Brooklyn-based ceramicist Danny Kaplan, who specialises in lighting and sculptural furniture, came to us to rebrand his eponymous studio. We established a new identity around his existing marque and carried it through a custom-designed and built website equipped to serve both as a gallery for his practice and an e-commerce platform for direct and trade customers. Drawing from historic ceramic publications, a poetic design language places Danny’s artistry in clear focus. Stempel Garamond paired with Pica monospace reflects the finely tuned balance between the warmth of handcraft and functionality.

For the website’s portfolio facet, a collection index features the silhouette of each piece, emphasising its distinctly sculptural contours. On the product pages, a structured information system distils a complex array of details into a clear overview that retains a gallery-like feel. To enhance the user experience for trade customers, which reflect a significant proportion of Danny’s clientele, we designed a dedicated segment of the website that offers efficient account establishment and access to trade pricing. An interactive collage-style footer anchors the site, bringing together its several aspects while serving as a space for further storytelling through tonal imagery illuminated in colour upon hover.

A range of printed assets including business cards, a fold-out guide and product specification sheets continue the silhouette concept of website index page through the studio’s analogue artefacts. Equally weighted between the artistic and the commercial, the brand identity and its applications have accompanied Danny as he has grown his practice, built a substantial international following and received wide-ranging press coverage.