Meet Feels Like: the studio thriving in the new era of design and tech

The Brand Identity: Feels Like is a design and innovation studio in Los Angeles and Barcelona, born from B-Reel, a digital creative practice originally founded in 1999. After two decades navigating Flash, mobile, social platforms and AR/VR, the team has stripped back to what Creative Director and Co-Founder Petter Westlund describes as their “magic sauce”: the combination of design and technology, delivered by a small and focused team.

In this interview, Westlund discusses why digital experiences are a missed opportunity for most brands, the value of the intimate studio format, and what the team learned building an AI biomechanics tool for Olympic athletes. TBI Hi Petter! How are things at Feels Like, between Los Angeles and Barcelona? PW Happily, both are sunny. TBI For those discovering the studio for the first time, how would you describe what Feels Like is all about? PW The name itself pretty much holds the clue. We found that as the world gets increasingly systematised and processed, the idea of being moved by something is what keeps design and creativity relevant.

It might sound tropey, but we believe it’s fundamental. Our industry often likes to quantify the way great businesses operate, and like most things, there’s a logic to it. But that logic follows something liminal, not the other way around. Great brands are born of inspiration, whether it's solving a problem or making things that people gravitate towards visually; both function as a means to inspire. We believe that making products that make you feel something, injects a sense of spirit into the mundane – both in everyday interactions or more systemic ones that operate at scale.

How you capture that spirit and how you distil it is what interests us. TBI B-Reel had been around since 1999 and had evolved considerably over that time. How did the decision to become Feels Like Studio come about? PW With B-Reel, we went through a lot of different phases. Started out as a small digital studio wanting to bridge internet, animation and video, when not that many people were doing that. We worked through different paradigms of digital. Flash, mobile, Web 2.0, social platforms, AR/VR hype.

Sometimes we leaned more into motion and animation, sometimes into filmmaking, eventually working as a full-service creative partner with many outputs. After 20+ years and with a world and creative industry in change, it was time to evolve. And we felt our true roots were firmly grounded in the combo of design and tech. If we’ve ever had a ‘magic sauce,’ that has been it. So we went back to that vital core, what made us excited as creators and craftspeople, but with a format that made sense for the future. A focused, tight studio team. We truly believe the conditions have changed.

A small, sharp team can reach so much further than before. Our job isn’t just to reduce friction in a transaction. Our job isn’t just to reduce friction in a transaction. TBI Why is it so important that a digital interface makes someone feel something, rather than simply function well? PW Standardisation and UX methodology have given us a lot, but sometimes it also puts a ceiling on creative ambition.

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The article discusses a significant evolution in design and technology that emphasizes emotional engagement, making it impactful and relevant for brand strategy professionals, though the concept of combining design and tech is not entirely new.