Exo Ape is a worldwide digital design studio working from the historic metropolis of Roermond, The Netherlands. We specialise in crafting a high-end digital presence for experience-driven manufacturers—from hospitality and vogue to leisure. By mixing narrative-led design with immersive content material, we translate a model’s bodily craft and class into the digital realm. We imagine that in an ever-expanding sea of noise, digital character and the human contact are the final word luxuries. Our mission is to show easy digital touchpoints into unforgettable journeys.
Our Story
The Journey Begins
The muse for Exo Ape was laid almost twenty years in the past when Ronald and Robbert met as college students at SintLucas in Eindhoven. Despite the fact that we spent the following decade constructing our personal careers and growing our personal kinds, we all the time stayed in contact. Once we lastly teamed up in 2014, it was as a result of we each observed the identical factor: digital design was changing into very template-like. We needed to maneuver away from these systematic layouts and begin constructing digital experiences that felt way more expressive and refined.
The Inventive Synergy
The actual turning level—and the true basis of what Exo Ape is at present—occurred after we started collaborating with Rob Smittenaar. Initially, Rob labored with us as a freelancer, but it surely was clear straight away that we shared the identical artistic language. As a result of Rob began as a designer himself, he had a design-driven eye that allowed him to immediately perceive our imaginative and prescient. It was the lacking piece of the puzzle. We formally joined forces in 2020, with Robbert as Inventive Director, Ronald specializing in Digital and Movement, and Rob as Technical Director. As a result of all of us communicate the identical language, nothing will get misplaced within the course of; the ultimate product feels precisely like the unique imaginative and prescient.
Aiming Excessive, Staying Human
It’s this steadiness that led to our identify. ‘Exo’ represents the exosphere and our want to maintain pushing the boundaries of design and tech. ‘Ape’ is the reminder to remain human and lead with curiosity. In the long run, it’s about ensuring the expertise by no means feels chilly. We use that blend of technique and aesthetics to construct digital journeys that truly resonate with folks and assist manufacturers construct a long-lasting reference to their viewers.
Showcase
Ottografie
Ottografie is a mission that’s deeply private to us. It goes all the way in which again to the early days of the studio. The very first model grew to become our first-ever Web site of the Day on Awwwards and later went on to win Images Web site of the Yr at CSSDA. So revisiting it ten years later to construct a v2 got here with plenty of stress.
The large query was easy, however not simple to reply: how do you rethink a mission that helped outline the studio, with out stripping away what made it particular within the first place?
As an alternative of leaning into acquainted pictures grids, we needed to construct one thing that felt extra like an atmosphere than a portfolio. The interface is dynamic and reacts to the consumer in actual time. At occasions it acts as navigation, at others as a zoom software or a refined trace. Conserving it this minimal allowed the expertise to fade into the background, so the main target stays the place it belongs — on the pictures.
To make the expertise extra private, we requested Otto to step into the highlight himself. Utilizing colourful silhouettes, we let him grow to be the topic of his personal story, providing a glimpse of the particular person behind the work. In the long run, the objective was by no means to create one other software, however to supply a extra intimate method of moving into Otto’s world.
Amaterasu
Amaterasu was a novel problem for us as a result of it sat at such an excessive intersection of high-end physics and psychological well being. They had been primarily asking us to visualise the invisible—taking issues like quantum algorithms and turning them into one thing an individual might really really feel and perceive. From the beginning, we knew we needed to transfer away from the chilly, medical look you often see in healthcare and create one thing that felt extra like a frontier.
The core drawback we needed to remedy was find out how to translate their Aleph prototype—this extremely advanced piece of tech—right into a narrative that wouldn’t overwhelm folks. As an alternative of a typical website construction, we developed a sensory expertise that depends on ambiance as a lot as info. We layered fluid, natural visuals with an immersive audio panorama to show the information into a sense. By specializing in these easy, rhythmic transitions, we made positive the complexity of the science by no means acquired in the way in which of the emotional story they had been making an attempt to inform.
To maintain the entire thing grounded, we built-in actual audio tales and private voices into the expertise, reminding the customer that behind all this groundbreaking physics, there’s a really actual human profit. It was a daring, experimental course for a lab, so it was actually rewarding to see the mission resonate with the trade—incomes a Silver Lovie and a number of other Web site of the Day honors throughout Awwwards, the FWA, and the GSAP Showcase. For us, these awards had been a pleasant validation which you could take a extremely technical topic and nonetheless make it a deeply private, hopeful discovery.
Columbia 100 Years Anniversary
Engaged on the One centesimal-anniversary web site for a worldwide icon like Columbia Footage was a serious spotlight for our studio. It’s not every single day you get the possibility to the touch a century of cinematic historical past, and it felt like a big milestone in our studio’s journey. We teamed up with the proficient staff at Watson Design Group to create a worldwide digital expertise that wasn’t only a static timeline, however a celebration of the followers who’ve lived with these tales for many years.
The mission centered round an interactive quiz that took guests on a journey by means of Columbia’s countless library. We didn’t need it to really feel like a typical kind; it wanted to be dynamic. We constructed a system the place the expertise really learns from the consumer in real-time—for those who lean towards 80s nostalgia or have a factor for horror, the visuals and questions shift to match your style. By the top, the positioning generates a one-of-a-kind shareable asset that highlights the movies that formed your life, making the entire thing really feel deeply private.
Constructing for a worldwide viewers meant the technical execution needed to be flawless. We labored laborious to verify the expertise stayed quick and fluid throughout all units and browsers, regardless of the place on the planet somebody was logging in from. Seeing hundreds of thousands of followers have interaction with the work and share their outcomes through the social media marketing campaign was the final word payoff. It actually proved which you could take a large company anniversary and switch it into one thing that feels private and celebratory for each particular person consumer.
Pixelflakes
Pixelflakes was a enjoyable one as a result of it’s all the time a bit formidable to design for different creatives. They’re masters at architectural visualization, however they had been caught in that traditional “portfolio lure” the place the whole lot begins wanting just like the competitors. They didn’t simply need a spot to dump their newest renders; they needed a digital flagship that may really assist them stand out to new expertise and purchasers who worth the “why” behind the work.
One of many actual highlights of the positioning is the “Sketch Research” part. We realized early on that probably the most fascinating factor about them isn’t simply the ultimate 3D picture—it’s that uncooked, inventive section the place the idea really involves life. We constructed an interactive, full-screen canvas for that part, letting you virtually stroll by means of their artistic narrative by dragging your method across the display. It provides a behind-the-scenes have a look at the “magic” earlier than the ultimate render, which is far more partaking than a typical gallery. We wove in these refined, pixel-inspired design particulars as a quiet nod to their identify, however we had been cautious to maintain it refined so it by no means felt like a gimmick.
We actually obsessed over find out how to hold the interface minimal with out shedding the richness of their story. By transferring the heavy content material into aspect panels, we ensured the UI by no means competes with the renders; customers can select to discover further info or simply keep centered on the principle gallery. To again that up, we constructed it on a headless framework so the efficiency felt prompt, nearly like utilizing an app. It wasn’t only a technical train for us; it was about honoring their craft and making certain the platform felt each bit as premium because the visualizations they produce.
Studio Tradition
We deal with each mission as a collective accountability. We imagine a imaginative and prescient ought to by no means be handed off or diluted because it strikes by means of the studio, which is why we’ve stored our construction intentional and compact. It ensures the craft stays constant from the primary idea to the ultimate launch. This hands-on method is what permits us to push for the extent of refinement our purchasers anticipate. Whereas we stay the devoted core, we flexibly lengthen our staff with a worldwide community of specialists when a mission requires it. This provides us the liberty to scale for any ambition with out compromising the private contact that defines our work.
What Makes Us Distinctive
What actually units us aside is the depth of our involvement. As a result of we don’t have the overhead of a giant company, we don’t must juggle dozens of initiatives directly. We select to accomplice with just a few choose manufacturers annually. This exclusivity means we aren’t simply ‘working’ on a mission; we live it. We grow to be a short lived extension of the model’s personal staff, bringing a stage of focus and emotional funding that’s unattainable to seek out in a high-volume atmosphere.
Values & Traditions
Our traditions are constructed on the identical curiosity that introduced us collectively twenty years in the past. We worth the gradual a part of the method, together with the analysis, the sketching, and the deep considering, simply as a lot as the ultimate high-fidelity consequence. Whether or not it’s our day by day artistic syncs or our obsession with rising expertise, our major custom is rarely being happy with ‘ok.’ We give attention to high quality over quantity, making certain that each mission we end is one thing we’re personally pleased with.
Final Phrases
Within the rush to be first, most overlook to be significant. We select to remain within the gradual a part of the method, as a result of solely what’s constructed with depth can actually resonate.
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