This new brand identity for audio studio Skillbard wiggles and flexes like soundwaves

Skillbard is a name you might have not heard of before, but you’ve almost certainly heard its work. Billed as a creative audio studio, founders Tom Carrell and Vincent Oliver endeavour to explore the limits of sound by connecting the dots between audio and storytelling. Ten years on, having worked with everyone from Spotify to Procreate, the studio has a brand new visual identity, as well as a custom website powered by Non-Format and creative agency Anti.

It’s Skillbard’s imaginative approach that has helped them to discover unexpected sonic routes between disparate specialisations for so many years. But, the team found that its visual universe was struggling to “convey to potential clients that its process of creating sound and music is extremely varied”, says Tom. It was this that spurred the team to consult Non-Format and Anti, who quickly realised that Skillbard “needed a structure that would let them introduce themselves as composers and soundscape artists before letting people dive into their rich portfolio of work,” says Kjell Ekhorn, creative director at Non-Format.

Familiar with Skillbard’s adventurous approach, the teams favoured a new identity that captured this essence while also emphasising its “professional and rigorous approach to the creation of music and soundscapes”, says project manager Bente Eikolt. While committed to playfulness and cross-disciplinary exploration, the work is buoyed by the attention paid to the particulars of audio design, composition, emotion, and storytelling. With this in mind, the team’s goal with the brand personality and the actual work was to “strike a balance – allowing for moments of playfulness and boldness, while also having the flexibility to dial back Skillbard’s voice where necessary,” says designer at Anti, Emil Karlsson.

It was important for the website to maintain this synergy throughout – the aesthetic identity should complement Skillbard’s outlook and position as a “vibrant entity that is clearly very passionate about its work” – the backbone of the operation. To do so, the designers “needed to make sure that all the other elements would work together to convey their creative process, while also allowing for it to be dialled up or down depending on the content,” says creative director at Non-Format, Jon Forss.

Like a well-oiled machine, fluid assets pour into view, wiggling and flexing with kinetic energy. Details like colour themes that change with each visit to the site enhance the feeling of aliveness created by the content. The teams also commissioned a set of handcrafted illustrations by Sophie Koko Gate that mingle with typographic elements, and a bouncy logo animation from Joe Clark at Oh! Studio.

But the website is only half the story – it all needed to translate to social media. They wanted a consistent and recognisable visual identity to ensure that “when a Skillbard story appears in your feed you know it’s from them straight away,” says Morten Johansen, designer and developer at Anti. In time, the project became about making the unconscious, conscious by illuminating the scientific processes behind each project, at every touchpoint. Whether it’s encapsulating the essence of two fictional music genres for Spotify or soundtracking Selfridges celebration of life.

Channelling Skillbard’s endless reserves of creativity, the rebrand is a testament to the power of passion. As the teams note “Skillbard’s previous site was almost entirely focussed on the finished product and didn’t really convey the kind of energy, skill and enthusiasm they unleash to get there,” says developer Daniel Hunt. Herein lies the magic – by popping the hood, the final product embraces the messy creative journey vital to create good work, both audio and visual.