Otarie is a digital studio founded in 2021 by Yanis and Jérémy. Their friendship began on stage, as they were both actors during their studies. Today they have come together again, not geographically (one lives in the Centre-Val de Loire and the other in Brittany) but around a shared ambition: helping people in concrete ways through digital.
When I arrived, the studio had little online presence and its positioning was unclear. The website highlighted custom web development, while the founders were already thinking about focusing on their own tool.
I worked directly with Yanis and Jérémy, the two founders, to understand their vision, clarify their offer and build a communication strategy that reflects who they are.
Research & process
I started by analysing the existing communication: social media, LinkedIn profiles, posts and statistics. Otarie had little visibility and its personality didn’t come through in its content. The two Instagram accounts were barely active, the studio didn’t post on LinkedIn and had no online portfolio.
I then ran a benchmark of development studios, both local and national, to compare their positioning and the way they present their services.
Alongside this, I talked with Yanis and Jérémy. Their offer was still evolving during my internship: websites, a business tool, digital support… So I took part in the discussions to clarify what Otarie really wanted to offer, and to whom.
Communication strategy
The main gap was between the way they worked and the way they communicated. In person, the founders were approachable, straightforward and close to their partners. In writing, the studio used colder, more technical language.
To assert their place and stand out, their content had to reflect their personality. I built an editorial charter to define their tone, their topics and the way they speak to partners.
Three main themes emerged:
- Behind the scenes at the studio
- Partners’ stories
- Explaining digital in simple terms.
I also recommended merging the two Instagram accounts and posting the same content on Instagram and LinkedIn, without trying to adopt a different tone on each network.
The idea was to keep the communication human and consistent, with one post a week to stay compatible with their workload.
Art direction
The visual identity had to be created from scratch. It had to reflect the personalities of the two founders and keep the studio’s human side.
Each colour has a meaning specific to Otarie: burgundy evokes the theatre curtain, orange and yellow the human side, petrol blue the Breton ocean and lime green the countryside of the Centre-Val de Loire.
The chosen typeface conveys the studio’s energy while referencing La Linea, a personal reference of Jérémy’s. Its geometric shapes were then reused to create patterns built into the design system.
The result is a warm, colourful and accessible identity, with a few playful touches that help the studio stand out without losing its credibility. I then applied these elements to first mock-ups of posts, LinkedIn profiles and a portfolio.
Result
The editorial charter was finalised and approved with the two founders. It lays the foundations of their communication: tone, vocabulary, topics, social media and the way they present their activities.
I also helped roll out Acacia, their internal management tool, with several partners. I presented the features to the teams, prepared follow-up booklets with goals at 3 days, 7 days, 21 days and 1 month, then created video tutorials built into the app.
Some recommendations remain avenues to explore. The project let me take part in a studio’s strategic thinking, from its positioning to the way it supports its partners. In five weeks, I was able to follow how their offer evolved and help clarify their goals.
