Hot Pepper Studios

Most of the work at Hot Pepper Studios comes from nonprofits, foundations and public bodies, and the studio builds it around a clear belief: that an organization can add a public benefit to what it already does. Its brand, web and video projects are designed for that purpose, and the studio argues that older branding models no longer fit audiences who move between many devices and expect authenticity.

Strategy for audiences on many devices

The strategy work covers how an audience will connect with a brand across devices and screen sizes, and how community engagement and mobile habits should shape the plan. The studio's method is to ask first how people actually reach a piece of content, then to design for that route. Its design and development is described as jargon-free and accessible, and it is built for a range of screen sizes from the start.

Social good as a working practice

Its own initiatives include social-good hackathons, IoT labs and the WebVisions conference, which the studio launched. These projects are how Hot Pepper encourages other organizations to make social good part of everyday work. Its labs have produced experimental work of their own, among it a project that writes poetry for robots, an app called HappyApp and a robot character named Chad.

Video and motion storytelling

The video and motion work draws on a long history of visual storytelling, which the studio traces from early motion studies to the immersive, multi-path stories of today. Its films are built to inspire and hold an audience, and the same method is applied to motion graphics for organizations that need to explain complex work.

Past clients in public and nonprofit work

Named work includes projects for Junior Achievement and for a Kellogg foundation, a Washington State salmon recovery program, the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts and the Opportunity Agenda. Other listed work is for organizations focused on forensic evidence, end-of-life choice, community health and recreation, which shows the range of causes the studio has served.