With counterforms and negative space, Hymn’s reimagined brand for RTS Tataki goes ‘outside the box’ — The Brand Identity – Home of the Greatest in Graphic & Brand Design

In Romandie, the French-speaking region of Switzerland, everyone knows Tataki. As their tagline exclaims – TATAKI EST PARTOUT (TATAKI IS EVERYWHERE). Named after a speedy method of preparing cooked fish, this popular digital media platform for 15-25-year-olds offers fresh, fast-paced content about urban life, pop culture, and fashion. What everyone may have missed is that it’s distributed by public service broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), the sole French national channel in Switzerland. That is, until now. Following their major revamp (in collaboration with design agency Hymn), RTS were eager to highlight Tataki as part of their broadcasting family, and the Lausanne-based design agency was the go-to choice in crafting the rebrand of the sibling company.

Hymn, working in tandem with thse RTS design team, had to find the right balance in their approach – highlight Tataki’s position in the media landscape (funded by the TV license fee) and its connection with RTS, while preserving the brand equity and the core spirit of the Tataki world. For starters, they redesigned Tataki’s logo, and the RTS box (logo) was added to the corner of a new wordmark, connecting it to the broader RTS visual system.

The cornerstone of the design strategy was ‘typography with a dual identity,’ where Hymn worked with newglyph’s Ian Party on a customised version of the RTS Neue typeface (RTS’ bespoke typeface), which features throughout the identity. “By introducing counterforms and altering the shape of the characters,” explains Founder & Creative Director Alexandre Henriques, “we created a visual contrast that stands out – an identity within an identity.”

Created from the negative space around the letters, the inflated jagged geometric shapes, while near-illegible, provide a recognisable stamp for the brand, creating continuity with the parent brand while aligning with Tataki’s personality, “ensuring it remains relevant and appealing to its young, digital-native audience.”

This experimental use of negative space and counterforms feeds into the rest of the visual language, with a flexible and dynamic design system that could adapt across various formats, from static print materials to fast-moving motion design. “The use of negative space, combined with the interplay of geometric forms, created a distinctive visual language that feels modern and alive while maintaining a connection to the broader RTS family,” Henriques adds. “It ensured that the brand had a unique identity but could still be recognised as part of a larger media entity, effortlessly blending independence with cohesion.” This is further reinforced by using a chunky outline as an identity marker – “It is ultimately a straightforward and powerful element that can be applied to all messages, even the simplest ones on social networks.”

Tataki’s signature yellow, energy and rebellious spirit are retained, anchored in a streetwear-aligned aesthetic. “Beyond the colour,” says Henriques, “we introduced a typographic play that feels raw and unpolished, similar to street art or graffiti, while still keeping it polished enough to be professional.” He continues that Hymn designed the overall look and feel to evoke the same bold, expressive style you’d find in street fashion (“dynamic, youthful, and cutting-edge”). “The target audience is sensitive to fashion and, in particular, to streetwear, so Tataki is a brand they identify with,” he concludes.