Launched out of frustration with how branding is sidelined in high-impact sectors, Hyperfocus is a lean, culturally attuned studio fusing creativity with clarity. We chatted with co-founder Paul Watmough-Halim to explore the thinking behind their work and why discipline might be the secret ingredient to creative freedom.
Branding has long held a reputation for being the finishing touch or the visual polish added once the ‘real’ work is done. However, for Paul Watmough-Halim, co-founder of Hyperfocus, that logic always felt backwards.
“Throughout our careers, we kept seeing the same thing: branding didn’t have a seat at the big table,” he explains. “It was often treated as an afterthought, a visual layer applied at the end, rather than a strategic driver from the start.”
Frustration was the spark for Hyperfocus, and alongside co-founder Jan Klos, Paul launched the studio to challenge the hierarchy of traditional branding. Their aim from that start has been to bring deeply considered, creatively driven design thinking into industries where, historically, it’s been undervalued, and the result is a studio that sits comfortably between worlds.
Hyperfocus is fluent in culture and craft but focused on clarity and real-world application and, at its heart, is an intersection of brand and experience design. Their projects range from investment apps to AI platforms to recruitment startups, and their client list might feel scattered were it not for the studio’s consistent approach.
“There’s a misconception that creativity only thrives in chaos,” says Paul. “We don’t believe that. At Hyperfocus, we believe in clarity. Our process is sharp, strategic, and true to our name – hyper-focused.”
That doesn’t mean there’s no room for spontaneity or surprise. On the contrary, Paul sees creative detours as vital to the work as long as they’re grounded in a clear direction.
“We know that some of the most powerful ideas come from the unexpected. But we also believe that creating a structured, focused environment gives those ideas the space and clarity to actually land and make sense.”
This duality shows up in how the team approaches both the ‘big idea’ and the delivery details. Rather than seeing brand as a finished product, Hyperfocus treats it as a living system. Their goal is to build “brands that are client-ready – not in the sense of being finished, but in being ready to live, grow, and evolve in the real world.”
That means strong visual storytelling backed by equally strong systems. Whether it’s a living style guide, a modular design system or a frictionless Figma handover, their work is intended to empower internal teams long after launch day. “A brand shouldn’t be a plaster over a leaky tap,” Paul adds. “It should be a tool for real transformation.”
While many studios boast big ideas, fewer are built to integrate them so fully across experience and execution. That’s part of what makes Hyperfocus stand out, particularly on projects like Nimuna, an investment app built from the ground up, where the team dreamt up a whole narrative world around “The Affluent Procrastinator” and virtual orbs that changed texture with the markets. It’s design craft, user psychology, brand storytelling and product thinking all rolled into one.
Another recent highlight is Allyz by Allianz – an AI-powered global experience platform developed in partnership with service design studio DAYY. From the tone of voice and identity to interface and web design, Hyperfocus helped shape a cohesive, human-centred brand system for a deeply technical product.
“Allyz represents a seamless blend of simplicity, design elegance, and strategic storytelling,” says Paul. “It’s one of the most complete reflections of what Hyperfocus stands for.”
This depth of thinking evident in their work is backed by a studio culture that’s deliberately structured. From daily standups and sprints to Kanban boards and weekly reviews, all are part of the rhythm. It might sound methodical, but Paul sees structure as the precondition for bold creative thinking.
“Structure builds trust, and trust creates safety,” he explains. “That sense of safety gives our team and our clients the space to take creative risks, push boundaries, and do their best work.”
In fact, it’s often within these well-built frameworks that the most joyful surprises emerge.
Playfulness, Paul insists, isn’t a luxury – it’s a superpower. “Some of our most surprising and successful outcomes have come from letting go of the brief for a moment and just following a weird idea,” he says. A quote by Virgil Abloh hangs in the studio: “I make work for the 17-year-old version of myself.” That spirit – bold, rebellious, unfiltered – is one they actively nurture.
The studio’s work on Undiscovered, a rebrand of German recruitment platform MrRecruitment, shows just how transformative this approach can be. Anchored by a trusting, creatively open founder in Matthieu Ritter, Hyperfocus reimagined the brand from the ground up, turning a fairly generic name and service into something emotionally charged and culturally distinct.
Since launching, Undiscovered has won an ADC award and dramatically grown its community and reputation, proving what’s possible when a founder embraces deep, purpose-led brand thinking.
As for what’s next, Paul is clear-eyed. “We want to continue building a studio culture that empowers bold thinking, diverse perspectives, and truly meaningful work,” he says. That means partnering with organisations serious about transformation, from ambitious startups to legacy institutions ready for change. He’s particularly excited about working in sectors where branding can make a tangible impact: health, education, sustainability and fintech, among them.
It’s a refreshing take in an industry that can sometimes lose itself in surface-level polish. For Hyperfocus, good design isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about alignment, clarity and the kind of storytelling that makes you feel something.
“We’re drawn to the misrepresented, the wanderers, the ones who see the world a little differently,” says Paul. “There’s definitely a bit of that in both Jan and me, and we’ve built Hyperfocus as a place to nurture that mindset.”
Perhaps the studio’s secret sauce is that ability to blend strategic thinking and emotional instinct, delivering brands that don’t just perform but resonate. In a landscape full of noise, Hyperfocus is building something with real depth.
