DIRECTION A · STUDIO MAIK · DESIGN SYSTEM v0.1

Objects made slowly, on purpose.

A modern editorial system for a small studio brand. Warm, considered, generously spaced, anchored by a single optical-size serif. Sells the way the object was made as much as the object itself. Closest references: Aesop, Cosmos, Loewe ecommerce, Are.na.

01 · Essence

The premise.

VIBE

Quietly confident

The brand never raises its voice. Generous whitespace. Single bold visual gesture per screen. The serif italic does the emotional work.

VOICE

First-person, dry

Steve is in the copy. Plain language. No slogans. Product names read like piece titles in a gallery.

PRINCIPLE

Show the making

Every PDP carries a "How it was made" block — print time, filament weight, finishing notes. The story is the product.

02 · Colour

A warm palette, sparingly used.

95% of the system runs on paper, ink and a muted neutral ramp. The two accent colours (ochre and sage) appear in moments — hover states, single CTAs, brand moments. Never as background fills.

paper
#F7F2EB
paper-2
#EDE5D8
ink
#1F1A14
ink-2
#2D261D
muted
#8A7E6B
line
#DDD4C2
ochre accent
#C28F47
sage accent
#788C72
03 · Type

Fraunces + Inter + JetBrains Mono.

Fraunces is the system's centre of gravity — variable, optically sized, with a true italic that does the emotional lifting. Inter handles all UI and body. JetBrains Mono carries every label, caps, and price tag where utility-feel is intentional.

display
Made slowly.
Fraunces 300 / 1.0× / -2.5% tracking
h1
A modern studio brand.
Fraunces 400 / 1.0× / -1.8% tracking
h2
Considered every step.
Fraunces 400 / 1.05× / -1.2% tracking
h3 / UI
Section heading
Inter 500 / 1.25× / -0.5% tracking
body
The body sits at 16px with 1.55 line-height. Long-form reading. Paragraphs cap at 65 characters.
Inter 400 / 1.55× / 0%
small
Smaller body — secondary information, captions, supporting copy.
Inter 400 / 1.5× / 0%
caps
EYEBROWS, SECTION INDICES, METADATA
JetBrains Mono / 11px / 14% tracking / UPPER
mono
$129 AUD · 16h print · 240g PLA
JetBrains Mono / 14px / 0%
04 · Spacing

A 4-based rhythm.

--s-1
4px
Tightest gap. Used for tag internal padding.
--s-3
12px
Button padding, line-item gaps.
--s-5
24px
Standard card padding. Default vertical rhythm.
--s-6
32px
Section internal gap. Hero margins.
--s-7
48px
Section head to body. Major separation.
--s-8
64px
Block-to-block within section.
--s-9
96px
Section vertical padding (default).
--s-10
144px
Hero top breathing room.
05 · Components

A small kit, deeply consistent.

Fewer components used well. Buttons in three variants. Cards with one shape. Inputs unified. No floating UI flourishes — the brand is the layout and the type, not the chrome.

Buttons

PRIMARY · GHOST · LINK

View object

Pill radius. Hover state shifts primary to ochre. Ghost inverts on hover. Link is the lightest weight.

Tags / pills

OUTLINE · OCHRE · SAGE

3D-printed in AU New drop Limited

Outline default. Filled variants used only for moments that need attention.

Form input

EMAIL / TEXT / SEARCH

Section indicator

NUMBERED · SLOW READING

05 · Components

A small kit, deeply consistent.

The numbered eyebrow + serif italic combo is the system's signature.

06 · Product cards

Object-first, copy second.

Tall 4:5 imagery, soft warm-tone gradients as backdrop, serif italic name, mono price. Hover lifts subtly. No "Add to cart" on the card itself — the card invites the click into the PDP, where the story lives.

The Peaks lamp
Topographic sculpture, AU mountain range.
New $129 AUD
The Cradle lamp
Tasmanian peaks, ash & sage finish.
3D-printed $109 AUD
The Ember lamp
Warm dusk colourway, USB-C.
Limited 50 $129 AUD
07 · Sample PDP

The system in context.

A condensed product detail page composition. Long-read PDPs are the brand's signature. The first scroll is image + name + price + buy. Below that is the slow-reading: how it was made, who made it, what the materials are, how long it takes.

DROP 03 · IN STOCK

The Peaks lamp Cradle Mtn.

A topographic sculpture printed in three colourways of plant-based PLA. The shape traces the actual contours of Cradle Mountain at 5m intervals. USB-C powered. Lights from a removable LED puck inside.

$129 AUD free AU shipping
Print time
16 hours
Material
320g plant PLA
Made in
Melbourne, AU
Ships in
5-7 days
FROM STEVE

Cradle was the first AU peak I traced — the contours form a perfect lampshade silhouette when you slice them at 5m intervals. This one took 16 hours. I think it's the best object I've made this year.

08 · Motion

Restrained motion principles.

Motion supports reading. Never decorates. Every transition uses the same easing curve — cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1) — so the brand feels physically coherent.

Duration tokens

  • --d-1: 180ms — hover state colour shift
  • --d-2: 320ms — card lift, button hover
  • --d-3: 600ms — section reveal, page transition

Principles

  • → Every transition same easing — never parallax
  • → Subtle lift on hover, never tilt
  • → No bounce. No spring. No ripple
  • → Section reveals stagger 80ms max
09 · Voice

A specific Steve in every line.

First-person where appropriate. Plain language. No corporate "we". No exclamation marks. No emoji. Product copy reads like a craftsman explaining the object — not a brand selling it.

Sample voice — homepage hero

DROP 03 · LIVE NOW

Objects made slowly, in Melbourne.

Sculptural lamps printed one at a time from plant-based PLA. Each one takes a day. I make every piece myself, in a small studio in the city's north.

Sample voice — PDP block

HOW IT WAS MADE

320 grams of corn-based PLA, sliced at 0.2mm layer height, printed across sixteen hours on a single P1P. The colourway is two filaments blended through the AMS — I tested twelve before settling on these two.

If anything goes wrong with it, email me and I'll reprint it.

10 · Do / Don't

How to keep it coherent.

DO
Use Fraunces italic only on the headline serif moments — never on body copy.
DO
Run mono on every metadata, price, technical spec.
DO
Photograph objects in natural light against warm tone backdrops.
DO
Cap paragraphs at 65 characters for reading rhythm.
DO
Keep eyebrow + serif italic combo as the brand signature.
DON'T
Mix in any third typeface beyond Fraunces, Inter, JetBrains Mono.
DON'T
Use ochre or sage as background fill — accent only.
DON'T
Apply gradients to text or buttons.
DON'T
Use emoji, exclamation marks, or hand-drawn ornamentation.
DON'T
Bring in second accent colour or rainbow palettes.
11 · Bundle fit

Where this belongs.

LAMPS

★★★ Strong

Aesop-meets-Wooj. Sculptural lamps photograph natively into this system. PDP storytelling matches Lamp line's narrative bandwidth.

MADE-FOR

★★★ Strong

Gifting earns warmth and slow-read PDPs. Personalisation feels considered, not transactional. Best fit overall.

CARAVAN

★ Mismatched

Caravan accessories want functional, no-nonsense UI. This system overdresses them. Pick Direction C if Caravan wins Gate B.