Koto Helps Restaurant Discovery App Franki Make Time Dance

Creative Boom: News Branding Koto helps restaurant-discovery app Franki make time dance The global design studio has given the social restaurant-discovery app a warm, yellow-soaked identity built on one deceptively simple idea: make "time" itself dance. Written By: Katy Cowan 22 July 2026 You know that hangry moment? When you're standing on a street corner, phone in hand, three chat threads open, everyone hungry and nobody willing to commit and pick the place? Deciding where to eat has somehow become a modern headache. That's the very dilemma that Franki, a social restaurant-discovery and rewards app, is trying to tackle.

And it's just been given a brand to match by global creative studio Koto. Founded by Eugene Varricchio and Nick Bennett, Franki began in Austin in 2020 before expanding out. The idea is pretty simple: short-form video recommendations from real local diners, a bit of personalised discovery, and cash back when you actually turn up. How it works is you activate an offer, pay with a linked card and earn rewards, then earn a little more when your own recommendation gets someone else through the door. A win-win situation. Restaurants get something out of it, too.

Instead of paying upfront for impressions or clicks, businesses only pay when Franki connects a piece of content to a real visit and transaction. This makes it a "merchant-funded, performance-based" alternative to traditional advertising, and it closes the loop between discovery, content, purchase and attribution. (Why didn't we think of that?) So basically, the recommendation you leave doesn't just disappear into the feed; it gives back. The trouble is, this is a crowded corner of the internet.

Franki needed a brand that could hold its own against the likes of Google, Tripadvisor and Yelp, plus the growing wave of video-first discovery apps all after the same attention. It also had a trickier problem: how do you sell the joy of an app-only experience before someone's even downloaded it? And once they have, how do you give them a reason to keep coming back, keep posting, and keep the whole thing moving? Turning discovery into a good time Koto's answer was founded on a deceptively simple line: "make time dance".

Because if time is the real currency of the experience economy, the thinking goes, then Franki is there to help you spend it well. It's the insider mate who always knows where to go, when to go and what's worth telling people about. Crucially, it doesn't assume everyone moves to the same beat. It just reckons everyone deserves an easier route to the places and moments that feel right for them. That idea reframes taking part, too. Every post and recommendation, every good night out adds something back to the wider community and helps the next person find a good time of their own.

The verbal identity takes its cue from the Jester archetype: lively, open and never too pleased with itself. Franki's voice swaps exclusivity and expertise for warmth, wit and honesty, widening the circle of who gets to be in the know rather than guarding the door. Bringing "make time dance" to life The visual identity turns that line into a system full of warmth, rhythm and movement. Optimistic yellow, warm curvy type, playful language and energetic motion all pull in the same direction, making Franki feel alert, sociable and ready for whatever's next. At its heart sits a joyful symbol that works as visual shorthand for being in the know.

Article truncated for readability. Read the full piece →

The rebranding of a restaurant discovery app by a design agency showcases significant industry implications and innovative strategies, making it relevant and novel for brand strategy professionals.