Nakatomi Acquires Field of Play to Embed Brand Design in Venture Building

Australian venture studio Nakatomi, part of production company FINCH, has acquired brand and design studio Field of Play in a move that founders believe will inject a “positive pressure” into the company.

The acquisition brings Field of Play’s brand, motion, and identity capabilities into Nakatomi’s end-to-end venture-building model. Field of Play will continue operating under its own name and continue serving its client roster in the updated model.

Nakatomi founding partner Ben Bray told LBB absorbing the brand studio “makes complete sense” for the business.

“We have the luxury and the positive pressure [of] having a clear projection to hit for our investors, but we're on a mission to consistently create [and] imagine Australia's and New Zealand's most [inventive] ventures from the ground up.

Founded in 2021, Field of Play specialises in brand systems, design, and motion, having developed brand identities for Tayga, Puresport, and Viaduct Harbour.

Founder Elliot Stansfield, now stepping into the role of head of design at Nakatomi, told LBB the studio brings “designer brand” insights to Nakatomi’s existing offering.

“It’s always a big [creative] process for most ventures -- you can't really launch without it, and often we find [brand design] is slapped on as an afterthought,” he said.

“Now, brand and design are intrinsic throughout the process, and that means everything we do works from the inside out in these businesses.”

The integration will enable Nakatomi’s venture teams to deliver “cohesive, high-impact companies that resonate with customers”.

Nakatomi founding partner Andy Timms said the move “ensures every new business the studio build is both beautiful and deeply commercial.”

“Too often, brand and product are built in isolation,” Andy said.

“Our view is that they should evolve together. By embedding Field of Play into our model, we’re creating ventures that resonate immediately with customers and scale faster.”

“For the past few years, Nakatomi has … put a lot more emphasis on venture work, to the point where that's our pure focus,” Ben said.

“Since day one, we’ve [sought] to understand the importance of brand and craft and how that forms product experiences and creates products that stick in the minds of people, because they relate to them. That thinking is common knowledge for people in the creative industries, but is often an afterthought in the technical world.

“We've been lucky enough with some ventures … that [the] foundation of the brand has allowed them to resonate with the right audiences and get the traction they deserve earlier and faster.

“Elliot has been a part of that process informally, and to have Field of Play formally part of our mission to drive new ventures and new value from a considered brand positioning perspective.”

Nakatomi, which recently raised AUD$3.5 million, believes the acquisition provides a sustainable creative engine that reduces external costs, creates new growth, and anchors the studio’s growing portfolio of in-house ventures.

The venture-building model aims to launch three to four ventures per year. The studio recently raised AUD$1.7 million for the women’s health app, Ovum AI, and also launched agri-tech start-up Ruminati.

“We now have the kind of funding and the luxury to focus on this offering,” Ben added.

“We would have loved to have done this earlier, but now we've got the resources and the combined mission to make it happen.”

Elliot added he is pleased with how Field of Play and Nakatomi’s merger has worked out, having first worked with the venture studio on its own brand identity.

“For us, this feels like a really natural step forward. It doesn't feel like a sidestep.”

With Field of Play’s “boutique” offering, the group will now deliver technology at speed without losing the “craft, intention, and taste” that makes brands iconic.

“That boutique nature really comes down to the types of clients we work with and the kinds of ventures being built at Nakatomi,” Elliot said.

“That startup mindset has spread through, and feels really familiar. It feels like a natural step towards the kinds of projects and clients we've been looking to work on.”