9 Naked Mannequins (9NM for short), is an American genre-bending musical duo who fuse synth pop, hip hop, R&B, and eerie darkness to create a genuinely unique and weird-in-a-good-way sound.
With the approaching debut of their premiere album and another to be released shortly thereafter, they realized they’d need a way to represent themselves in the digital world, so they tapped us to create a visual identity that would be true to who they are, communicate the nature of their signature sound, and resonate with their soon-to-be fan base in an effortless way.
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We conducted a day-long discovery session with the group, uncovering truths about the band, how they want to portray themselves, who their key audience members are, and how to best speak to their fans through their visual identity and marketing.
We landed on something that relied heavily on mannequins and space imagery. We gradually built out this world until it informed our choice of typefaces and ultimately the band logo and key art.
We were initially approached to design the band's brand identity and apply it to their premiere album's artwork and packaging. They liked the results so much, they asked us to develop song preview videos that would showcase the look and really cement the vibe.
The band's subsequent releases still fit into the overall world we'd created, but the evolution of sound called for changes to the aesthetic too. Not to reinvent the core ideas of the brand, but to let the visuals evolve in the same way their sound was evolving.
Their second album, Ballads in the Key of Dark, is a key example of this. It adopts a more raw, acoustic style, and we represented this through capturing behind the scenes videos of 9NM working in the studio. Although the vibe was different, key elements remain in place, keeping things firmly rooted in the world we'd created from the start.
We adopted this approach for each new release the band put out, including singles, albums, and assets in their media library.
We aimed to create a visual system for 9NM that represented them and communicated who they are to their potential audience. They were completely unknown, so setting expectations was a key component for success.
By this measure, we felt like we had done what we were approached to do, and with all the style and flair the band was hoping for.
With the visual identity system concretely in place, we now had a solid foundation to build from for future work.
To date, we've designed assets for a number of 9NM releases. Their style continues to evolve, and we continue to expand the original ideas we put in place for their brand identity to evolve with them.
It's our hope that with each new release, fans can see something new, and something that remains constant.
They really listened to us and cared about how we envisioned our music, and how we wanted others to experience it. They brought so much creativity to the table, we really couldn't be happier with the results.
Axes was essential in helping us develop our visual identity and we know we'll be working with them for years to come."