INSIDE THE PROJECT
KUKI — Making study spaces cute, calm and organised
KUKI was born in 2023 from the creative mind of Carolina, who from the very beginning had a clear vision of the kawaii style she wanted for her brand.
EXECUTED SERVICES:
↗ CLARITY AUDIT [BRAND ZERO AUDIT]
↗ BRANDING KIT [ ESSENTIAL]
↗ 1:1 MENTORING [ MERAKI]
▪ The starting point: From A to B
KUKI was born in 2023 from the creative mind of Carolina, who from the very beginning had a clear vision of the kawaii style she wanted for her brand. Designed for those who find joy in organising and decorating their study spaces, KUKI offers a wide range of products, from stationery to home accessories.
The brand is committed to helping its customers create cheerful, tidy and visually harmonious study environments. Its purpose is to bring a sense of calm into these spaces, offering products that encourage relaxation and wellbeing while studying or working.
With adorable designs and a strong focus on harmony and organisation, KUKI has become a favourite choice for young people looking to create cosy, welcoming spaces that boost both productivity and creativity.
Carolina entrusted us with the key task of carrying out an initial strategic audit, developing the brand name, building the full brand kit, and guiding her through the Meraki mentoring process to establish a profitable and sustainable business.
▪ Pandora’s Box: What we discovered
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Before building anything, we carried out a Brand Zero Audit — a foundational audit designed for brands starting from scratch. This helped us clarify Carolina’s vision, define what the brand needed to stand for, and align her ideas, lifestyle and business goals. Instead of reviewing what already existed, we used this audit to set strong, intentional foundations and make sure every decision that followed had direction and purpose.
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Carolina had a very clear idea of the kawaii style she wanted and the type of products she dreamt of selling. That became the perfect starting point to shape everything else: the brand, the business, and the full experience behind KUKI.
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Beyond the creative idea, the project needed structure from the ground up. Together, we worked on understanding costs, pricing, and timing, ensuring the brand could grow in a way that felt manageable, enjoyable, and aligned with her lifestyle.
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Through the mentoring process, it became clear that this wasn’t just about selling cute products. It was about building a brand with direction, purpose and a clear path forward—taking conscious steps instead of improvising.
▪ The Challenge: Mapping the master move
In the case of KUKI, the brand audit was carried out at a foundational stage. We analysed the market, the consumer, and the intention of the project before creating the name, branding, and business model, ensuring that every decision was based on strategy rather than intuition.
Our starting point was finding a name that captured the ideas of order, calm and harmony, while also having a Japanese origin that aligned with the brand’s kawaii universe. After a thoughtful research process, we arrived at KUKI, a Japanese term that means “to read the air” or “to sense the atmosphere”—a concept that perfectly reflects how the brand aims to support and enhance study spaces. From there, through the mentoring process, we began building a real and sustainable business under the creative concept Kawaii Order, defining how the brand could stand out without losing its soft, gentle essence. We shaped a business model aligned with Carolina’s lifestyle, organised internal processes, understood her audience and their buying habits, and laid the foundations for a long-term vision where aesthetics, wellbeing, and sustainability live in balance.
FUN
FRIENDLY
ACCESSIBLE
FUN FRIENDLY ACCESSIBLE
▪ Change in Action: Beyond What Meets the Eye
BRAND ARCHETYPE:THE SMILING
Once the name was chosen and confirmed as available for trademark registration, we began building KUKI’s entire universe from a strategic point of view. We created a solid foundation to guide every decision, making sure the brand communicated order, calm and harmony without losing its kawaii essence. For the verbal identity, we developed a friendly, gentle and honest voice, using soft, encouraging and empathetic messages that support moments of studying and organising without adding pressure. The language is simple, positive and reassuring, inviting people to enjoy the process, slow down and find wellbeing in everyday routines.
Visually, we designed a clean and coherent system with balanced compositions, a delicate colour palette, and visual elements that bring clarity and calm into each space. From a sensory perspective, KUKI was designed to feel light and welcoming, conveying tranquillity through the way products are presented, how space is used, and the overall visual harmony. The entire brand kit was created to blend naturally into daily life, turning organisation into a one and enjoyable experience. In this way, KUKI evolved from an idea with a defined style into a complete, coherent brand, ready to grow with intention while preserving the calm and sensitivity that make it unique.
▪ Results: What we achieve together
After building the full branding and working through Meraki mentoring from the ground up, KUKI evolved from an idea with a clear style into a structured, coherent business ready to grow. The results were reflected not only in sales, but also in strategic clarity, positioning, and more conscious decision-making — all essential for long-term sustainability.
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KUKI moved from having no defined structure to a clear business model, with prioritised product lines, defined costs, and established profit margins. This allowed Carolina to know exactly what to sell, in what order and with what goal, reducing improvised decisions and making monthly and yearly planning measurable and achievable.
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Through the development of the verbal identity and brand strategy, KUKI learnt how to communicate its value clearly: organisation, calm, and wellbeing in study spaces. This led to more qualified interactions and attracted an audience truly aligned with the brand, reducing off-target enquiries and strengthening the relationship with customers.
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With a defined visual, verbal, and strategic system, the brand was able to create content faster and with much more consistency. The time spent deciding what to post was significantly reduced, allowing for clearer, more regular communication that reinforces KUKI’s creative concept and identity at every touchpoint.
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The mentoring process helped identify real growth opportunities, including catalogue expansion and future product lines. KUKI is now prepared to scale without losing its essence, making decisions based on strategy rather than intuition alone, and building a business designed to be profitable and sustainable over time.
▪ Classified file: Additional data
INDUSTRY: Lifestyle & Stationery
LOCATION: Milagro, ECUADOR
START OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS: 2023
PROJECT COMPLETION: November 2023
▪ Behind the scenes: Team credit
GRAPHIC DESIGNER: María José Alcívar
COPYWRITER: Sandra Voltinaer
ANIMATIONS: Cristina Quispe
CREATIVE & STRATEGIC DIRECTION: María Fernanda Ayala Castro
A kind note from the client
“A name that changed everything”
Before, I only had an idea of what I wanted to sell and the kawaii style I liked, but I didn’t know how to turn it into a real brand.
When I worked with Networking, we started from scratch: first, we did the Brand Zero audit, which let me confirm that my idea was totally viable and helped me clearly figure out how to organise everything. Then, we developed the brand name and the full branding kit, and the mentoring helped me structure the business and make it profitable and sustainable. The whole process was friendly, patient, and really human; I genuinely felt heard, and every decision made sense for my lifestyle and goals.
Now Kuki has a clear identity: I know how to communicate it, how to showcase the products, and how to organise my business. I feel ready to move forward and keep creating products that brighten up and organise study spaces for lots of people.
— CAROLINA HERRERA- KUKI (ECUADOR)
