So excited to see Creative Intelligence 2026 by @Contra Labs out in the world!
At @Heed Collective , we had the pleasure of designing both the website and the report. We’re incredibly grateful for this collaboration!
Our creative exploration started with a question:
What does Creative Intelligence mean today?
We believe it lives at the intersection of creativity and analysis, imagination and insight.
We translated this into a visual story that begins in space — vast, dreamy, full of possibility — and gradually moves closer to Earth, grounding imagination in something tangible and human.
Huge congrats to the whole team, @Erin Horner, @Ben Huffman, @Mark Vassilevskiy, @Alex Karpodinis, @Stacy · Heed Collective, @Heed Collective , and the entire @Contra Labs team 👏
A visual experiment built around an unused logo concept from a recent branding project.
The design was created manually, while exploring how AI-driven aesthetics are increasingly influencing contemporary visual language, even when AI itself isn’t part of the design process.
Logo design, art direction and visual exploration.
The dark, high-contrast cinematic aesthetic and thoughtful exploration of contemporary visual language are brilliant. Such a striking experimental brand visual!
SYSTEM IN MOTION — Exploring Responsive Graphic Design
What happens when a visual identity moves beyond static composition and becomes a dynamic, responsive design system?
This experimental graphic design project for 1286 CRAFT explores the relationship between bold typography, geometric structures, elastic grids, and kinetic motion.
Built around a distinctive visual language of cobalt blue, vibrant red-orange, warm yellow, and high-contrast black, the project transforms rigid graphic elements into expressive, adaptable compositions.
The Creative Direction
The concept begins with structured grids, modular geometry, and strong typographic hierarchy. These foundational elements gradually evolve into fluid forms, curved pathways, directional movements, and interconnected visual systems.
Each composition investigates a different aspect of transformation, demonstrating how consistent design principles can support both precision and creative flexibility.
From Static Design to Motion
The project extends beyond traditional poster design through a short motion sequence that brings the visual system to life.
Geometric forms expand, intersect, rotate, and transition into flowing compositions, creating a seamless relationship between static graphic design and motion-driven storytelling.
The Design Philosophy
Great visual systems should do more than look consistent. They should communicate, respond, evolve, and create meaningful connections across different formats and experiences.
This exploration brings together experimental typography, editorial composition, modular design, and motion principles to demonstrate how a single creative direction can become a cohesive visual language.
When the grid starts bending into those curved pathways, what keeps it reading as 1286 CRAFT, the palette or the type? Curious which one you treated as the non-negotiable.