Eaude Studio's research-based practice produces considered and confident graphic design

A little over a year ago, Chris Glickman, who was working for Totokaelo at the time, met Isaac Friedman-Heiman who had come in to consult for the clothing retailer. “The project there didn’t really end up going anywhere, but we enjoyed working together, had different backgrounds and areas of expertise, which began our conversation about starting a small studio of our own,” Chris tells It’s Nice That.

Fast forward to the autumn of 2017, both creatives were at a point in their career where they were looking “for the next step” and felt it was necessary to “start something new in order to focus on the type of work that we’re interested in”, they explain. As a result, Eaude Studio was born, a collaboration between Chris and Isaac, focusing on art direction and – for a studio still in its infancy – it’s one that’s already producing some impressive results.

The duo’s first project, and the moment in which Eaude solidified itself as a functioning studio, was the SS18 campaign for Arc’teryx Veilance. “When we won the campaign, it gave us both the runway we needed to leave our full-time jobs and get a small studio space in the LES,” Chris explains, “Veilance has remained one of our main clients and favourite collaborators.”

Eaude Studio’s work, although varying in output, has a clear direction in terms of aesthetics. Often with pared-back colour palettes, projects are completed with a finesse that feels considered and confident. They exude the experience that both Chris – at brands like Stüssy and Totokaelo – and Isaac – at studios like Souda and WorkOf – have together amassed.

Despite this, Chris and Isaac explain, in perhaps a glimpse of what’s to come for the studio that, “our personal taste is far less austere and specific than what we have presented to date”. Instead, their projects, and how they look, have developed as a knock-on effect of each other. “For now,” they add, “our goal is to continue growing our visual imprint by making distinctive work. Eventually, the big picture should come into focus.”

When it comes to their process, however, the duo is more resolute about what it is that produces their results. “We start out every project collaboratively,” they tell us, “As a studio we believe fundamentally in thorough research and finding the reference – whether it’s visual, written or otherwise, that we need to come back to the table and have a real conversation about concept until it feels clear to us both.” Both Chris and Isaac invest time into this research, as “vehemently curious people”, often digging through museum databases or visiting galleries to experience work in person.

And this time pays off, as their outcomes are often highly referential and thorough in their execution. Take, for example, their graphics for an independent label run by friend Nico Jacobson called Broken Call Records. “These are often fast and intuitive responses to the tapes he’s putting out,” Chris tells us. Utilising various digital tools, Eaude Studio reflects the themes of organic futurism in Nico’s output, by contrasting those tools with custom lettering where perfection is never a priority. Although on a small scale, this project represents what the studio does so well. With seemingly unembellished and simple visuals, each is underpinned by a strong concept, giving their work unity and energy and, in turn, visual distinction.