Nakatomi, the Sydney-based venture studio, has acquired Field of Play, a brand and design studio founded by Elliot Stansfield.
The acquisition strengthens Nakatomi’s end-to-end venture-building model by adding dedicated brand, motion, and identity capabilities to its offering. Field of Play will continue to operate under its own name and keep its client roster, while serving as Nakatomi’s dedicated brand studio.
“Great ventures deserve brands that command attention,” said Ben Bray, founding partner at Nakatomi. “Field of Play has helped define the look, feel, and market presence of some of our most successful ventures. Bringing that expertise inside Nakatomi allows every new company we build to launch with the clarity, confidence, and creativity of a world-class brand.”
Field of Play, founded by Elliot Stansfield in 2021, has built a reputation for crafting bold, thoughtful, and engaging identities and animation for brands including Tayga, Puresport, Air New Zealand, and Viaduct Harbour. The studio specialises in brand systems, design, and motion that connect creativity with commercial outcomes.
Elliot Stansfield added, “Nakatomi moves fast without compromising quality. This partnership gives us the platform and scale to do our best work—shaping ventures that look, move, and communicate like the future.”
The integration of Field of Play provides Nakatomi with brand infrastructure—enabling its venture teams to deliver cohesive, high-impact companies that resonate with customers from launch. It also creates a dedicated entity to manage brand and design engagements as Nakatomi accelerates it’s transition into its pure venture-creation model following its recent $3.5 million raise.
“The acquisition reflects our focus in reshaping how ventures are built—elevating brand to a core capability rather than a downstream service. In a world where AI has made it easier than ever to launch a startup, Nakatomi believes the differentiator isn’t just speed and technology, but taste and experience,” commented founding partner Ben Bray.
“You can build fast with AI, but velocity without distinctiveness is noise. Technology alone no longer wins, it’s how a company looks, feels, and communicates that builds lasting trust and momentum.”
The acquisition signals a shift in how ventures are built—integrating brand and product from day zero, not as separate disciplines.
Andy Timms, Nakatomi’s founding partner said, “the move ensures every new business the studio builds is “both beautiful and deeply commercial.”
“Too often, brand and product are built in isolation. 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.”
Following Nakatomi’s recent $3.5 million raise, the acquisition also provides a sustainable creative engine—one that reduces external costs, creates new growth, and anchors the studio’s growing portfolio of in-house ventures.
Pairing Field of Play’s boutique culture with Nakatomi’s venture engine allows the group to deliver at the speed of technology without losing the craft, intention, or taste that make brands unique.
