Milkshake's car-culture record label identity | Mindsparkle — Graphics Design

STUDIO HERRSTRÖM

Vienna, Austria

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Taking a record label for a spin: Milkshake's car-culture identity

Milkshake was founded in 2019 to give artists a more personal kind of label experience, closer to the full world around the music. Part label and part management company, the Stockholm-based division of Sony Music Entertainment works across left-of-centre pop and alt-pop, with a roster that includes Molly Sandén, Felix Sandman and Dunalia. Its new identity comes from Vienna-based STUDIO HERRSTRÖM, which set out to turn the label's origin story and artist-first mindset into a flexible visual system.

The previous look was recognisable, expressive and colourful, but by 2025 the label had outgrown it. Milkshake needed a clearer brand identity that could reflect a more mature company without losing what made it special. The brief was to help it grow into its next stage while staying artist-first, experimental and undeniably its own.

The visual direction came from a place that had always been part of the story: the car. The name Milkshake was first suggested on a car ride, when someone brought up milkshakes simply because the founding team loved them. Over the years, important milestones kept happening in cars, and new music was literally taken "for a spin" to test it, pitch it and feel it in motion.

The new logotype builds on the splash energy of the old brand but gives it a more grown-up, focused form. Alongside it, the studio drew a rounded symbol with a blended shape, inspired by the way metal, liquid and surrounding objects seem to merge into one another. The result is a mark that feels both physical and fluid, quick to notice and hard to ignore around a release.

The wider system borrows from road signs, car details, pop culture and shake flavours. Information lockups are modelled on car window stickers and milk carton nutrition labels, giving track names, release dates and even the p-line symbol a natural home. Set in Gates, a neo-grotesque from Context Type, the typography adds a clear editorial structure without ever feeling rigid.

Colour pairs fresh flavour cues with road-inspired tones, and the high contrast keeps Milkshake recognisable across artist campaigns, label communications and digital channels. Iconography adds moments of curiosity, letting the brand shift between structured, playful and experimental expressions. It gives the label enough structure to hold everything together and enough freedom to keep each artist at the centre.

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STUDIO HERRSTRÖM

STUDIO HERRSTRÖM is a design studio for brands who move culture. We partner with companies in music, tech, and culture who dare to be different—brands with bold ambitions to shape culture and redefine how people experience it. We build brand identities, campaigns, and experiences that drive relevance and grow lasting fan communities. From platforms and artists to hardware brands and cultural events, we work at pivotal moments of launch, growth, or transformation. What sets STUDIO HERRSTRÖM apart is a design process rooted in cultural insight and emotional resonance. Our proprietary framework—THE ECHO™—moves through three phases: Immerse, Create, and Impact. From deep research to final rollout, we design brands built for clarity, consistency, and long-term cultural relevance. This approach has built lasting partnerships with Spotify and Sony Music, and enabled collaborations with Meta Quest, Native Instruments, and Sound xyz. We don’t just create visibility—we build brands people feel, remember, and belong to. Because in today’s world, brands must keep up with culture—or risk becoming irrelevant.

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