SecretlyClient Information
9 December, 2025Print
Dead Oceans Reveals New Identity, Rebranding Its Visual World For The First Time Since 2007 Inception
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Since its formation in 2007, Dead Oceans has pushed forth a modern reimagining of the indie-rock canon. From championing proven icons like Bright Eyes, Japanese Breakfast, Khruangbin, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, Slowdive and Toro y Moi, to introducing rising stars such as Avalon Emerson, Cassandra Jenkins, Durand Jones & The Indications, Greg Mendez, Jensen McRae, Kevin Morby, MRCY, Scowl, Shame and Wednesday, the independent record label has grown into a dynamic home that is built to serve a staggering mix of artists who span sound, age and sense of place.
With a perennial focus on groundbreaking recordings, Dead Oceans has continually expanded what the "indie" genre is and can be, while honoring and subverting classic underground music for a new century. But as the company nears its 20th Anniversary, it has chosen to upgrade and elevate its visual identity, reflecting both the energy and breadth of its current roster, and the broad, vibrant future it is shaping. For the first time since its inception, Dead Oceans has revealed a rebrand.
Working together with design studio FISK to create a central new logo – as well as corresponding characters, color and type palettes, wordmarks and more – Dead Oceans turns the page on its next chapter. As of today, the creative direction can be seen across its official site and socials, and on all forthcoming record releases, physical merchandise and digital products. The rebrand will also extend to an exclusive, one-night gallery takeover in NYC tonight. Presented in partnership with Dropbox and Tito's, the private celebration includes a special collaboration by independent menswear brand Corridor, as well as collaborative beers with Ocelot Brewing Co. and Bluejacket Brewery.
In a moment that is meant to capture and present new ideas, Dead Oceans' fresh identity sets forth its ongoing ambitions to demand attention, present change and always embrace a progressive approach. "People will have their favorite brands, but a record label is something else," says Miles Johnson, Head of Art and Design at Secretly Group (Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, Saddest Factory Records, Secretly Canadian). "It's more of a badge of honor than a brand in lots of ways. If I saw someone with a hat or shirt or tote bag from a label I loved, I'd know, oh, there's one of my people. That happens with record labels in a way that doesn't happen with anything else."
"We tried to rebrand the Dead Oceans identity into something that felt more contemporary and accessible, but mostly something that felt timeless," says Stefano Giustiniani, Design Director at FISK. "That was the biggest challenge. What qualifies as something that is timeless and what doesn't? There was a big structure around the character – the typography, the colors, the layouts that were managed in a very minimal and reduced way, but controlled. And then the character came in as a way of spicing up that minimalism, to have something that would provide expression to the brand. It is something that people could easily identify themselves with. One of the great traits for timeless logos, and word marks, is that people can reproduce them on their backpack or draw them on a piece of paper. How do you communicate branding through a community? A big part of it was trying to make a character that felt abstract at times but also friendly enough and easy to reproduce."
"I think what the character represents is that Dead Oceans is very interested in tangibility," adds Bijan Berahimi, Founder of FISK. "It's a through line with a lot of the artists. What the character represents is tangible listening. Sometimes, projects use their legacy and history as a crux and kind of lean into it. What I appreciate about Dead Oceans is they're always future-looking with the artists they're signing. There's always someone unexpected. Not every artist is the same genre, but I think there's a relationship between all of the musicians that is rooted in more of an ethos and a broader, tangible culture that they're all interested in."
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