Change is good.

Yadda is now Maya.

At our Christmas meeting each year we have a team discussion to set the course for the next 12 months. It is a great time to reflect on what’s gone well and what we want to change moving forward. Last year, in amongst the usual requests for unlimited pizza and a studio hot tub, was the suggestion that we create a brand for our agency that we were all proud of.

It caught me off guard but did echo my own feelings.

Let’s go back…

Yadda was born when our founder was looking to turn his web development interest into something more professional. It reflected the fun, playful and slightly flippant nature of a young developer who was just starting his business.

As time went on Yadda grew.

New developers, designers and directors joined the team and we worked for more and more clients across a huge range of industries.

For the past few years, we have focussed on developing an in house, concept driven brand process which now sits at the very foundation of what we do and yet our own brand had stayed where it has started, which was based on a name that was created solely so that the domain name would be short.

We had a huge breadth of clients, across many industries, and as a result, didn't feel able to deliver the real meaningful results for all of our clients that we strive for.

It was clear that it was time for a change.

Whats in a name?

Like all good branding exercises, renaming ourselves forced us to look in the mirror and be really honest about ourselves. To see our insecurities , our hopes, our fears and our dreams.

And it was tough.

I am a huge believer in agencies spending as much time as possible being clients to remember how challenging it can be and to understand how easy it is to get side tracked or demotivated. Creating our new name, with such a clear goal of ensuring everyone in the team was proud of it, did at times, seem like an impossible task. Names that excited some members of the team didn't excite others and so the process went on.

Chris, our creative director was our rock through out this process and ensured we kept on track, mindful of our processes and tools and persevered.

In the end Maya, like so many good ideas, came out of left field at the 11th hour and instantly summed up what we had all been trying to achieve.

It has depth, meaning, both emotional and literal and resonated with the team as a good summary of what we do every day for our clients.

Why Maya?

Maya means many things to many cultures and people.

Literally it can be translated as “magic” but it is also a spiritual concept in multiple religions meaning “that which exists, but is constantly changing” . Like a brand.

According to Monier Williams, māyā meant “wisdom and extraordinary power”.

According to William Mahony, the root of the word may be man- or “to think”

A similar word is also found in the Avestan māyā with the meaning of “magic power”.

What it means to us.

For the team here, Maya is the ability to turn our clients visions, ideas, hopes and dreams into reality.

We are now predominantly working in 2 fields, Wellness and Hospitality.

Two sectors that we have a natural interest in and where we have a proven track record of delivering results for clients whilst having a lot of fun.

And now, as well as our in house skill sets, we have been developing relationships with some incredible creative and marketing minds to ensure we are able to tackle an even broader range of challenges for our clients, all with clear brand and digital strategy at the foundation.

To learn more about the design process behind Maya check out our post about it by Chris our creative director: Fresh Eyes.

The end of the beginning.

We have already achieved our goal for this rebrand and are really proud to be representing and building our reputation as Maya moving forward.

We are lucky enough to have some great clients, with really interesting projects for some inspiring individuals.

Change is good, come see at Maya.

Words: Adam Telford— Director