PIN Pottery
Brand identity, design system and online shop for a geometric ceramics studio.
Role
Brand & Product Designer
Platform
Brand Identity · Responsive Web
Status
Shipped
The Challenge
PIN Pottery makes geometric ceramics by hand and releases them in small, limited drops. The studio needed a complete brand: a logo, a visual identity and a design system that could work on the pieces themselves, on packaging and in an online shop.
The identity had to match the precision of the ceramics. The shop also had to fit the drop model: most of the time there is little to sell, then a drop opens and pieces sell out fast. The goal was one system that feels consistent from the pieces themselves to the online shop.
A Mark Built From Geometry
PIN Pottery’s work is defined by its geometric forms. The logo had to carry that same character, so the brand feels like the pieces even before anyone sees one.
I reduced the three letters to bold, simplified geometric shapes, with the same discipline the artist applies to each piece. The result is a compact mark that holds up at any size, from packaging to the shop’s header.
Color and Type, Drawn From the Work
The glazes already gave the pieces a clear visual language. Building the palette from them helped the brand sit naturally next to the ceramics, in photos, in packaging and in the shop.
I drew four colors from recurring glazes: a deep navy, a warm off-white, a soft green and a deep teal. For type, I paired Cormorant, an expressive serif for headlines, with DM Sans for body text and interface details, so product names feel crafted while prices and descriptions stay easy to read.
Carrying the System Into Packaging
For an online shop, the package is the first thing a customer holds. It had to feel as considered as the piece inside.
I carried the same palette, type and materials into boxes, wrapping, stickers, tags and cards, so opening the package feels like part of owning the piece.
The Shop
I built the online shop on Shopify and carried the design system into it, shaping the experience around the studio’s drop model.
Designed Around the Drop
Pieces are released in small drops, so most of the time there’s nothing new to buy. The homepage had to keep people interested between releases instead of looking empty.
Before a drop, the homepage announces what’s coming with a countdown and an email sign-up, so visitors can get notified when new work is available.
Designed for Limited Availability
Each piece is made in small numbers, so stock changes quickly during a drop. Customers needed to see what’s still available without opening each product.
I designed the product cards to show stock status at a glance: a “3 left” badge when a piece is running low, and a “Sold out” badge with a dimmed card once it’s gone. Each card also lists the size, set details and glaze colors, so customers can compare pieces straight from the grid.
Designed for Mobile
Drop announcements reach people on their phones, so the mobile shop had to carry the whole drop: waiting for it, browsing it and buying.
Before a drop, the email sign-up comes first. Once it’s live, the top bar switches to “Now Live” and products show in a two-column grid with their stock badges. On the product page, glaze options are labeled by name, so customers don’t have to tell colors apart by the dot alone.
Designing in the Live Shop
Instead of designing every screen in Figma first, I worked directly in Shopify. That let me test each decision on the real site, with real products and real content.
I carried the design system into the theme: the palette, type and spacing are set once and used across every page. When the theme didn’t offer what the drop model needed, such as the countdown and the stock badges, I built new sections with Shopify’s AI tools and edited the code with Claude.
Reflection
This project let me shape a brand from its first mark to a working shop. Building directly in Shopify meant every design decision was tested on the real product, not just in a mockup.
With the first drop about to open, real customers will show what works. Next, I want to design what the shop looks like once a drop has sold out, improve the product page, and turn the heart icons into a working wishlist so customers can save pieces for the next drop.
