matcha cultivation and ceremony with contemporary audiences – a bridge between Uji’s centuries-old tea fields and modern appreciation for craft. The brief asked for an identity that honours this heritage whilst expressing modernity, something that felt “calm, timeless and rooted in Japanese tea traditions, yet shaped through a modern lens,” as Gadd describes it. The challenge wasn’t just aesthetic. “We wanted to move away from the familiar visuals often seen in matcha and Japanese tea brands,” Gadd explains. He’s careful to note they’re not dismissing recent work in the category – there are beautiful matcha identities out there. But The Matcha Kyōto needed to feel different. “By avoiding these cues, the brand could feel more timeless and grounded in the feeling we wanted to create.” That ‘feeling’ emerged from research that prioritised philosophy over technique. Rather than studying the mechanics of tea-making, Other Studio delved into the principles beneath the process. “We looked into the history of Uji’s matcha-growing region, but rather than studying the tea-making techniques, we drew from the philosophy behind the process – patience, precision and respect for craft,” Gadd shares. This distinction shaped everything that followed.