IBM | Software Toolkits

Building on the momentum of our previous collaborations, IBM approached Tendril with a compelling opportunity: to help shape their brand evolution. As IBM continued to expand across products and campaigns, the need for greater cohesion became increasingly apparent.

The solution was simple in theory but complex in execution: build a unified and flexible design system that can be adapted across IBM’s global campaigns. Our design approach is guided by a philosophy that defines our practice: bringing clarity to complexity.

A System that Translates

Our team started with a design sprint. This collaboration presented a unique opportunity for us to go beyond just individual campaign visuals and help shape the foundation of IBM’s visual language. The question grew bigger than the brief itself: What is IBM at its core? And how do we define a tactile, precise visual language that could scale across everything IBM makes?

Using IBM's 2D Carbon design system as a base, we created a hybrid visual narrative by bridging expressive, poetic abstraction with precise product storytelling. Our approach combined functional UI elements with elegant visual metaphors, a blend of utility and humanity.

From systems to stories

For IBM Think 2026, we took to the work we built during the design sprint and created a series of films for three new software launches:

IBM Concert is about turning chaos into control by unifying application, infrastructure, and network operations across hybrid IT infrastructure. IBM Sovereign Core empowers organizations to control and enforce their own digital sovereignty. IBM Enterprise Advantage operationalizes AI at an enterprise level, enabling outcomes at scale.

The challenge lies in translating each distinct concept into films while remaining grounded to the established IBM code. We further explored the element of glass and subsurface materials, reinterpreting UI elements with tactility and clarity. For Enterprise Advantage specifically, we went a step further by introducing a subtle sense of humanity: how do we suggest the presence of people without showing them?

Process and R&D

This project was one that truly pushed us. All three films were produced simultaneously, which created significant rendering demands. The greater challenge was in conceptualizing B2B software built on ideas that are hard to visualize. What does digital sovereignty look like? How can scale be expressed visually? The work must translate abstract infrastructure into something that is coherent and could land in under a minute.

Building for the Future

These films launched at IBM Think 2026 and we are grateful to see the work publicly recognized. This partnership reflects the trust IBM has placed in Tendril as a creative partner, and we don't take that lightly. Some of our most meaningful work at Tendril has never been a one-off deliverable with a client, it's the ongoing work of helping brands evolve, building toward something larger over time.