When we talk about building a brand, we’re not always talking about a logo or a tagline. Sometimes, we’re talking about reshaping an entire way of thinking about cities, about people, and about belonging. Oman Think Urban (OTU) wasn’t built in a boardroom. It was shaped in harats, in field notes, in misaligned meetings and messy conversations, in silence, in tension and ultimately, in trust.
Using Eynath’s ethnographic methodology, we didn’t start with color palettes or slogans. We started by listening. To architects. To students. To people who live in places that are barely mapped. To those who had something to say but didn’t think anyone would care to hear it.
That’s what made OTU different from the start. It wasn’t just a consultancy it became a movement. A hybrid between a think tank and a practice, OTU evolved as a Center of Excellence in Human-Centered Planning. But more importantly, it became a brand rooted in values that came from real ground, not corporate decks. Every touchpoint from strategy to structure was designed not to impress, but to connect.
Today, OTU is being featured in an upcoming international publication focused on brand development through ethnographic research. And yet, the work is still raw. Still real. It’s still being written through lived experiences, urban fieldwork, and an unapologetically local lens. That’s the beauty of it. No polish, no perfection. Just purpose.
Branding that didn’t start with design. It started with belonging.
