In 2025, for those who’re an artist, maker or small enterprise desirous to promote your merchandise on-line, you might have loads of locations to select from. However Massive Cartel is among the oldest, most established and most revered.
Launched in 2005, this cloud-based e-commerce platform is utilized by everybody from woodworkers and ceramicists to area of interest medieval tapestry artists and has generated over $2.5 billion value of gross sales up to now.
However on the earth of on-line gross sales, nobody can sit on their laurels for lengthy. So the platform, which is headquartered in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, turned to London and LA-based design company How&How to assist make clear its providing in an more and more crowded market.
Scribbles and scrappiness
Central to the rebrand is a particular illustration fashion that evokes the tough sketches entrepreneurs scrawl into notebooks when dreaming up their ventures. This scrappy aesthetic establishes an approachable, free-spirited tone that runs all through the id.
The “intentionally imperfect” method extends to a brand new customized wordmark created in collaboration with kind foundry Extraset. With chunky letterforms that includes unexpectedly sliced-off edges on the ‘A’ and ‘R’, it is a deliberate step away from the polished perfection widespread in tech branding.
Complementing it is a stretched headline typeface paired with motivational messaging reminiscent of “Ardour Pays” and “Promote Out With out Promoting Out”, which speaks on to creators contemplating the entrepreneurial leap.
Breaking down limitations
Past visible parts, the rebrand repositions Massive Cartel as a platform that breaks down limitations to entry for inventive entrepreneurs.
The brand new id system consists of each expressive, unfastened illustrations alongside crisper, extra useful icons designed for various contexts. The latter is seen as notably necessary for the platform’s up to date product design.
On the similar time, risograph textures reference the platform’s indie roots, whereas a vibrant color palette alerts a refreshed outlook that distinguishes Massive Cartel in a aggressive area.
“Each piece comes collectively in a world as self-made as these it represents,” says Cat How, founder and CEO of How&How. “And the cherry on high? A rabble-rousing, re-thought emblem that carries 20 years of Noughties goodwill into right now and proves that you do not have to be picture-perfect to get your creation on the web.”
Celebrating individuality
General, How&How has delivered a refreshingly unpolished rebrand for Massive Cartel, positioning the veteran e-commerce platform because the champion of inventive entrepreneurs making the leap from “day job to dream job”.
Its method feels aligned with rivals like Etsy and Pinterest in celebrating individuality however with a recent cultural edge paying homage to platforms like Cube.
“Working with the Massive Cartel workforce has been an unbelievable expertise,” says Callum Richards, senior designer at How&How. “From day one, we have been empowered to take daring dangers and suppose past the boundaries. Collectively, we constructed one thing that not solely propels Massive Cartel into a brand new period however stays true to its indie roots.”
