THE TERRARIUM
The Terrarium is a Minneapolis recording studio that has been making records for over 30 years. I had the opportunity to refresh their identity with a new logo and website that better reflected the studio’s history, personality, and incredible space. I also photographed the studio and shot the intro video featured on the homepage, giving me the chance to shape nearly every visual element of the new brand.
THE VIBE
Jason wanted something new that still felt familiar. The goal was to create a brand that felt professional and modern, while still being a place where you’re comfortable kicking off your shoes and settling in.
We landed on a muted black and copper palette with a touch of nostalgia, while keeping the structure and imagery clean and modern. The result feels like The Terrarium itself: professional, lived-in, and a little old school, with 30 years of experience behind it.
CONTACT PAGE
The contact page is actually an anchor link to the same contact section at the bottom of every page. My client wanted less phone inquiries and more people to reach out though email. Now the contact section is focused around a message submission form & the phone number is much smaller and off to the side to discourage use.
EQUIPMENT PAGE
The Terrarium has some epic and historic equipment, including a mixing board previously owned by the Grateful Dead. I wanted this page to give that history its moment, while still keeping a ton of technical information organized and easy to navigate.
ALT LOGO IDEA
I created several logo options for the terrarium, while they picked my favorite. I still wanted to post this as an honorable mention. Though we really enjoyed this option we ultimately decided it gave to much of a whiskey bottle feel to it.
SUMMARY
Working on The Terrarium gave me the chance to bring together a lot of the things I love about design. Beyond creating the brand, photography, and video, I used UX and UI thinking to organize a site with a lot of history, equipment, and technical information into something that feels simple and easy to explore. The biggest challenge was balancing vintage and modern while keeping the experience warm, approachable, and true to the personality of the studio.