Your Majesty: about branding and uniting the curious

Introducing you to one of our Dutch Digital Design partner agencies: putting them in the spotlight. Giving you a look behind the scenes. Sharing some Dutch digital design insights. Or telling you about something that they believe the world needs to know. This month it is Your Majesty’s turn. Georgios Athanassiadis - managing partner - and Alexia Boiteau - art director and design lead - from Your Majesty talk with us about Your Majesty, the agency, and its culture, but also about the importance of branding, and keeping your brand fresh and in tune with your audience and time. A subject close to their hearts: they have just refreshed their own brand or - as they like to say - they are expressing their brand differently. The reasons why you will read further on. So, without further ado, let’s chat Your Majesty.

Introducing Georgios and Alexia

According to etiquette, we are starting with a brief introduction from Georgios and Alexia - both very royal and fitting names for such a royal sounding agency. Luckily no protocol and ceremony here, just an easy-going conversation.

Georgios is not only managing partner, but also co-owner of the agency. He was born in Sweden, and studied design and programming at the renowned Hyper Island in Stockholm. Putting everything he learned in practice during his internship at Your Majesty in New York. He fell in love with what he calls ‘the Willy Wonka factory of branding and digital design’: all these super-talented people together in one building, creating all sorts of beautiful experiences. The rest is history: he stayed. Since then Georgios has worn almost all hats in the agency - from web development and creative direction to strategy and client services. Nowadays, he mostly focuses on business development, marketing and Your Majesty’s high-level strategy.

How did he end up at Your Majesty in Amsterdam? 

Kasper Kuijpers - co-owner and technical director - moved back to Europe to set up a Your Majesty office over there. Georgios joined him. Initially for six months only. It is now 2024, and they are still going strong.

Alexia was born in a small village in the French mountains. She always felt inspired by ideas-led Dutch design, and always liked the idea of going to work and live in the Netherlands. She started as a junior graphic designer at Dutch design agency Studio Dumbar, and came to Your Majesty after almost ten years at digital driven agency Fabrique. These agencies have formed and inspired her approach to design. Her main drive is to challenge the status quo, and encourage a different way of thinking - for her team and clients.

About Your Majesty

Where does such a regal name stem from?

The original founders of the agency - also from Sweden - grew up with adventure movies like Excalibur, Indiana Jones and Ivanhoe. They loved the idea of secret orders as portrayed in those movies. Names like King, Queen, Knights of ... were all considered. However, they also wanted the name to tell a story, and represent their roots. They landed on Your Majesty - as an ode to the Swedish monarchy and something that felt bigger than themselves. Their mantra: to unite the curious. Creating a place where great work is made by talent from every corner of the world.

This mantra is still very relevant for Your Majesty in 2024. Uniting the curious: ten different nationalities with a global perspective. Exploring together what great work really means. It is not only creating great work for clients or about making money. It is about being at the forefront of design, technology and innovation. And also having a good work-life balance. A balance and mix of the love for their craft, friends and family, and helping others. This might sound a little fluffy. But - to put it simply - for them, an agency is a group of people helping other people (read: clients) get what they want. Therefore, this group of people has to reflect different ideas, cultures and craft, in order to help and create value for all of their clients. And, foremost, to be curious in what is next, and creating something new and of value - together. Always challenging yourself, but also the industry.

Let’s talk about branding

How do you define branding, and why is it so important?

Alexia: ‘Branding consists of two aspects: brand strategy and brand identity. The brand strategy is the personality of a brand. The brand identity is the expression of its personality. How it looks, how it speaks, how it moves and how it sounds.

The most important thing for a brand to be memorable and successful is its attitude. Attitude refers to the set of personality traits or characteristics that are attributed to a brand. Those shape the way a brand presents itself and interacts with its audience. It influences how the brand is perceived by its consumers and the wider public. It should shine through in every interaction, at all touch points - throughout the entire customer journey, but also in the ethics and overall demeanour of the brand’s communications and actions. A true synergy of brand strategy and identity. This plays a pivotal role in building brand recognition, loyalty, preference and differentiation from competitors.

However, beyond this, it also creates a cultural impact. In a branded society, brands can influence and shape culture. They can become part of people’s lifestyles. Brands that manage this, move beyond just the commercial sphere.

Georgios: ‘To add to this, humans don’t have time to make considered decisions about every aspect of their lives, including which company or product to choose. We would be exhausted. That’s why branding is so powerful: it creates mental shortcuts, so people instinctively know what they like and can expect from a particular brand, product or service. It creates recognition.

If done right, it also makes the brand harder to copy. Without branding, a brand/product/service will be interchangeable with a similar brand/product/service. But if you build memorability (read: powerful branding), people will instinctively reach for your brand. Strong brands evoke feelings and aspirations in people, and often help them feel better about their decisions.’

Branding & AI

Georgios: ‘The rapid advancement of AI will change our industry as AI tools are now able to create like professional copywriters, designers, photographers and other artists.

However, these models are trained on things that already exist. And even though they can create output that will look very good and even professional, there will eventually be a sameness across brands. Therefore, powerful branding will be even more important. To create distinct brands that stand out in all this sameness, and can succeed in the world of AI.’

Alexia: ‘Brands’ engagement with AI must be well thought through, and aligned with their core values, in order to maintain their voice, but also to follow their ethos.

AI is a cultural phenomenon, not just a technological advancement. Brands need to be aware of not only the positives but also the negatives of AI, like homogenised content, perpetuating biases and the ethical considerations of the datasets used. Brands need to be proactive In addressing these issues. Ensuring that their use of AI positively contributes to cultural diversity and integrity.’

Time for a refresh

Why is Your Majesty refreshing its brand?

Georgios: ‘We have been in business for 17 years. That’s like 45 years in Internet years. We have updated our identity three times - each update marking a new era in the company: moving from digital production house to creative agency, and to brand experience and digital product agency.

Since 2018 we have refined our offering, and chosen a narrower sector specialisation: ‘Your Majesty powers brands and digital products for fashion and technology pioneers.’ We felt it was time to evolve the brand to embody this specialisation - incorporating the fashion’s industry’s elegance and luxury with technology’s can-do attitude and innovation.’

Alexia: ‘Our values have stayed the same, and our purpose is still ‘unite the curious’. However, we are now expressing it differently. We are doing this because we need to stay relevant within our industry, and keep up with contextual change - just like any other brand.’

Unite the Curious

Georgios: ‘Your Majesty operates through a mindset of curiosity. It is about seeing opportunities where others see obstacles, and having the courage to jump in before everyone else does. Everyone is born curious, but as we age, this quality diminishes. It takes time and effort to stay curious throughout your life.’

Alexia: ‘Curiosity drives a conversation beyond what you already know - beyond just design. To find fulfilment and joy in the pursuit of mastery: the constant desire to get better and better at something that matters to you.’

So, what advice do these two curious people have for curious talent?

Georgios: ‘Maybe a little controversial - especially nowadays, but show up in person. Sit with and learn from the people in the office. Including people that you don’t necessarily work with on a project level. You don’t just learn from doing the job on the screen in front of you. You learn so much from being exposed to the creative work and unexpected inspiration you get from the people around you in the real world.’

Alexia: ‘Take time to learn for the sake of learning and not for the sake of peer recognition or success. Look around you. See what works. Accept feedback. Allow yourself to learn and fail. Otherwise you might miss out on actual learning, and not have the fundamentals. Or the tools to challenge yourself. It is important to know and build your designer-self. This takes time.’