The Edit: five projects including Studio Albin Holmqvist’s identity update for Spotify’s RapCaviar

Each and every day, we're lucky to discover dozens of interesting and inspiring projects from around the world. From global identities and campaigns to side projects and independently published books, The Edit is home to five of them; every two weeks. Centred around hip-hop hits, RapCaviar is one of Spotify’s biggest flagship playlists with over 15 million subscribers. The release of an eight-episode docuseries on Hulu titled ‘RapCaviar Presents’ raised the need for a refresh of the design system created by the Spotify in-house team back in 2017. Some key elements were vital to the equity of the brand (think, the diagonal layout system and bespoke monogram), and so, were kept and refined. The most significant change made by Stockholm-based designer Albin Holmqvist was a bolder and more editorial-oriented look, one which put the artist front and centre. To create better contrast and stand out on images, the lock-up has been updated to LL Circular Spotify Head Black, a bolder weight of Spotify’s bespoke version of Lineto’s typeface. The colour palette was also expanded from a singular signature colour to a 15-hues, designed to complement any image. How do you create a completely new brand for an existing product, to be launched in new markets, with a new name? That’s the task Most Studios were given when creating the identity for home security system Nimly. The previous company had been acquired, and was intended to relaunch as a B2C company. Because of this, their new brand image would need to convey a greater purpose and speak to the design-conscious target group of Scandinavian homeowners. In response, the Stockholm-based agency defined a visual language that sets Nimly apart from the technically complex smart home context, instead focusing on the softer benefits of feeling both safe and having a warm and open home where family members and friends feel welcome.