ROVE, a Maine-based studio founded by director Gabe Bornstein and director/DP
Jay Brown, has relaunched with a new brand identity and website at
rovebeyond.com, formalizing nearly a decade of work for clients including
Google, Spotify, Disney, Toyota, Converse, and NOBULL.
The interesting part is not the rebrand itself. It is the geography. ROVE was
built, in the founders’ own telling, without treating its location as
something to overcome — no move to a traditional industry hub, no
brick-and-mortar office as proof of seriousness. The studio grew by putting
creativity and craft ahead of address, and the new identity reflects what it
grew into rather than where it wishes it were.
That is a useful data point for independent teams. The old pitch was that
small studios had to look big and coastal to win big clients. ROVE’s client
list suggests the opposite case is now winnable: be visibly rooted somewhere,
do consistently strong work, and let the work travel further than the studio
does.
The studio has also signed Ashley McKim Consulting to help bring its work to
more brands, agencies, and markets — a reminder that even a rebrand aimed at
independence usually comes with a distribution plan attached.
Source: Little Black Book, “ROVE Launches New Brand Identity and Website,
Signs Ashley McKim Consulting” (Oct 21, 2026):
https://lbbonline.com/news/rove-launches-new-brand-identity-and-website-signs-ashley-mckim-consulting
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