Welcome back to our series, Between the Guidelines, where we take a closer look at our favorite projects made with Standards, and chat with the creators about the work, the guidelines, and everything in between.

Today we’re looking at the multidisciplinary and decidedly vibrant creative co-op MamboMambo and speaking with one of their Co-Creative Directors, Guillaume Beaulieu.

Bringing a new perspective on creativity and collaboration to Quebec.

Having just celebrated their 10-year anniversary, MamboMambo has well established themselves as an innovative and optimistic creative studio in Canada. In that time, they’ve completed over a hundred projects working across brand, print, and both web design and development.

With a mission focused on collaboration, they operate as a cooperative: all members of the studio working as partial owners in the business. This, along with a fresh take on their local design language, puts MamboMambo at the forefront of how creative work gets done and what it looks like today.

A proliferation of brands, and guidelines, online.

The MamboMambo team has published more than a dozen guidelines on Standards over the past several years, and each project brings a compelling story and unique look and feel. We took note of their prolific output and how they’ve fully embraced brand websites as a core part of their process.

Delivering a better brand with Standards

Another detail of their guidelines, beyond the way each one clearly expresses its unique brand language, is how they carefully scale each brand site to the needs of their client—Some projects are no more than a single page with a few key sections, while others are multipage destinations full of nuanced guidance on what makes up the brand.

“For us, a great brand isn’t just about the logo—it’s the sum of all its assets. In our presentations, we always emphasize that while we do work on the logo and symbol, that’s just a small piece of the puzzle. It’s something you might use on collateral, but it’s not the core of the brand.”

This approach, along with their collaborative process and ability to easily evolve each guideline as needs arise, has helped them develop a network of clients who trust their expertise and work with them to build compelling brands over time.

Interview with Guillaume of MamboMambo

What could you tell me about Mambo and maybe your background in general?

We’re in Quebec City, the capital of the province, and we’ll be celebrating our 10th anniversary. We’re excited—10 years is a big milestone. We started out as a group of friends in university—all designers except for one developer. We had worked together before and felt that brands needed to look better on mobile.

That’s how we got started—making sure brands looked great across the board. Back then, web design was often an afterthought, but things have really changed. Currently, we have five designers on our team, and we also have a strong digital side, with four in-house developers. While branding is our main focus, web development has become a big part of our business too.

One thing that might surprise you is that we’re a co-op, which is pretty common here in Quebec. It’s just another way of doing business. We also don’t have project managers—everyone takes ownership of their projects and deals directly with clients. There’s no hierarchy, and no one at the top is taking all the profits. Everyone who works here has the opportunity to manage the company. After all, who better to manage a company than the people who work there?

Is there anything specific you do to foster a creative culture where everyone’s motivated to contribute?

There’s a saying we have here in French that goes something like: “Hire the best and let them do their job.” There’s no micromanaging—we hire experts. We do bring in junior staff occasionally to help them grow, but we primarily look for seniors who are experienced and can navigate projects easily.

We’re not the kind of agency with 30 people and one person overseeing everything. While we do conduct reviews, they’re done collaboratively as a team. This ties into the co-op structure of our company, so I think that creates something a bit more collaborative for sure.

“…it’s sort of becoming the new kind of studio: smaller, but still able to take on big projects.”

I’m hearing of more studios choosing to build smaller teams, usually assigning a senior creative to handle clients directly. How do you divide other responsibilities at MamboMambo?

We have a team structure where responsibilities are shared among everyone, with no central manager overseeing everything. For instance, I’m involved in finance and accounting, but we also have groups handling social media and development. Different people manage different aspects, and we divide tasks accordingly. This approach really empowers everyone to contribute and feel like they’re part of something bigger. When we started 10 years ago, building a team without a project manager seemed unconventional—everyone said it wouldn’t work—but it’s become a key part of our philosophy. And yeah, I’m seeing the same thing as you now—it’s sort of becoming the new kind of studio: smaller, but still able to take on big projects.

I’m curious—why MamboMambo? What’s the story behind the name?

Yeah, it’s an interesting story. The name came about when we were looking for something different. Here in Quebec, especially in the Montreal design scene, everything is very European—very Swiss, and honestly, a bit cold and boring (at least in my opinion). Most agencies were going for that black-and-white, corporate aesthetic, and we just didn’t fit into that mold.

We wanted to bring something fresh and colorful to the table—not because we were targeting a specific cultural niche, but because we wanted to work on a wide range of projects, regardless of industry. The agencies at the time felt a bit dull to us, and their workflows didn’t resonate with how we wanted to approach design. If we had followed their path, I don’t think I’d still be doing this today.

The name MamboMambo came up during a really hot summer—it’s humid here, kind of like Florida. We were brainstorming names, and there were a few others, but Mambo just stuck.

What role does technology play in your process, and do you think having greater access to new tools helps people manage projects more efficiently?

Absolutely. We’ve changed our workflow tools about three times because we love experimenting with new options. One of the key tools we’ve adopted is Standards—it’s exactly what we needed. We jumped on it immediately because it was such a game-changer. Before Standards, we were spending weeks manually handling brand guidelines. It was crazy, especially with larger branding projects. We’re not experts or anything, but once we started using Standards, the difference was immediate. It let us focus more on the creative aspects of our projects instead of the logistical, production side, which can get tedious.

“At one point, we were so frustrated with InDesign and Figma that we considered building our own solution.”

You sound like experts to me. MamboMambo has published so many great projects, I’m sure you’re more skilled than you realize.

We definitely move a lot faster now, that’s for sure. Standards has made the whole process so much more lightweight. Before, we were creating PDFs in InDesign and spending a lot of time updating and exporting them. It was time-consuming and inefficient. For a brief period, we tried using Figma to streamline our guidelines process, but even that wasn’t perfect. We’d have to update templates, change everything to fit the brand, and deliver PDFs, which always required more updates later. It was still a bit of a pain.

I’ve been there. Figma is better than InDesign for managing guidelines in some respects, but it’s still not ideal. You’re not always sure if you’ve created a system that will hold up as the project evolves. It’s not purpose-built for brand guidelines, so that’s why we launched Standards.

Exactly. At one point, we were so frustrated with InDesign and Figma that we considered building our own solution. We have in-house developers, and we thought about using Craft CMS to create something custom just for us. But then Standards came along, so we didn’t need to go down that path.

“This is how we present it to the client: it’s a link you can share with anyone, and there’s a table of contents so anyone can easily find what they need and download assets.”

What’s your approach to guidelines in the overall design process?

There are a few things that can happen in parallel when we’re working on guidelines. Our project calendar has several steps, starting with a brand questionnaire and a workshop, then moving to the actual brand creation. Once the brand is done and approved, we work on the guidelines as well as the collateral simultaneously.

The tasks are divided among the team based on availability, so as we’re building the guidelines, we’re also working on the collateral. Sometimes we end up adjusting things like font alignment, sizing, or other design elements along the way. Doing it all at once allows us to avoid going back to make changes later. For us, it’s super easy and fast because everything is done in parallel. We define the guidelines and make them live on Standards, while also creating a brand kit, which is essentially a Dropbox folder with all the assets. Then, we can update anything easily whether it’s in the guidelines or the assets themselves.

Your studio has been so prolific in Standards, so I’m curious: what was it like creating your first project and what efficiencies have you found using the platform over time?

The first time using Standards was pretty mind-blowing. Everything we needed was there—the components, the ability to link to Dropbox, and the flexibility to make it unique with the brand assets. I could just upload a logo, and it provided a foundation for what came next. It felt like everything I had been asking for in a tool was finally available.

We have a senior team member who’s more technical—she was my first boss, actually—and she works heavily with Standards. Even though she’s not a big web person, she found her way through the platform easily. We had some fun figuring things out together, learning as we went. We didn’t follow a manual—we just jumped in and started testing the limits of what we could do.

Overall, people love using it, even if there are still a few features that could be added. For instance, we’d love to see a way to switch languages. Since we’re in Canada and often need to provide guidelines in both French and English, we have to input everything twice, which can be a pain. We worked on a big project for a transportation company recently and had to include both languages in the same guidelines, which wasn’t ideal. It would be amazing to have a built-in language switch to simplify that process.

Totally agree. We recently saw a designer publish the first guidelines entirely in Arabic this year, and we worked with them to introduce right-to-left text setting. We’re hoping to work on more language tools, since they’re fundamental for how guidelines are used globally.

“…just last week, we created new icons for a brand and updated the website in Standards, changed the links, and made everything available. It’s small updates like that which keep the collaboration going.”

Who’s the primary audience for your guidelines—Is it primarily the client or are there others you consider?

We think about anyone who might use it in the future—whether it’s a designer or web developer we don’t know yet, or collaborators down the line. This is how we present it to the client: it’s a link you can share with anyone, and there’s a table of contents so anyone can easily find what they need and download assets. For larger clients with a design team, we make sure there are clear rules about the design system, how fonts work, and all the technical details. But for smaller clients, we know they may just need the basics—like downloading colors or checking a few elements—so we don’t spend time overcomplicating it.

This is the balance we aim for. We discuss internally what’s really needed, figuring out if a one-page document will suffice or if we need multiple pages to make it easier for the client to manage. Sometimes we start with a one-pager, but as the project grows, it ends up with 10 sections. When that happens, we break it down into multiple pages to make it more digestible for the client.

“Once they hear it saves time, clients are on board right away.”

After delivering a project, do you stay involved with the client, or is it more of a clear handoff?

It depends. Some projects are one-and-done—branding is delivered, and that’s it. But for others, we maintain an ongoing relationship with the client. For example, just last week, we created new icons for a brand and updated the website in Standards, changed the links, and made everything available. It’s small updates like that which keep the collaboration going.

How you negotiate the cost of Standards with clients?

It’s our tool, so we cover the cost.

So you manage all the projects in your workspace and just send clients the link?

Exactly. If the cost were higher, we might consider licensing it to clients, similar to a website, but for now, it’s affordable, so we treat it like any other tool—like Adobe. When we explain it to clients, we tell them about the hassle of managing guidelines in InDesign or Figma and how we found Standards, which makes everything easier. We’ve built quite a few guidelines on it, and it’s flexible and unique for each project. We emphasize that the link is always available, and we can manage updates over time.

That’s an easy sell.

Exactly. Once they hear it saves time, clients are on board right away.

In the past, (guidelines) were super private—just a little PDF hidden in a Google Drive that no one could find. Now they’re much more accessible.

All of Mambo’s guidelines are public. Is that intentional? What are your thoughts on making brand guidelines public?

I think they should be public and accessible. In the past, they were super private—just a little PDF hidden in a Google Drive that no one could find. Now they’re much more accessible. We do have one client where the guidelines are private, but overall I like that in our workspace the guides are public. It’s clear that we did the work, and if anyone has questions, they can reach out to us directly. So yes, it’s intentional. I think guidelines should be public unless a client specifically requests otherwise.

I’m curious—are there other branding agencies that do more private guidelines?

It varies. Most of the time, it’s the clients who want to keep things private. The brand and assets are their proprietary materials after all, so then it often depends on the company. Some companies have real security concerns, so we’ve worked hard to build features that address them—making sure only the right people can access guidelines with sensitive materials.

But the trend does seem to be leaning toward more public guidelines, it just makes it easier for anyone to find the right assets.

“Things are changing, though, and new studios like ours recognize that a strong, flexible system is essential—especially with so many brand touch points, like social media, requiring consistency across the board.”

What do you think makes a great brand?

For us, a great brand isn’t just about the logo—it’s the sum of all its assets. In our presentations, we always emphasize that while we do work on the logo and symbol, that’s just a small piece of the puzzle. It’s something you might use on collateral, but it’s not the core of the brand.

We spend much more time on the system that supports the brand. Things like the font, colors, grid, icons, etc. What does the photography look like and how will we we manage all these assets? That’s where the real focus is. To me, a great brand has a clear system, and when that system is well thought out, everything else falls into place.

That seems to be the modern approach to branding. The logo is almost a formality now.

Exactly. Especially where we are located, many agencies still think in the old way, where the logo is the centerpiece and everything else is secondary. They might spend hours perfecting the logo but neglect the fonts or the system that holds everything together. That’s what sets us apart from those agencies. Things are changing, though, and new studios like ours recognize that a strong, flexible system is essential—especially with so many brand touchpoints, like social media, requiring consistency across the board.

Looking forward, what’s something you’d like to see more of in the design industry over the next 10 years?

Colors, man! I feel like so many people are still afraid of using color. We used to have this tagline in French: “We’re not afraid of colors.” I’ve seen agencies here sticking to no color, just black and white, maybe a font in the top left corner, and they call that a brand. I strongly disagree with that approach.

Clients don’t come to us for that kind of work. We’ve had clients looking for that style, and we just refer them to other agencies because it’s not what we do. For us, it’s about building a system—colors, fonts, concepts—something that actually resonates with people and communicates a clear message.

It sounds like you’re aiming for something more relatable and accessible to a wider audience.

Exactly. That’s the vision—something more accessible, more human, and more colorful. It’s about designing with purpose and creating work that speaks to people, not just a select few.

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Guillaume, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. And thank you to all of MamboMambo for building with Standards.

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