Becoming Contraste: A Collaboration with Kim Yip Tong
When you’ve been building brands for over three decades, telling your own story can be the hardest brief of all. That’s why we turned to local artist Kim Yip Tong to capture Contraste’s spirit in a way words alone could never do.
WHY COMMISSION AN ARTIST FOR YOUR OWN REBRAND?
It might seem unusual. But at Contraste, taking the expected path has never really been our thing. So during our rebrand, once the fonts, logo, and visual identity were in place, we took a leap of faith; letting intuition and emotion guide the rest of the way. Stick with us as we break down how it all came together.
GUT FEELINGS
Marty Neumeier famously defined a brand as a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It’s less about logos and colours than perception: How do others see us? What do we stand for? What truly matters? A strong brand bridges the gap between how you see yourself and how others experience you.
From the perspective of our clients and collaborators, Contraste was small but flexible, close to their needs, yet sharp enough to deliver every project. That informed our identity system: agility, precision, and proximity.
From our side, this rebrand was deeply personal. Priscille carrying on Daniel’s legacy. Contraste evolving after loss. Resilience. How do you translate that into design?
The answer wasn’t design. It was art. Nothing provokes gut feeling quite like it. Combining our sharp, logical design minds with our freer, artistic instincts made our philosophy clear: in a world of pragmatic, functional design, Contraste puts culture, emotion, and humanity first.
THE HUNT BEGINS
With this philosophy in mind, the search began. At Contraste, we take pride in finding the right collaborators. So, finding the perfect artist became our challenge.
After months of searching, we discovered Kim Yip Tong at the Festival du Vivant, hosted by House of Digital Art. Her work struck a chord. Her craft, attention to detail, and worldview mirrored ours. She embodied Contraste’s values: Precision, Agility, Resilience, Proximity.
We met, spoke, and set the challenge: translate Contraste into a single art piece. The logo and palette were ready. But how do you distil 30+ years of story, evolution, and identity into something that speaks and feels like us?
KIM YIP TONG ON CAPTURING CONTRASTE
There’s no better way to tell the story than through Kim’s own words. So we sat down and asked her four questions:
1. What was your first reaction when we asked you to create this artwork for our site?
“It was an unusual request for sure. I wasn’t sure I fully understood the idea. What exactly were you looking for? Why me and not someone else? I had lots of questions. After meeting you, the picture started coming into focus.”
2. How did you approach translating our identity into an art piece?
“It started with your story. What struck me most was this idea of transformation: a structure that adapted, reshaped, and whose job it is to create connections.
Then came your values. Agility, resilience, precision, proximity. And of course, the name ‘Contraste’. To me, your identity boils down to being flexible enough to bend without breaking. That’s where the idea of links and roots came in. The roots connect the different “islands” that represent your projects, collaborations, clients. Living networks.
To me, Contraste is a bit like those roots: a communication studio that works mostly behind the scenes for its clients. Discreet. You don’t always see them, but they’re the ones that allow things to grow and bloom.”
3. Was there a “eureka” moment where things came together?
“The process is different each time. For this project, we talked, I took notes, built a concept, moodboards before ever starting a sketch. It suddenly made sense why you had chosen me. My style is often refined; I pay attention to the tiniest of details. Plus, my use of watercolour isn’t just better for the environment, it’s fluid and fit well for a brand like yours.
Our collaboration felt quite natural, actually. Once I saw some of the references and mockups you’d done, all the behind-the-scenes branding material, I thought, “Yes, this works, let’s go in that direction.”
4. Last one. What role do you think art and design have to play in culture today?
“That’s a tough one!
To me, art and design are close but not the same. Design has a function. It has to work, to serve a purpose. Art is freer. It can provoke, comfort, question.
I see art as both spiritual and democratic. A human act that lets us ask questions, shift perspectives, admire and self-reflect. Design grounds us in the practical. Art opens the door to something bigger.”
A FINAL WORD
We started off with a clear picture of who Contraste is. Handing that over to Kim was an exercise in trust, in letting go. Projects like this remind us why that matters. Through this collaboration, we went beyond what we say we are… Kim’s perspective gave our identity room to live beyond our own minds.
And we couldn’t be happier with the result. It’s elegant in its simplicity, yet intricate in the smallest details. A Rorschach test. A reflection. A statement. Open to interpretation, yet deeply personal. It’s a declaration of our new chapter, our way of working, and our belief that design grounded in humanity can, and will, move people.
Whether you’re in Mauritius or elsewhere, we’d love to hear your thoughts. And if partnering with a creative graphic design studio like Contraste feels like the right move, just give us a shout.
(15 DECEMBER 2025)
Lean, by Design: The Story Behind Contraste’s Rebrand.
