We're a team of design veterans who work hand-in-hand with our clients to craft solutions that are not only effective but meaningful too. We take the time to understand their unique needs and immerse ourselves in their world.
We look beyond the competition and challenge the status quo to ensure our solutions stay ahead of the game instead of chasing taillights. We dive deep into the design process, creating systems that are so tightly knit, even a spider would be impressed.
Our ultimate goal is to create designs that are not only beautiful but make it easy for teams to take our designs and run with them, long after we're gone.
The goal was to craft a new design system that would make complexity more approachable and empower a design organization to manage legacy and scale.
It was a challenge of modernizing the experience and visuals to relate with a new audience and simultaneously not abandon a core. We began by imagining a high-level direction to demonstrate a range of improvements and potential.
We added depth that was deeply rooted in the complex requirements of the product, driven by a set of foundational principles that would define the experience for Smartsheet going forward.
We needed to understand the aspirations of the leadership team, the complex interaction challenges of the design teams, and the changing competitive –and analogous– landscape.
We further evolved the hero concepts, turning them into a more realistic version of the potential experience.
This became the working vehicle to broadly explore color, typography, imagery, and texture to distill down to a few directions to benchmark and validate.
As the building blocks and rules of the system began to solidify, the refinements coalesced into a system of foundational aesthetic rules, design tokens, micro-interactions, and accessibility considerations.
Next, we needed to document the origin of the system, from foundational rules to in-depth examples. This included the methodology to put the system into practice, and guidelines for extending the system.
Something unexpected can occur when the analog and digital worlds unite. In our study of the flexibility of controls across environmental situations, we created provocations around the ubiquitous dial, slider, and tactile qualities of a cube.
They can bring us more degrees of investigation, granular control along a fixed spectrum and unexpected opportunities to fidget and play.
Whether it’s for a client or our own curiosity, controls continue to be an area of inspiration and a joy to explore.
“Partnering with Totem is like getting a hit of creative adrenalin (that lasts)
… bringing unmatched insight, taste, and execution for modern digital experiences.”
We believe the best way to build a design system that paves the way to the future, is to imagine that future first. We craft solutions that meet current needs while also providing room for future growth and innovation.
With a clear vision of the future, we creatively explore ideas that seamlessly blend current work with future aspirations. We strike a balance between what's desirable, feasible, and viable, resulting in a design language that carves a new path.
“Their highly collaborative style means they sit comfortably alongside other designers and engineers, can talk confidently with customers and stakeholders, and can also hold their own in the boardroom.”
– Jamie Neely, Sr. Director of Product Design at Mural
A good design system favors usability over complexity. We created a system with clear rules of use to empower designers to make the most of the new patterns, and give them guidance on how to extend the system...and when to break it.
Mural’s core principles invite you to make work into play. So we infused the product with ambient motion and micro-interactions. These playful touches not only bring the Mural brand to life, but also inspire users to tap into their own creativity.
We don’t just deliver a box of shiny new lego bricks, we work with the PM and design teams to ingrain the ethos of the design system and how it can unlock new approaches to feature exploration.
We're passionate about creating provocative visions, elegant systems, and highly crafted experiences.
Our curiosity drives us to explore and create across industries, from consumer to enterprise, education to healthcare, and beyond.
With mastery in visual, motion, and product design, we're able to craft complete experiences. And with a background in shipping, we approach each project with the goal of bringing it to life and making it a reality.
Design thrives when there is time invested in the freedom of making and crafting for the pure joy of it.
Unfortunately, not every project allows for the space to explore ideas, styles and give unorthodox visions a place to form.
Creative Behavior is our chance to be irreverent, curious, fun, and indulge our imaginations without restraint.
There is the added benefit that we learn new tools and try out different technologies, ultimately adding to our capabilities to realize our visions of the human-computer experience.
We help envision the future beyond the next shipping cycle, scouting ahead to make "what's next" tangible. We accelerate the discovery of new experiences, defining the opportunities for future interactions. All while keeping an eye on making it real.
We elevate brands through exceptional design systems that adapt across products and platforms, crafting unique experiences that embody a brand's identity and endure over time. Our team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of design and working closely with our clients to bring their vision to life to stand out in a sea of sameness.
Totem unleashes the full potential of your digital product vision. We seamlessly integrate as your full-service partner, guiding your concept to reality through expert collaboration with product, design, and engineering teams. Whether enhancing in-house capabilities or leading the charge, we deliver innovative solutions across multiple platforms.
