What is antibrand?

antibrand is a small independent studio in India. We make art and small tools you can finish in about ten minutes, then put down. Right now that means Color with Words, a painting that colors in while you talk to it, and Cat Census, a game where a crowd of cats shows you how everyone else answered.

Where the word comes from

The idea of being against brands is older than we are. In the late 1980s the magazine Adbusters started rewriting ads to say what they were really selling. In 1999 Naomi Klein's No Logo made the case that companies had stopped selling things and started selling identities. Around the same time a Japanese shop called Muji built a famous brand out of having no brand at all. Its name roughly translates to no-brand quality goods.

Anti-branding has meant a lot of things since then: protest, plain packaging, a marketing trick. Plenty of brands now call themselves anti-brands, which is its own small joke.

What we mean by it

We're less interested in fighting logos than in how most apps treat your time. They want more of it every day. Streaks punish you for missing one. Feeds have no bottom. Notifications are written to make you feel a little behind.

So we try to make the opposite. Each thing we make has an end you can reach. Nothing nags you to come back. Your progress never goes backwards. You're only ever compared with yourself, and with a few cats.

How it works in practice

• Small and finished. One odd idea at a time, made properly, then left alone.
• Paid plainly. Color with Words is a monthly subscription after the first painting. Cat Census is a single one-time purchase. No ads and no selling your data.
• Built for people who think out loud, learn languages, love paintings or just want a better ten minutes than another scroll.

Say hello

antibrand lives at antibrand.in. If you'd like to write to the person behind it, the address is [email protected].