Perception Records
SERVICES:VISUAL IDENTITY DESIGNINDUSTRY:MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENTYEAR:2025Perception Records is an artist-owned record label built to give creatives control over their music, their vision, and their future. Operating across music production, publishing, distribution, and creative direction, the label provides artists with the infrastructure of a major label while maintaining the independence and transparency of an artist-first model.
My work with Perception focused on elevating the existing visual identity rather than replacing it. The goal was to refine what was already working, improve execution and functionality, and ensure the brand could flex quietly across a wide range of artist campaigns without competing for attention. The focus was on clarity, restraint, and adaptability, ensuring the brand could operate confidently across a wide range of artist-led projects while remaining true to Perception’s values of ownership, independence, and integrity.
A conceptually strong mark that already carried meaning, but needed refinement to perform consistently across real-world application.
Perception Records had already built a solid brand and a growing audience over a number of years. Starting from scratch would have meant discarding all that hard-earned brand equity - which is basically gold dust in branding. Instead, the approach was to refine what already existed.
The brand mark itself was simple, clean, and conceptually strong, but struggled with scalability and consistency. By adjusting the weight, increasing negative space, and introducing a subtle cut into the ‘P’, the mark became more legible at smaller sizes and spoke the same design language throughout. These refinements also made the logo significantly easier to reproduce across physical applications and varied printing methods.
Creating a typographic system that could express Perception’s values with restraint, without ever competing with the artists it supports.
The next area of focus was the wordmark and brand typography. The existing design leaned heavily into an 80s aesthetic. While visually distinctive, this risked communicating a narrower creative focus than the label actually supports.
To address this, I designed a more refined and neutral typographic approach, supported by small custom details and flexible lockups. This allowed the brand to carry personality without dominating the identities of the artists it represents.
A key part of the brief was ensuring the brand would never compete with the talent on Perception’s roster. The identity needed presence, but restraint. Almost invisible unless you were specifically looking for it. Typography became the connective tissue between all brand assets, quietly communicating the label’s identity while flexing seamlessly across co-branded releases, without losing sight of what Perception stands for.
Applying the same thinking to colour by building a palette with restrained presence, designed to be felt rather than immediately noticed.
I spent a lot time ensuring the type system was equally adaptable and purposeful as the wordmark. At larger scales, it delivers confident, characterful headings that reinforce Mountainborn’s premium positioning and outdoor credibility.At smaller sizes, it becomes disciplined and highly legible, allowing performance data, specifications, and wayfinding information to be communicated with absolute clarity. This balance ensures the brand can move seamlessly between storytelling and technical detail, whether on digital interfaces, product pages, or physical touchpoints.
This creates a typographic system that feels cohesive and considered, supporting Mountainborn’s ambition to combine design-led brand expression with the demands of functional, performance-driven products.
“I discovered Jack through YouTube and was instantly convinced once I saw his portfolio. Working with him on The Mountainborn logo and brand identity was a wonderful experience. From the very beginning he took the time to understand what not only what I wanted but also what was really needed, guiding the process with clarity, thoughtfulness, and genuine curiosity. He was easy and enjoyable to work with, always responsive and open to exploring ideas together. His work helped refine our thinking and shaped our brand identity into something that truly reflects who we are. I couldn’t be happier with the result and highly recommend him to anyone looking for thoughtful, strategic brand design - thank you Jack!”
Michael
Founder Mountainborn
Like what you see? Thinking about working together?
Drop me a line here. I’m always up for a chat - especially with people who are passionate about what they do.