Digital. Music. Advertising

F# (pronounced “ef-sharp”) is a dynamic and innovative advertising firm that creates music-powered ad experiences for music enthusiasts across the globe. They built the company on their shared passion for musically driven storylines and emotionally rewarding ad content. F# has partnered with many of the world’s leading companies, record labels, and agencies with great success.

Squat New York was enlisted to build F# a bold brand identity in line with the company’s unique form of advertising. We kicked off the process by experimenting with various versions of the previous logotype. Bent on molding a shape that better communicated the musical direction of the brand, our design team tried chiseling at its edges and intertwining its curves. Their tinkering brought about a fluid, singular symbol that seamlessly links the letter “F” with “#” – the musical notation for a sharp note.

For the color palette, we tapped into the company’s core brand qualities and philosophies to find the perfect combination. Though our monochromatic color scheme is heavy on black, white and cool gradations of grey, we splashed details with an energetic shade of red. This bold color reflects the brand’s powerful and exciting digital content.

We then applied our new visual language to the design of F#’s new set of stationery – business cards, envelopes, folders, notebooks, and a letterhead. Taking design cues from traditional sheet music, we incorporated stripes and blank musical staffs throughout all paper stationery. To give the letterhead and business cards a more textured look, we embossed the logo with a matte finish that leaves just a hint of a shadow.

We gave the business cards extra flair by using sandwich card stock with bright red inserts to break up the clean white background. On all materials, we drew particular attention to the tagline with an unabashedly bold, linear typeface.