In below two years, Explorers Membership
has grown from a recent inventive thought into a world studio shaping tradition for manufacturers together with Atlantic Information, Coca‑Cola, Nike, Instacart and Common Music.
Behind it are Ayo Fagbemi and Aaron Skipper: the duo who carry technique and design into excellent stability. Talking at a session for The Studio, Artistic Growth’s personal personal community, the pair opened up about their journey thus far, the teachings realized alongside the best way, and what it actually takes to construct a inventive firm with goal and endurance.
“We met engaged on Nike at Wieden+Kennedy,” Ayo defined. “That blend of technique and design between us simply clicked. Ultimately, we realised that partnership was value constructing an entire studio round.”
Studying via partnership
Explorers Membership now works between London and Los Angeles. Its progress, each quick and targeted, has been rooted in a shared perception that each model has “a sort of secret genius ready to be uncovered”. As Ayo places it, “It is not about inventing one thing new. It is about discovering what’s already there and bringing it to life; visually, verbally, experientially.”
Aaron and Ayo describe their studio’s basis as an ongoing trade. “The title of this speak may simply be: ‘What a designer taught me about technique, and what a strategist taught me about design,'” defined Aaron.
That spirit of collaboration runs via every part they do, each throughout the group and in how they work with shoppers. “For us,” Ayo added, “technique is a dedication to creating courageous work. Our job is to assist shoppers be distinctive and disruptive, however nonetheless true to themselves.”
Music to Actions
That perception got here to life early on with Atlantic Information UK, a undertaking Ayo calls “our actual launchpad”. The label had been questioning its function in a quickly altering music world the place artists more and more go impartial. Explorers Membership reframed its goal round a brand new thought: ‘Music to Actions.’ “We requested, how do you are taking one monitor out of the 160,000 uploaded to Spotify each day and switch it into tradition?” Ayo stated. “That grew to become the rallying cry.”
Their model idea launched a dynamic id; one which’s “by no means nonetheless”, consistently in movement, from shifting brand animations to a dwelling system spanning social, bodily and digital experiences. The group even marked the rebrand by giving workers notebooks and reusable bottles to symbolise the recent begin.
This work did not simply look good on case research; it truly shifted perceptions contained in the label. “Essentially the most thrilling half,” Ayo revealed, “was listening to later that Ed Sheeran re‑signed with Atlantic; partly as a result of the label had discovered a brand new confidence via that work.”
Play and group
Play, the pair argue, is central to significant creativity. “Design ought to join each head and coronary heart,” stated Aaron. “That intersection is the place the most effective concepts occur.” And so final 12 months, Explorers Membership revealed their first e-book, Play Is the Highest Type of Analysis; borrowing Einstein’s line as a manifesto for retaining curiosity alive. They gathered responses from shoppers, collaborators and mates throughout the trade, asking how every retains enjoying of their inventive lives, then turned these reflections right into a visually wealthy publication.
Each unfold paired a quote with a bespoke piece of design. The duvet, playfully clean, was hand‑spray‑painted on the studio so no two copies had been alike. When launched at London’s Barbican, the e-book grew to become a collaborative occasion: readers made their very own covers and rearranged letters to spell new phrases.
Neighborhood sits on the coronary heart of all this. Explorers Membership started life above a London café‑bar, the place they placed on sport nights for a mixture of designers, artists and musicians. “It levelled the sphere,” Aaron stated. “Everybody simply confirmed up as individuals.” That sense of togetherness now informs how they design for manufacturers. “Tradition is not one thing you faucet into,” Ayo famous. “It is one thing you construct with others.”
Deep work, quick strikes
One other hallmark of Explorers Membership’s strategy is combining depth with velocity. “Technique is the deep work that permits for quick work,” Ayo stated. “You do the considering first, then you possibly can transfer instinctively.”
He shared insights from their undertaking with Instacart, creating Fizz, a Gen Z‑targeted app for spontaneous snacking and drinks runs. “As soon as we understood the viewers, we realised the chat interface—one thing all of us use each day—may very well be the beating coronary heart of the model,” Ayo defined. “It even reshaped how we spoke to the consumer. We adopted the identical language and vitality in Slack. That made the collaboration sooner, extra human.”
That human connection, he added, stored tasks pleasing even at excessive velocity. “Typically we would be messaging shoppers with typos and in‑jokes. It sounds small, however it builds belief. Considered one of our shoppers from that undertaking, Fidji Simo, is now CEO of Purposes at OpenAI, so the work clearly made an impression.”
From construction to motion
Then got here Coca‑Cola. Partnering with Common Music Group, the drinks big was launching a brand new label: Actual Factor Information. “It was all about construction,” Aaron defined. “Technique gave the inspiration; design made it stay.”
The visible system revolved round a easy dice impressed by the entrance of a Coca‑Cola can. This form grew to become a responsive area, shifting and morphing in actual time to the rhythm. Every tune formed the movement in another way; generative design as model expression. “It was coded to behave uniquely for each artist,” Aaron stated. “It wanted that sense of presence, legacy and artistry. We needed the followers to see themselves in it, not simply the model.”
The launch at London’s KOKO music venue captured the vitality of a stay crowd, feeding footage straight into the id system. “Nothing feels extra genuine than followers in movement,” Aaron famous. “That is the way you bridge model and tradition.”
Designing for audiences
All through their work, Ayo and Aaron repeatedly returned to a central thought. Do not create in your trade; create in your viewers. “It is simple to make work that lands properly on LinkedIn,” Ayo stated, “however more durable to make one thing individuals truly care about outdoors our bubble.”
Their current vacation marketing campaign for Instacart put this into apply, designing a whole lot of belongings that ranged from out‑of‑dwelling placements to tiny digital banners.
“Whether or not it is a billboard or a banner advert,” Ayo defined, “the craft and care must be the identical. The viewers would not expertise a hierarchy. They simply see the story.” For him, good design is democratic: “You meet individuals the place they’re, and that is what makes it highly effective.”
Simplicity, readability and tradition
Closing the session, Aaron turned to one among their newest collaborations: Fred Once more’s 10‑week international tour, pairing weekly single releases with stay exhibits. “We needed it to really feel tactile and human; no telephones, simply presence,” he recalled. “The entire thought revolved round flags: large, analogue symbols up to date each week with a brand new metropolis’s title.”
This minimal system turned spectators into storytellers. Followers started documenting the flags themselves, posting photographs from every venue. “That is when you understand you have hit one thing actual,” stated Aaron. “When the viewers does the storytelling for you.”
Even the workflow mirrored that stripped‑again vitality. “Your entire undertaking ran on WhatsApp,” Aaron laughed. “We most likely do not even have the group’s emails. However it meant selections occurred quick. Everybody moved as one.” That tight‑knit collaboration, Ayo added, mirrors the ethos on the coronary heart of Explorers Membership. “We wish to really feel like an extension of each group we work with. That is when the most effective concepts occur.”
Classes for progress
Requested to mirror on their speedy rise, each founders returned to the place they began: synergy and sincerity. Technique provides path; design provides type. Collectively, they create readability that cuts via the noise of recent tradition.
“All the pieces strikes so quick,” stated Aaron. “The eye span is tiny. But when your message is obvious and courageous, it finds its place.” Ayo agreed: “Bravery, play, partnership and readability,” he harassed. “These are the threads that run via every part we do.”
Explorers Membership should be younger. However its story, and the teachings inside it, already function a reminder to any inventive studio. Once you construct with intention, you do not simply keep related; you assist form what’s subsequent.
