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We talked with illo about colour, systems, and keeping motion human
The article emphasizes the importance of a systematic approach to design, particularly in motion graphics, where color and intention play crucial roles in storytelling. For brand strategy, this means prioritizing a cohesive visual language that resonates emotionally with audiences, rather than merely focusing on aesthetics. By integrating motion as a core element of branding, companies can create more engaging and memorable experiences.
Mindsparkle: illo Torino, Italy DATE August 08, 2026 EDITOR Mindsparkle Mag We talked with illo about colour, systems, and keeping motion human For thirteen years, illo has been turning complicated ideas into something you can feel at a glance. The Italian studio — motion, illustration and brand systems in equal measure — began in a kitchen under the gloriously unpronounceable name ilenoliukgo, and set out to be international from day one. Today its bright, geometric, unmistakably warm visual language runs across some of the world’s biggest brands.But illo has never been only about how things look.
The studio thinks in systems rather than styles, treats colour as narrative rather than decoration, and has spent years arguing — quietly, through the work — that motion is a design discipline, not a finishing touch.
Along the way it spun off Algo, its data-driven animation branch (independent since 2015), and kept carving out room for self-initiated experiments like the beloved Tarot-o-bot.We sat down with illo to talk pizza margherita and 24-hour fermentation, why a circle is just a circle until you give it intention, what clients still get wrong about motion — and the one part of the process they’ll never hand to a machine.✜ You once compared your design approach to a pizza margherita — simple, iconic, limited ingredients.
If illo were a different Italian dish today, what would it be?→ We like to think that over the years we've held onto our core, made of mozzarella, tomato sauce, leavened dough, and a few basil leaves. Obviously in these 13 years we've grown, evolved, added new services and new team members, but we like to think we've kept that simplicity and clarity that always set us apart.
Maybe the pizza is a little more refined now, the kind with 24h+ natural fermentation and carefully selected DOP tomatoes, but even as the structure gets more complex, the result is still super easy to enjoy :)✜ illo started in a small kitchen and now works with some of the biggest brands in the world. What’s something about your early days that still shapes how you run the studio today?→ From the very beginning, we set out to position ourselves as an international studio which meant never limiting ourselves to the Italian market and building a global presence from day one.
We also placed a lot of value on studio culture, trying to create a work environment that respects the time and the people working with us. And no less important, our own brand identity (even though back in that kitchen we went by an unpronounceable name, ilenoliukgo). With time we've always carved out space to create something just for ourselves, like our Tarot-o-bot!✜ Many studios talk about “style”. illo seems to talk more about systems. Do you see style as a by-product of thinking rather than the goal?→ We believe that style and system aren't opposites, and honestly we don't think about them separately.
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The article discusses a systematic approach to motion design in branding, which is significant for the industry and offers actionable insights for brand strategy professionals, though the concepts of color and visual language are not entirely new.