Easy as. Always on. No drama.
AO Studios is an always-on production studio bringing agency ideas to life.
With the founder moving away from a large agency and starting a new business, the brief was to create a brand that leveraged their experience and respect in the industry, and to show the niche production services AO Studios provides.
The name AO Studios is derived from the largest of the A-series paper sizes, and also represents their ‘always on’ approach for clients.
The idea of the design was to highlight AO Studios’ production expertise through the use of registration marks, colour bars, safe zones, page guides, and measurements.
AO Studios’ roots are the traditional studio. These graphics pay homage to its founder’s early days working in a local print house – drum scanning slides, spotting out dust, outputting print-ready film and, if a typo was spotted, cutting and pasting it with a scalpel.
It’s a pretty black and white brand. Back in the day, black was seen in four layers of film (CMYK) and, under a loupe, registration marks were lined up and a proof output. The palette reflects this heritage, as well as giving a nod to the founder’s uniform of choice – all black.
The typography is super simple: a bold and modern grotesque in caps paired with an updated Helvetica body font. This creates a strong hierarchy and sets a tone of voice that exudes confidence and skill – “We’ve got this”.
A range of AO posters was designed for in and around the AO Studios’ office, and a brand book was produced to share our ethos with potential clients.
A range of merchandise, from golf balls and plasters to Zeta pads and Moleskine notebooks, was delivered to agency creatives, producers, and other hot leads. The nature of the merch ensures that AO Studios is on potential clients’ desks, in use, and top of mind as they brainstorm their next big idea.
After years of agency experience, AO Studios has emerged to be the maker again – bringing the art and accuracy back to the agency studio.
Agency: Matter*
Client: Paul Courtney @ AO Studios
Strategy: Brent Courtney
Creative Director: Brent Courtney
Designer: Brent Courtney