Koto’s Tom Hostler on why tech brands have stopped feeling distinctive

The Brand Identity: Consumer electronics is one of the few sectors where the future still arrives in physical form, but for Tom Hostler, Chief Digital Officer at Koto, that hasn’t stopped the category from feeling oddly uniform. Phones, laptops, smart speakers and wearables have been optimised to a point where industrial design, software patterns and marketing language increasingly converge – and the result, he argues, is a sea of technically capable products that struggle to feel distinct. Hostler joined Koto in 2024, bringing two decades of digital thinking to a studio renowned for its branding work.

From Koto’s London office, he makes the case for why brand, interface and behaviour now have to be designed as one system, why ecosystems need to mean something beyond seamlessness and why the next generation of tech brands will be defined by behaviour as much as form. TBI Hey Tom, great to chat with you again. How are you doing? TH I’m very well, thanks! It's great to be back here again. TBI What excites you most about consumer electronics right now? TH Consumer electronics still feels like one of the few sectors where the future regularly turns up in physical form. Most industries talk about innovation in abstract terms.

In consumer tech, you can actually hold it in your hand or have it in your home. There is also a real tension in the category right now. We’ve had decades of optimisation in laptops, phones and connected devices, so on one level, many products feel mature, even standardised. At the same time, though, new behaviours are emerging around AI, ambient computing, wearables and smarter homes. We’re in a fascinating moment where the technology is moving again, even if the branding often hasn’t caught up. The most interesting questions are no longer purely technical either. We know companies can make thinner, lighter, faster devices.

The more difficult challenge is deciding what these products are actually for in people’s lives. Are they helping us work, create, rest, move, connect, monitor our health, manage our homes? The real opportunity is defining that and sticking to it. For a creative company, that’s exciting because it means the competitive edge increasingly sits in how a product is positioned and experienced. Hardware still matters, of course, but brand and digital experience are the difference between innovation that feels meaningful and or just technically impressive. The sector isn’t short of innovation.

It’s short of conviction. The sector isn’t short of innovation. It’s short of conviction. TBI Despite having innovative products, why do so many consumer electronics brands feel so similar? TH Because the sector has become extremely good at solving for usability, performance and scale – and not nearly as good at protecting distinctiveness while doing it. Over time, whole categories have converged around the same assumptions that minimal design equals premium and less friction equals better experience. Brands have let product specs do most of the selling. You can see it in personal devices, especially.

Laptops, phones and tablets have been optimised over the years to the point where their industrial design is increasingly standardised. Keyboard placement, screen ratios, speaker placement, camera cut-outs – much of it now follows familiar patterns because those patterns work. However, that removal of friction also removes many of the moments where character and individuality can show up. The same thing has happened digitally. A lot of software, eCommerce and product interfaces are now built from the same interaction patterns and design systems. They’re efficient, but they also flatten identity.

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The article addresses a significant issue in the tech branding landscape, highlighting the need for emotional connection and cohesive brand experiences, which is highly relevant for brand strategy professionals.