FrameRate Brand System by Studio K
A behind-the-scenes look at FrameRate's new brand identity: the process, the decisions, and the collaboration that made it happen.
FrameRate has a new identity. Not just a logo, but a full brand system: typography, color palette, and brand expressions to build on for years to come.
The work comes from the legendary Stephen Kelleher of Studio K. Here's the journey we took together.
Why Studio K?
Stephen's a veteran of the motion design field and was an early contributor to Motionographer.
He doesn't just understand what FrameRate is trying to do; he understands us on a personal level. That kind of trust matters when you're entering a partnership to build something that needs to last.
I've been following Stephen's career for a long time. Several years ago, he re-centered his practice around brand design. The work he's produced since, for clients big and small, is some of the best in the field.
When Stephen told us he was available and interested, Tyler and I didn't have to think long. We pounced.
Not his first rodeo
One of the nice things about working with established designers is that they typically have a process that's been battle-tested. This is certainly true for Studio K.
For our needs, Studio K implemented a five-step process rolled out over five weeks:
1. Discovery
Before anything gets designed, Studio K does its homework: a client questionnaire, a kick-off call, and research into the industry and competitive landscape. The goal is to stand on solid ground before a single sketch gets made.
2. Logo Exploration
The design work starts here, with roughly two weeks of translating the Discovery findings into actual logo concepts, multiple rounds of them, wordmarks included where relevant. The point is to explore, not to fall in love with the first thing that looks good.
3. System Development
With a logo selected, Studio K builds out the surrounding structure: typography, color, and the rules for how everything interacts. This is the phase where you find out whether the logo can actually live inside a system.
4. Brand Expression
The system gets applied to real-world materials: business cards, social templates, whatever the priority collateral happens to be. You need to see the brand working in context before you can say with confidence that it works at all.
5. Deliverables Handoff
Final design files and a comprehensive brand guidelines document come at the close of the process. The guidelines cover the full system and give anyone touching the brand later a clear set of rules to work from.
First things first: discovery
Look, I'll be honest: We all wanted to skip to the logos. But we knew the first step was the most important one.
If Stephen, Tyler, and I couldn't align on what we were actually trying to accomplish, we'd waste time and money and probably end up with something none of us were proud of.
Studio K shared a client questionnaire, and Tyler and I tackled it immediately. It covered our company, our competitors, and what we were trying to achieve. One question stood out:
If there is a single idea or personality that you would like to instill in your new identity, what would it be?
We reached back and came up with a deep cut: Justin Long in the old Mac vs. PC commercials. Confident without being cocky. Authentic, approachable, and creative without any of the pretension that word can carry.
Logo exploration: setting expectations
The most exciting phase is undeniably step two. Stephen tossed ideas at us, and we collectively decided what was working and what wasn't.
But before showing us anything, Stephen was careful to set expectations about what a successful logo can and can't do. Too often, clients believe a logo can magically encapsulate everything about a company: what it does, its values, its history, its future.
That's not realistic.
Stephen has three criteria for a successful logo. A good mark needs to be:
1. Appropriate — to the business in feeling and personality
2. Memorable — distinct enough to persist in the mind
3. Simple — legible at all scales and in all media
Stephen puts it this way:
(Not) love at first sight
Stephen warned us upfront: it's never love at first sight.
Most people assume that when you see the right logo, you immediately know. But that's not how it actually works, either during the design process or once the logo is out in the world.
In fact, many of the most effective logos don't carry much weight when they're first born. It's through years of repeated exposure and association with a brand's actions that a logo starts to mean something.
Round one... fight! (Or hug.)
So with that all in mind, Stephen shared his first batch of directions with us…
Initially, Tyler and I had some overlap but weren't fully aligned.
Over a few rounds of revision and calls with Stephen, we zeroed in on what mattered. Two things kept coming up:
It needs to communicate stability and confidence. The word we started to use was “solid,” which has a nice double meaning of visual weight but also emotional weight and reliability.
It needs to function at very small sizes. Our world is dominated by social feeds and mobile devices. The logo needs to hold up next to other logos on in portfolio sites, browser tabs, and social feeds. One of our key tests became comparing candidates against commonly used logos.
A test for true collaboration
As we narrowed options, Tyler had an idea: simplify one of the early designs. Being a designer himself, Tyler busted out his tool of choice (After Effects, naturally) to illustrate his thinking.
I held my breath when he sent that email.
This would be a true test of Stephen's process. He could, as many designers would, let his ego take over and reject any and all suggestions. Like a chef protecting his coveted recipes.
Or he could do what he actually did, which was to embrace Tyler's idea and run with it into the endzone.
The symbol, on its own
At first glance it reads as simple geometry: a black square, a couple of nested angles, a small square in the corner. But there's more going on.
The F and the R are in there, but they're not shouting. That's intentional. The letterforms inform the shape, they don't dominate it.
The nested forms read as ripples. One action, radiating outward. That's a core belief for us: a single piece of work, a single creator, can set something in motion across a whole community.
They also read as frames. Frames within frames. Which is, at minimum, literally our name. But it's also a nod to the way all creative work builds on what came before it.
And if you stop thinking of it as flat and imagine you're looking straight down at a stack of cubes, it becomes a staircase. That one's just fun.
We'll be putting this mark into motion soon. The possibilities feel wide open.
Next up: Typography and palette
With the logo locked, two pieces of the system came into focus.
Typography
Palette
Typography
Stephen selected Florian Karsten's FK Grotesk for both the wordmark and headlines. It's a versatile font that holds up across various scenarios.
For body copy, we went with Rasmus Andersson's Inter, a well-tested choice valued for its legibility at small sizes.
To help us envision how the type system could work on the platform, Stephen created some helpful wireframes.
Palette
We wanted a dark background from the start. It differentiates us from other video hosting platforms and puts the spotlight where it belongs: on the work.
That commitment shaped Stephen's color explorations. Grey tones would handle hierarchy. The real question was the accent color.
We surveyed the competitive landscape and ruled out the obvious options. We wanted something ownable, distinct, even if it meant being slightly divisive.
The acid green made you take notice. It wasn't the safe choice. But it felt like something we could build momentum with over time. A color that could become ours .
Bringing it to life: brand expressions
The real test of a brand identity is seeing it in the wild, functioning across different touchpoints and at different scales.
Of course, during the design process, you have to bust out your crystal ball and imagine how the identity might take shape over the next few years.
To guide his work in this next-to-last step of the process, Stephen asked us for a prioritized list of brand expressions that might be useful. Here is a small sampling of his output.
The end is just the beginning
At the end of our five weeks, Stephen produced a comprehensive set of brand guidelines and deliverables. And while we have everything we need to continue building, he made it very clear: this isn't over.
We'll continue working with him as the system evolves. (In fact, he's building a library of custom icons for us right now.)
But beyond specific deliverables, Stephen is emotionally invested in FrameRate. As we worked with him, I could feel his enthusiasm. He actually cares about what we're doing, and he wants us to succeed.
That kind of buy-in is rare. You can't fabricate it. But it's exactly the sort of thing that strong partnerships are based on.
Massive props to Studio K for taking on FrameRate. We are so proud. 💖