Toia brand creation

Toia (touch in action) are creators of haptic technology software that is set to revolutionise the world of virtual reality. The potential of VR is in its infancy and just being realised with haptic technology being the missing sense of touch that will truly create life-like virtual experiences.

The challenge

With an exciting product in development and a need to attract investment, Toia (originally SimuSolve) were looking to create a more consumer-facing brand that would enable them to evolve beyond their scientific and medical heritage, and to easily communicate the incredible possibilities of haptic technology.

The insight

There is a unique opportunity for Toia to be established as the name synonymous with haptics and VR. The software is very much behind-the-scenes as far as the VR experience is concerned and in the future end users might not ever be aware that Toia exists or what it does. For example they might see the logo while a game is loading, but probably not much more than that.

Toia will enable designers and developers of VR simulations to make even more immersive experiences. In order to appeal to potential buyers and investors right across the spectrum, the identity not only needed to show the technology’s potential, but it also needed to spark excitement with the bigger picture of what it means to be able to realise touch in a virtual world. How this is a truly extraordinary leap in the potential of VR and as human beings, how important the sense of touch really is in the affirmation of something becoming a reality.

The solution

With these insights in mind, we embarked on a brand definition and naming exercise. After much searching and deliberating, Toia was born. A pleasant-sounding word, easy to say, and a contraction of ‘touch in action’, which is really what Toia is all about.

We brought Toia to life with an identity that plays on the idea of the unreal becoming real and questions our knowledge of what reality actually is. The meeting of worlds and the idea of other dimensions, of reaching through the merely audiovisual to also experience touch. This was complemented with the strapline “feeling is believing”. The one-page website focussed on the endless possibilities of haptics and employs imagery and footage of familiar experiences or textures that demonstrate the importance of touch for something to seem real, which developers and investors can relate to.

The impact

The site went live last week (toia.tech) to a warm reception from the team. Working with Toia is a glimpse of the future for the mark-making* team, and we’re incredibly excited to see how things develop for them in the coming months. Watch this space.