MOMO | leafindex-designlab

"MOMO"BRAND IDENTITY

identity direction
for MOMO Ceramics (China)
year 2024

MOMO began as a handmade mosaic tile maker, later expanding into large-format tiles (600×600mm to 600×1200mm) and earning recognition as a craftsmanship-driven, R&D-focused manufacturer — distinct from the mass-market positioning common in the category. As the brand grew, its visual identity stayed rooted in a local, domestic tone that no longer matched where the company was heading, both within China's increasingly demanding market and internationally.

MOMO approached us for a visual identity upgrade. In the course of that conversation, it became clear the real gap wasn't only visual — the product range itself had never been structured in a way that could carry an international-facing brand. We proposed expanding the scope beyond identity alone to include a categorization framework for part of the product line, which the client agreed to take on alongside the visual refresh.

At the core of the identity is a deliberate contradiction. The Chinese mark, 墨墨原创, is built entirely from dots forming straight strokes — no diagonals, no curves. The English mark, MOMO, is built the opposite way — its "M" from four diagonal strokes, its "O" from four curved arcs. Two opposing construction logics, sharing the same pronunciation. That tension is the point: it embodies the brand's core idea of diversity held together by cohesion — elements that look nothing alike, resolving into one identity. A secondary graphic device, OWOW — MOMO rotated 180 degrees — extends this system across materials and surfaces, deliberately kept as a supporting element rather than a second logo.

The identity was then carried through at scale — applied consistently across a 215-page master catalogue spanning multiple product series, and into real-world touchpoints including the brand's showroom entry signing ceremony at China's ceramics and bathroom industry headquarters in January 2025.

Scope: Brand identity system (logo construction, naming rationale, supporting graphic device), product categorization framework (partial), large-scale catalogue design and layout execution (215 pages), launch collateral

MOMO 从手工马赛克起家，这几年逐步发展到600×600至600×1200规格的大板产品，也在市场上建立起工匠精神、注重研发的形象定位，跟行业里常见的商业化、量产化调性不太一样。但随着品牌规模扩大，原本的视觉形象却还停留在比较本土化的调性，跟公司在中国市场和国际市场的发展方向已经不太匹配。

MOMO最初找到我们时，要的是品牌视觉识别的升级。沟通过程中我们发现，真正的差距不只在视觉层面——产品线本身此前也从未被梳理成一套能够支撑国际化品牌形象的结构。我们提出把服务范围从单纯的视觉升级，扩大到为部分产品线建立分类框架，客户也同意在视觉焕新之外一并推进这项工作。

这套识别系统的核心，是一个刻意设计的矛盾。中文标志"墨墨原创"完全由点构成的直线组成——没有斜线，没有弧线；英文标志"MOMO"则完全相反——M由四条斜线组成，O由四个弧角组成。两套截然相反的构成逻辑，却拥有相同的发音。这个张力正是设计的用意所在：它体现了品牌"多元却高度融合"的核心理念——看似毫不相干的元素，最终统一成一个识别系统。辅助图形"OWOW"——把MOMO整体旋转180度而来——延续了这套逻辑，被有意保留为一个辅助元素，而不是升级成第二个标志。

这套识别系统之后被完整应用到一本涵盖多个产品系列、共215页的大型综合目录，也落地到真实的品牌场景中——包括2025年1月，MOMO在中国陶瓷卫浴总部举行的品牌展厅进驻签约仪式相关物料。

工作范围：品牌识别系统（标志构成逻辑、命名释义、辅助图形系统）、部分产品线分类框架建立、大型综合目录设计与排版执行（215页）、发布物料

TOP

"MOMO" CATEGORIZATION

CATEGORIZATION

product categorization
for MOMO Ceramics (China)
year 2024

By the time we proposed this framework, MOMO's master catalogue already existed — a 215-page document organized product-by-product, without an overarching category logic tying the range together. Rather than retrofitting the existing catalogue, we proposed something forward-looking: a top-level categorization system designed not just for the products MOMO already had, but for the direction the brand was expanding toward.

We defined five categories, each built around a distinct material inspiration and paired with an original geometric symbol: Classic Premium (原石美岩), inspired by raw stone and volcanic rock formations; Wood Impression (原木印象), inspired by natural timber and forest textures — the category the Colonnade series belongs under; Industrial Enlightenment (创意新材), inspired by architectural facades and industrial material innovation; Nature Inspiration (自然灵感), inspired by organic natural forms; and Thematics Expression (人文创想), inspired by cultural and historical motifs. Each category's symbol, name, and reference imagery were developed entirely in-house — not adapted from existing brand assets.

The intent was structural, not decorative: a framework MOMO could grow into as new product lines were introduced, rather than one that would need to be rebuilt each time the catalogue expanded.

Scope: Top-level product categorization system (5 categories), original naming and conceptual direction for each category, symbol system design, forward-looking framework for future product expansion

我们提出这套框架的时候，MOMO 的综合目录（Master Catalogue）其实已经做完了——那是一本215页、按单品逐一排列的画册，没有一套统摄全局的分类逻辑把整个产品线串起来。我们没有选择回头去改造这本已完成的目录，而是提出了一个更往前看的方案：一套不只是为了整理现有产品，更是为了给品牌未来的产品扩张方向做出规划的顶层分类框架。

我们定义了五个类别，每个类别都对应一个独特的材质灵感来源，并配上一个原创的几何符号：原石美岩 Classic Premium，灵感来自原石与火山岩地貌；原木印象 Wood Impression，灵感来自天然木材与林间纹理——"楹 Colonnade"系列正是归属在这个类别之下；创意新材 Industrial Enlightenment，灵感来自建筑立面与工业材质创新；自然灵感 Nature Inspiration，灵感来自有机自然形态；人文创想 Thematics Expression，灵感来自人文历史意象。每个类别的符号、命名与参考意象，全部由我们原创完成，不是延用品牌现有素材改编而来。

这套框架的设计初衷是结构性的，而不是装饰性的——目的是让 MOMO 未来每次扩充新产品线时，都有一套现成的逻辑可以往里放，而不必每次都重新构建分类系统。

工作范围：顶层产品分类系统（5大类）、每个类别的原创命名与概念方向、符号系统设计、面向未来产品扩张的前瞻性框架

TOP

"COLONNADE" PRODUCT BROCHURE

CONCEPTUALIZATION

product brochures
for MOMO (China)
year 2024

Beyond the master catalogue, MOMO needed its wood-toned tile range organized as a standalone series with its own identity — distinct enough to stand on its own, but still legible as part of the MOMO family. The series name, Colonnade (楹), was established by the client's existing team, drawing on the columns of traditional Chinese architecture — solid, structural, quietly enduring.

What we were brought in to solve was different: the products within this series had no clear internal categorization logic. Different textures and finishes sat together without structure — difficult for the client to manage by product code internally, and difficult for anyone choosing between them externally. We divided the series into three sub-collections based on surface character: Pier (栈) for the straight wood-grain finish, Weave (梯) for the woven, cane-like texture, and Groove (槽) for the carved, fluted surface — each with its own coding system (MC / MG / OM) to keep the range navigable as it grows.

The second half of the brochure moves away from a product-by-product listing and organizes instead by application — bathroom, living room, bedroom, dining and kitchen, and commercial spaces — showing how the three textures combine on floor and wall within a single room. The logic behind this: neither a designer nor a homeowner thinks in product codes when specifying a space. They think room-first, material-second — so the categorization needed to follow that logic, not the warehouse's.

Scope: Sub-collection categorization framework, product coding system, brochure structure and application-based layout, copywriting
(Series name "Colonnade" and its conceptual origin were established by the client's existing team prior to our involvement.)

在总目录之外，MOMO 需要把旗下的原木纹瓷砖单独整理成一个系列，让它既有自己的识别度，又能清楚归属在 MOMO 这个母品牌之下。"楹"这个系列名称由客户原有团队命名，取自中国传统建筑中的柱子，象征稳固与传承。

我们接手后要处理的问题是：这个系列底下的产品，此前并没有一套清晰的内部分类逻辑——不同纹理、不同工艺的原木砖混在一起，既不利于客户内部管理型号，也不利于对外呈现选择逻辑。我们按照表面质感与工艺特征，把整个系列重新划分为三个子系列：栈 Pier（直纹原木面）、梯 Weave（编织纹理面）、槽 Groove（拉槽雕刻面），并为每个子系列建立独立的编号体系（MC / MG / OM），让产品线在未来扩充时依然保持清楚可查。

手册的后半部分，我们没有按产品逐一罗列，而是按空间应用场景重新编排——浴室、客厅、卧室、餐厨、商业空间,分别展示三种纹理如何在地面与墙面上组合使用。这个编排逻辑背后的判断是：无论是设计师还是屋主，实际选材时想的从来不是"这块砖叫什么型号"，而是"我这个空间该怎么搭"——所以分类要跟着使用者的思考方式走，不是跟着仓库的编号逻辑走。

工作范围：子系列分类框架建立、产品编号体系规划、手册结构与应用场景编排、文案撰写
（系列命名"楹 Colonnade"及概念定位延用客户原有团队成果）