Exo Ape is a worldwide digital design studio working from the historic metropolis of Roermond, The Netherlands. We focus on crafting a high-end digital presence for experience-driven manufacturers—from hospitality and style 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 last 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. Regardless that we spent the subsequent decade constructing our personal careers and growing our personal kinds, we at all times stayed in contact. Once we lastly teamed up in 2014, it was as a result of we each seen the identical factor: digital design was turning into very template-like. We needed to maneuver away from these systematic layouts and begin constructing digital experiences that felt rather more expressive and refined.
The Artistic Synergy
The true turning level—and the true basis of what Exo Ape is immediately—occurred once we started collaborating with Rob Smittenaar. Initially, Rob labored with us as a freelancer, but it surely was clear instantly that we shared the identical inventive 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 Artistic 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 stability that led to our identify. ‘Exo’ represents the exosphere and our need to maintain pushing the boundaries of design and tech. ‘Ape’ is the reminder to remain human and lead with curiosity. Ultimately, 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 an enduring reference to their viewers.
Showcase
Ottografie
Ottografie is a venture that’s deeply private to us. It goes all the best way 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 Pictures Web site of the 12 months 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 straightforward to reply: how do you rethink a venture 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 setting than a portfolio. The interface is dynamic and reacts to the consumer in actual time. At instances it acts as navigation, at others as a zoom software or a delicate trace. Maintaining it this minimal allowed the expertise to fade into the background, so the main focus 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 change into the topic of his personal story, providing a glimpse of the particular person behind the work. Ultimately, the purpose was by no means to create one other software, however to supply a extra intimate method of entering 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 basically asking us to visualise the invisible—taking issues like quantum algorithms and turning them into one thing an individual may truly really feel and perceive. From the beginning, we knew we needed to transfer away from the chilly, medical look you normally see in healthcare and create one thing that felt extra like a frontier.
The core drawback we needed to resolve was methods to translate their Aleph prototype—this extremely complicated piece of tech—right into a narrative that wouldn’t overwhelm folks. As an alternative of a typical web site construction, we developed a sensory expertise that depends on ambiance as a lot as data. We layered fluid, natural visuals with an immersive audio panorama to show the info into a sense. By specializing in these easy, rhythmic transitions, we made certain the complexity of the science by no means received in the best way 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 venture resonate with the business—incomes a Silver Lovie and several other Web site of the Day honors throughout Awwwards, the FWA, and the GSAP Showcase. For us, these awards had been a pleasant validation that you may take a extremely technical topic and nonetheless make it a deeply private, hopeful discovery.
Columbia 100 Years Anniversary
Engaged on the A hundredth-anniversary web site for a worldwide icon like Columbia Footage was a significant spotlight for our studio. It’s not day-after-day you get the prospect to the touch a century of cinematic historical past, and it felt like a major milestone in our studio’s journey. We teamed up with the proficient crew 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 venture centered round an interactive quiz that took guests on a journey by way of Columbia’s countless library. We didn’t need it to really feel like a normal kind; it wanted to be dynamic. We constructed a system the place the expertise truly learns from the consumer in real-time—if you happen to 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 exhausting to ensure the expertise stayed quick and fluid throughout all units and browsers, irrespective of the place on the planet somebody was logging in from. Seeing hundreds of thousands of followers interact with the work and share their outcomes by way of the social media marketing campaign was the last word payoff. It actually proved that you may 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 at all times a bit formidable to design for different creatives. They’re masters at architectural visualization, however they had been caught in that basic “portfolio lure” the place every little thing begins wanting just like the competitors. They didn’t simply need a spot to dump their newest renders; they needed a digital flagship that might truly assist them stand out to new expertise and shoppers 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 essentially the most fascinating factor about them isn’t simply the ultimate 3D picture—it’s that uncooked, inventive section the place the idea truly involves life. We constructed an interactive, full-screen canvas for that part, letting you virtually stroll by way of their inventive 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 normal gallery. We wove in these delicate, 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 methods to preserve the interface minimal with out shedding the richness of their story. By shifting the heavy content material into aspect panels, we ensured the UI by no means competes with the renders; customers can select to discover extra data or simply keep centered on the primary gallery. To again that up, we constructed it on a headless framework so the efficiency felt instantaneous, virtually 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 venture as a collective accountability. We imagine a imaginative and prescient ought to by no means be handed off or diluted because it strikes by way 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 shoppers anticipate. Whereas we stay the devoted core, we flexibly prolong our crew with a worldwide community of specialists when a venture 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 really 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 every year. This exclusivity means we aren’t simply ‘working’ on a venture; we live it. We change into a brief extension of the model’s personal crew, bringing a stage of focus and emotional funding that’s not possible to search out in a high-volume setting.
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 pondering, simply as a lot as the ultimate high-fidelity end result. Whether or not it’s our day by day inventive syncs or our obsession with rising expertise, our predominant custom is rarely being happy with ‘adequate.’ We deal with high quality over quantity, making certain that each venture we end is one thing we’re personally happy with.
Final Phrases
Within the rush to be first, most neglect 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 really resonate.
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