In March 2025, the Detach team reached out to me in need for a rebranding. Their existing one was not meeting their expectation for launch and they wanted something a bit more playful and memorable. Say no more! I am all about playful and memorable xD.

Specifically, Detach is a phone app (iOS only for launch) that allows users to block the apps they want to stop overusing. By using a blend of psychology and gamification the app offers challenges to gradually learn to control our own phone inner demons and achieve a healthier and more balanced online life.

Initially, i went and explore a complex brand idea that revolved around the coexistance of two different realities: one reality where the user would live phone free, a life of color and happiness; another reality, where the user would keep being addicted to their phones and doomscroll, hence end up in the doomscroll reality, grey, sad and devoid of any life or happiness. After convening with the team for an early review, we quickly decided to smoothen the dualism a bit, so that the message was not too negative and desperate for phone users. We removed the concept of the dual world, but introduced another concept..

We quickly realigned, kept what was working in the early explorations (colors, funky tone, overall look and feel), and expanded on a different storyline that the users could resonate more. We identified the spirit animal of the iPhone addict: the Raccoon, and created a brand around it.

The Detach universe is a world where the users are represented by Raccoons. Not inherently wrong or evil, but extremely chaotic and with very low self control. Funny, quirky, unpredictable and irremediably addicted to their phones.

We identified a strong symbol that could carry the brand forward in the spiral. Symbol of confusion and addiction, that we depicted on a raccoon face for the main mark.

Once we identified the right direction for the brand, we hunkered down and delivered all necessary assets to make the brand alive. Stickers, Illustrations, branded guidelines, MORE STICKERS, and so much more.

We spent quite a lot of time refining the raccoon world, defining its key characteristics. We created an immersive, colorful reality where those funny furry weirdos could carry on their life with or without their phones.

Obviously no one would take our racoons seriously without a proper website in 2025, so we took care of that too. You can check the website live on https://www.detach-app.de/

Last but not least, the core product and service of Detach, the iOS app. Will be on the Appstore in a few months :) Apart from the entire UI of it, we also designed animated racoon head states for the dashboard, that reflect immediately the amount of screentime the user has had in the day depending on how confused the racoons get.

All in all, the rebranding was very well perceived by the team and by the users, and we keep collaborating with the Detach team on other projects to keep building this amazing and quirky universe.

Unmissable shoutouts to Mary Delaney https://www.flymaryfly.com/ For the amazing illustrations Arsen Airyan For the animations and the reel Hrach Shahverdyan For Webflow Development