AD450 · Brand identity & print advertising

Craft Lab

Building a visual identity for a fictional maker company, from a letterform logo to stationery and advertising.

Course project · Work in progress · 2026–present

ContextAD450 · Fictional company
RoleIndividual student designer
ToolsAdobe Illustrator
Current workLogo, stationery & print ads

At a glance

Current deliverables
A dimensional logo, five stationery artboards, and four advertising artboards created in Adobe Illustrator.
My contribution
Individual identity, typography, layout, and illustration work for a fictional company in AD450.
Project boundary
Ongoing coursework, not commissioned client work. The brochure, direct mail, booklet, and website deliverables remain planned.
Craft Lab logo with a purple C and yellow and pink E letterforms arranged like a cubeIdentity → applications
Square Craft Lab advertisement pairing the headline Little things, Big personality with illustrated charms and earrings Wide billboard concept with the headline Small prints, Big ideas and the Craft Lab logo
Original logo and advertising artboards from AD450. These are digital course designs, not photographs of installed or printed advertisements.

The project

Craft Lab, also named Cee Craft Lab in the artwork, is a fictional company developed across my AD450 assignments. Inspired by my interest in designing and making small objects, the concept centers on personalized charms, jewelry, and 3D-printed pieces.

Each assignment extends the same identity into a different format. The aim is to make the pieces feel related while adapting the amount of information, scale, and layout to their intended use.

This is coursework, not a commissioned client project or an operating business. Company URLs, email addresses, and the “Manager” title shown inside the artwork are fictional course content, not my contact details or a professional role. Craft Lab is separate from Xiaoxi Studio LLC.

01 · Identity

The Week 2 logo combines a purple C with yellow and pink E letterforms in a dimensional, cube-like arrangement. Perspective and overlap connect the mark to the idea of constructing an object.

Across later pieces, the symbol becomes both a compact signature and an oversized background graphic. Purple carries most of the type; yellow and pink add accents. The advertising also explores a purple-led logo variation.

02 · Stationery

The Week 4 set carries the identity onto a letterhead, an envelope, and a two-sided business card. Pale, enlarged fragments of the mark create a shared background treatment, while the smaller logo and repeated tagline connect the individual layouts.

The five artboards below show the current digital designs. The letterhead uses placeholder body copy as part of the layout exercise.

Letterhead layout with a small Craft Lab logo, placeholder letter text, and a pale oversized monogram
Letterhead · Layout with placeholder copy
Business card front with the Cee Craft Lab logo and Design Create Explore tagline
Business card · Front
Business card back with fictional manager and contact details over a pale monogram
Business card · Back with fictional contact details
Envelope front with Craft Lab branding, a large pale logo, and an outlined address area
Envelope · Front
Envelope reverse design with a purple flap, white logo, and fictional company details
Envelope · Reverse

03 · Print advertising

The Week 6 advertising set uses illustrated small objects, large serif headlines, and the same brand colors across four formats. The portrait and square pieces introduce the maker concept; the magazine-style layout has space for a sketch-to-finish story.

The billboard reduces the message to a short headline and logo. Changing the information density makes each composition suit its format instead of simply resizing one design.

Portrait advertisement with Ideas take shape headline and an illustrated purple C keychain
Portrait advertisement · Product-led composition
Magazine-style advertisement with Made small Made yours headline, earrings, and sketch model print finish steps
Magazine-style advertisement · Process-led storytelling
Square advertisement combining a keychain, earrings, and the dimensional Cee monogram
Square advertisement · The illustrated object family
Billboard concept using only the short Small prints Big ideas message and logo
Billboard concept · A short message for a wide format

Still in progress

The project will continue as new AD450 assignments are developed. The following deliverables are planned, not completed or shown as finished work here.

  • BrochurePlanned
  • Direct mail piecePlanned
  • 8-page bookletPlanned
  • Company website homepagePlanned
  • Website site mapPlanned