SHIFT
Shift didn't exist yet.
Not the name, not the identity, not the visual language. What existed was a founder with a clear philosophy about how people should live and a conviction that the design furniture market in Riyadh wasn't serving it.
We started with a name. Everything followed from there.
Info
Shift
Client
Design
Furniture
Interiors
Retail
Industry
Cynthia Bifani
Services
Research
Visual Identity
Stationary
Product Visualisation
Social Media [re]starter kit
Pitch Deck
Kalyl Kadri
Research
Naming
Tone of Voice
Brand Personality/Characteristics
Manifesto
The Situation
Shift came to us as a vision before it was a business. The founder, had a clear idea of what he wanted to build: a design-forward furniture company in Riyadh that would help people transform their homes and workspaces into something that actually reflected their lives. Not just furniture. A point of view.
The brand didn't exist. The name didn't exist. We started from zero.
The CHALLENGE
The design furniture space is full of brands re-editing the past: couches from the 1970s, heritage marks, the same references recycled endlessly. The founder wanted something different. A brand with soul that didn't mistake history for personality. Modern and considered, but never cold. A showroom with a point of view, not just a product catalogue.
The brief pointed us toward something specific: the intersection of the urban and the timeless. Design that is also practical. Spaces that feel lived in, not staged.
WHAT WE DID
We ran the full Brand Universe process, beginning with naming.
Shift, a word that carries movement, transformation, and intent without announcing it. The name does exactly what the brand promises: it moves you from where you are to somewhere better.
From there, we built the complete identity system. Visual language, brand guidelines, stationery, decks, invoices, and a social media grid; every touchpoint considered as part of a cohesive whole. Soulful enough to feel human. Structured enough to sit in the premium end of the market.
THE RESULT
The client found that we understood his vision from early in the process, and that trust became the foundation for everything that followed. The final brand felt exactly like what he'd been trying to articulate. Soulful, urban, and exclusive without being inaccessible.
A brand built for a founder who knew what he wanted, and needed a studio that could keep up.
The feeling: Soulful, urban, and exclusive. The kind of brand that makes a room feel intentional just by being in it.
Before working together, my biggest struggle was finding someone who could truly understand my vision and translate it into the brand. I'd always worried that whoever I hired wouldn't get what I wanted and that I'd be stuck with a result I wasn't happy with.
That wasn't my experience here at all. What stood out most was how quickly my personality and taste were understood, and when the mark wasn't quite hit, there was always flexibility to adapt without making it a big deal.
If you're looking for someone who listens, does the work, and actually gets it, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
— Karl Fadel, Founder
