Design Academy. When we see room for better
Case studies on real brands: we learn in public, with the process in plain view.
The studies ↓
A free programme, in our spare time
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Real brands
We work on real brands and products, not on convenient imaginary companies. Mostly from here, sometimes from anywhere: the method is the same.
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Free for everyone
Brands get the suggestions at no cost, and readers get the whole process. Everyone has something to learn.
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Not criticism, another way
We measure before we propose, and we publish the paths that didn’t work, too.
Two initiatives, one way of working
We learn in publicDesign AcademyWe publish the process so anyone can learn: the analysis, the options, the doubts. On real brands, from here and from anywhere.You are here
We giveLending a HandWe send the proposal to whoever can use it: mockup, code, recommendations. For organisations building a digital Moldova.rt.md/umarul ↗
Sometimes one piece of work is both: a proposal sent through Lending a Hand becomes a study in the Academy.
The 2026 series
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Sep 2026
InterfacePolestar 2
The driver display, rethought
We rebuild the driver’s screen 1:1, diagnose it in measurable terms and work through seven versions to a proposal for Calm mode.
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Aug 2026
TypographyPurcari
The invisible repair
The seven most printed serif letters in Moldova, refined one by one, without anyone noticing.
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Aug 2026
ProcessGura Căinarului
How we search for a logo
Not the result, but the process: the rebrand analysed, the history of the bottles, six directions and the debate, doubts and all.
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Aug 2026
LogoPelican Negru
From a single line
For Moldova’s only biodynamic wine, the pelican becomes a signature. Bonus: a label system made of feathers.
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May 2026
Lending a Handnic.md
Key pages on a design system
A redesign for the .md domain registry, built on the Government’s Unified Design Model: registration flow, user dashboard, public pages. 17 pages, with code.
The proposals sent through Lending a Hand (Sony Center, nic.md) have their stories written up, too.
2020
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Mar 2020
IdentityFlyOne
An imaginary rebrand
A symbol drawn from the experience of flight, a new typeface, a pattern. And why all that still doesn’t make a brand.
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Feb 2020
LogoTattoo studio
Same elements, better execution
Typeface, line weights, proximity, white space: a technical re-execution of the Kliuchnikoff logo.
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Jan 2020
ProcessLogo
The design process
Every stage, start to finish: discovery, sketches, directions, presentation, iterations, delivery. With a complete example.
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Jan 2020
IdentityMICB
Long names, complicated symbols
An imaginary MoldIndConBank rebrand: geometry on a grid, fewer shapes, more consistency.
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Jan 2020
LogoConstruction company
Part two: differentiation
Three directions: explain everything, negative space, or type alone. Which one truly identifies?
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Jan 2020
LogoConstruction company
Part one: execution
Sketches, symbol, typeface, composition. And why good execution is not enough.
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Jan 2020
TypographyPâinița Haiduc
The lettering in a logo
A letter-by-letter analysis, then the execution: consistency through repetition, angles and weights. Evolution, not revolution.
Concepts, not just articles
- Optical balancePolestar 2
- Grouping by proximityPolestar 2
- The quick glancePolestar 2
- Kerning and micro-typographyPurcari
- How to choose between directionsGura Căinarului
- One line, one weightPelican Negru
- Negative spaceConstruction company
- Simplifying on a gridMICB
- The typefacePâinița Haiduc
- Proximity and white spaceTattoo studio
- A brand is more than a logoFlyOne
- The process behind a logoLogo, the process
A labour of love
The Academy is a labour of love: our own initiative, no funding, worked on in our spare time. And there is never enough spare time - we are caught up in other projects just as fascinating.
We are sure many people know better how things should have been done - and that it could have been done much better. We agree, honestly: we invite you to do it. There is room for every hand.
We don’t have much time for meetings and calls, but we answer emails at the first chance we get - whether it is a thank-you, a question or a collaboration.