Context
madebyNetta is a small Norwegian brand of handmade jewellery and cast interior pieces, all made by one person in small batches. I came across the work at a market and could not stop thinking about it.
As a brand designer, I started imagining an identity that could carry as much character as the products already do, and this concept grew from there.
The opportunity
The strength of madebyNetta is its colour and its human touch, in a market where most handmade brands lean on the same soft, muted, botanical look. The opportunity I saw was to build an identity as bold and specific as the objects themselves, so the brand could finally feel as alive as the work. The whole concept starts from the products, never from fixing what was there.
The idea
One pair of hands, turning small things into small joys. Everything is made by one person, in small batches. That fact is the most ownable thing the brand has, so the entire system is built around it.
A self initiated concept rebrand, not affiliated with madebyNetta, created out of admiration for the brand.
The logo
The mark reads first as a soft, organic shape, and on a second look an N appears, the initial of Netta, never spelled out too literally. That slow reveal is what makes it memorable.
The forms are imperfect and hand drawn on purpose, echoing the clay and the cast pieces, so the mark belongs to the products instead of sitting on top of them.
The palette
A constant neutral base of warm paper and ink holds everything together. Colour sits on top and rotates with each collection, drawn from the products themselves. This way the brand can be as colourful as the work without ever being locked to a fixed palette that would clash with the next collection.
A bold, high contrast display for the logo and headlines, balanced by a clean humanist sans for everything else. The products already carry the sweetness, so the type pulls the other way and adds a grown up edge. Expressive headlines, calm body text.
The typography
Most thank you cards end up in the bin. So it becomes a sticker, the brand travels further on something people choose to keep.
A business card that feels like the products. The mark embossed, the pattern wrapping around, the details on the back.
The pattern finds its real home on the wrapping, where nothing competes with it.
