Zenzak: Minimal Open-Source Brand Development
Zak Smith
Zenzak: A Minimal, Open-Source Brand Built for Clarity and Interactive Web Experiences
Built Zenzak as an open-source visualization studio brand where client work stays front and center—minimal black-and-white design paired with SvelteKit and WebGL for interactive demos that prove technical capability.
Branding Considerations
Agencies and visualization studios face a constant tension: how do you showcase stunning visual work without letting your own brand overshadow the client assets you're trying to highlight? And how do you build a website that's both polished and adaptable enough to support interactive features like three.js visualizations without a complete rewrite?
Most portfolios either go full-spectacle (distracting from client work) or stay static and dated. Neither option builds the trust and flexibility needed for long-term client partnerships or community collaboration.
My Approach to a Brand System: Black, White, and Bold Typography
The Zenzak identity is deliberately minimal—a pure black-and-white palette paired with generous whitespace and bold type. This isn't boring; it's strategic. By removing color from the brand layer, every client project—whether it's a vibrant product render, a technical animation, or an explainer video—becomes the hero.
This approach also signals clarity and confidence. Stakeholders see precision, not decoration.
Architecture: SvelteKit + GitHub → Netlify
Rather than lock into a rigid framework, I chose SvelteKit as the foundation for three specific reasons:
1. Reactive and Flexible Svelte's compiler-driven approach means minimal JavaScript overhead. The framework gets out of the way, making it straightforward to integrate third-party libraries like three.js without architectural friction.
2. Server-Side Rendering (SSR) by Default Fast initial page loads matter for portfolio sites. SvelteKit's SSR ensures content is available before JavaScript runs, improving perceived performance and SEO.
3. Future-Proof Extensibility The modular design supports adding interactive experiences—WebGL visualizations, real-time interactions, dynamic 3D content—without requiring a migration later. This is critical as the studio evolves.
Deployment: A GitHub repository connected to Netlify via continuous deployment. Every push to main automatically builds and deploys, turning inspiration into live updates within minutes.
Open Source as a Trust Signal
The entire codebase is public on GitHub. This isn't about altruism alone—it's a strategic choice:
Transparency: Clients and prospects can examine exactly how the site works. No black boxes, no mystery. This builds credibility faster than any marketing claim.
Community Value: The studio benefited from countless open-source projects. Publishing the code is a way to give back.
Feedback Loop: Public work attracts suggestions, bug reports, and improvements from the community. It's collaborative development at its best.
The Interactive Demo: Physics-Driven Three.js Scene
One of the most exciting recent additions to the Zenzak site is an interactive physics scene built with three.js.
What It Does
The scene renders a collection of spheres that drift and interact in real-time, guided by simple physics constraints. The key design decision: text appears behind the spheres. This layering keeps the content readable while motion happens in front, creating an engaging visual without sacrificing information hierarchy.
A "Push" button lets visitors dispatch the spheres quickly, clearing the viewport and resetting the scene. It's both functional and satisfying—a small interaction that hints at the technical depth behind the studio's work.
Why It Matters
This demo serves multiple purposes:
Credibility: It proves real-time interaction design and WebGL competency. Clients looking for motion graphics, interactive product explainers, or engaging web experiences can see these skills in action.
Engagement: Movement draws the eye and holds attention longer than static images. Visitors spend more time on the page, building familiarity with the brand.
Inspiration: Other developers and designers see a working example of how to layer content with motion—a technique that's elegant but not always intuitive.
For Potential Clients
I build interactive product visualizations, technical animations, UI/UX demonstrations, and WebGL experiences for startups, engineering firms, marketing teams, and product designers. The Zenzak site is proof of process—transparent, adaptable, and built to grow.
Interested in:
Product visualization & photorealistic renders
Technical explainer animations
UI/UX app demonstrations
Interactive web experiences with three.js
What This Proves
1. Strategic constraint drives innovation: Removing color didn't limit the brand—it freed it to work with any aesthetic.
2. Technical decisions compound: Choosing SvelteKit early meant adding three.js later required almost no architectural changes. The foundation was built for flexibility.
3. Transparency builds trust: Publishing source code and showing work-in-progress honestly attracts aligned clients and collaborators.
4. Iteration beats perfection: A site that improves monthly outperforms one that launches "complete" and then stagnates.
Technologies & Stack
Frontend: SvelteKit, Svelte, Tailwind
3D & Interaction: Three.js, Threlte, physics constraints
3D Asset Creation: Blender
Version Control: GitHub (public repository)
Deployment: Netlify (continuous from GitHub)
Build Tool: Vite
See It Live
Website: www.zenzak.uk
Source Code: https://github.com/zenzak-uk/zenzak.uk
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Posted Nov 11, 2025
Developed Zenzak, a minimal open-source brand using SvelteKit and WebGL for interactive web experiences.
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