Brand Identity & Physical Environments
The space between what
your brand has become
and what your environment still says.
Strategy Drives Design
— Nick Ristić, Principal, OneTwoSix
Point of view
Most institutions treat the physical environment as a design decision. It is a strategic one. The branch, the store, the office — these are the places where brand promise either lands or quietly fails. The gap between what an institution has become and what its spaces still say is almost always larger than anyone inside it realises. Closing that gap is where we work.
Selected Work
Every project
starts with a specific brief.
The Evolving Bank Branch
For years, we've been told that digital banking is replacing the branch. It isn't. What digital banking is doing is changing the purpose of the branch.
As more transactions move to mobile and online channels, the branch becomes even more valuable. It becomes the place where trust is built, advice is given, relationships are strengthened and brands become tangible. That changes the role of the physical environment. Every customer visit carries greater significance, and every branch has to work harder to communicate confidence, professionalism and care.
That's where OneTwoSix comes in. We don't simply design bank interiors. We translate brand strategy into customer experience, creating environments that reflect changing customer behaviour and support the evolving role of the branch.
The projects that follow chart that evolution — from launching new banking brands, to repositioning established institutions, integrating merged organisations and reimagining the branch for the digital age. What follows isn't a list of installations. It's the same argument, told four ways: launch, reposition, integrate, reimagine.
Nigeria
United Bank for Africa
Premium Banking Environment · Retail Branch Design
Following its merger with Standard Trust Bank, UBA needed a branch network as ambitious as its growth. OneTwoSix built the design platform behind it, including a dedicated Premium Banking format for affluent customers.
Read the full case study →
Nigeria
Access Bank
Branch Environment Design · Self-Service Format
Years before self-service became standard, OneTwoSix designed a branch built around digital independence rather than teller queues, a concept the market would later catch up to.
Read the full case study →
Kenya
NCBA Bank
Post-Merger Brand Integration · Branch Design System
The CBA–NIC merger created one of East Africa's largest banks. OneTwoSix designed the branch network that made the new NCBA brand tangible for customers and staff from day one.
Read the full case study →
Kenya
Commercial Bank of Africa
Brand Repositioning · Retail Environment Design
When Commercial Bank of Africa repositioned as CBA, the retail network carried that shift into every branch, from architecture to signage, built to feel modern, accessible and unmistakably new.
Read the full case study →
Kenya
Diamond Trust Bank
Branch Design · Physical Environment
As digital channels absorbed routine banking, OneTwoSix redesigned DTB's branches for a different job: building trust, advice and relationships.
Read the full case study →
South Africa
8ta / Telkom Mobile
Retail Environment Design · Format Architecture
Launched as Telkom's bold new mobile challenger, 8ta needed stores that felt nothing like a telecoms shop. The retail rollout became one of the most visible signals of the brand's arrival.
Read the full case study →What we do
Four capabilities.
One integrated brief.
We don't hand off between strategy and design. The same thinking that shapes the brand positioning shapes the space the customer walks into. That continuity is where the work gets interesting.
Business strategy translated into brand. We work from the inside out — understanding what an institution has become before deciding what it should say.
Identity systems built to hold at scale. Logos, typography, colour, graphic language, and signage designed to work across hundreds of locations without becoming generic.
Branch design, retail interiors, QSR environments, corporate headquarters. Spaces that express brand character, not just accommodate function.
Flow planning, spatial resolution, new-build and refurbishment. Architectural thinking that starts with brand intent and ends with spaces that work for everyone in them.
What clients say
The work earns
the conversation.
"We were pleased with the outcome of the project for the business, and the positive responses received from our customers and staff alike. Nick was always prepared to go beyond the confines of the appointment to deliver additional value and insights over the project's lifetime."
Isaac Awuondo
Chairman, NCBA Bank Kenya PLC
"OneTwoSix's designs for our bank branches have been nothing short of remarkable. Their ability to infuse fresh and modern aesthetics into each branch, while maintaining a focus on spaciousness and functionality, has greatly enhanced the overall customer experience."
James Loden
Chief Operating Officer, Diamond Trust Bank Kenya
"The innovative and contemporary design produced was aligned with the brand values, as well as the vision and operational changes required to complement the future functioning of the bank's branches."
Rosalind Gichuru
Director Marketing & Communication, KCB Group
"Our collaboration with Nick and his team on the redesign of a local QSR brand was refreshing, and the outcome was wonderful. His insights and ability to interpret our vision were excellent, he and his team took time to understand market dynamics."
Philip Carolan
Business Development, ADP
Where we work
Experience built
in growth markets.
Growth markets share a characteristic: institutions expand faster than their environments follow. That gap is consistent across East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. So is our methodology.
Operating from Zagreb and Johannesburg, we deliver at a standard comparable to the best European consultancies, at economics that make sense for the markets where we work.
- East Africa — Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia
- West Africa — Nigeria, Ghana
- Southern Africa — South Africa, Namibia, Botswana
- Middle East — UAE
- South Asia — Pakistan
- Central Asia — Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan
- Europe — Germany, Croatia
- South America — Brazil
Sectors
Branch networks, post-acquisition integration, new market entry, format design.
Forecourt and C-store design, rolled out across multi-site fuel retail networks.
View case study →Quick-service restaurant brand environments. Efficiency, identity, experience.
Head office environments that express institutional culture and brand character.
If you are reading this,
there is probably a brief worth talking about.
We don't pitch cold. We start with a conversation — about the institution, the market, and what the environment needs to do. If there's a fit, it becomes apparent quickly.
Start a conversationZagreb, Croatia
Dedići, 10000, Zagreb
+385 99 163 3550
Sandton, Johannesburg
South Africa
Noordhoek, Cape Town
South Africa
Nick Ristić — Principal
B.Arch (WITS) · Dip. Management (GIMT)
MBA (Henley Business School)
Entrepreneurs' Organisation member since 2008
