New case study / 2026
AI software engineering
Small Fry Labs
Big ideas.
Built right.
Brand strategy, identity, merchandise, and commerce for a software lab making powerful systems feel direct, useful, and ownable.
Identity in motion / First merchandise system
\ The pressure
A new software and AI company needed to enter a fast, noisy category with a clear position and an identity that felt technical without repeating the usual robots, glowing brains, and generic startup gradients.
An AI software company without an AI-cliche identity.
Founder OC Williams already knew the feeling he wanted: the confident simplicity of an original service-station mark with a bold, playful face. The task was to turn that instinct into an original brand with enough discipline for software, print, and long-term growth.
01
Own the system
Replace scattered subscription tools with custom software the business can control and trust.
02
Use AI with purpose
Lead with the operational problem, then apply AI where it creates real leverage instead of noise.
03
Stay close
Pair enterprise-level thinking with direct access, practical decisions, and a founder-led relationship.
1 session
Strategy made visible
A documented founder session aligned purpose, audience, positioning, personality, and the operational problem the brand exists to solve.
2 drafts
Clarity refined
The working strategy moved from Clarity Document V1 to a tighter V2 before the identity system was finalized.
1 system
Identity to commerce
Logo family, color, typography, guidelines, merchandise, campaign art, and a small-batch Medusa storefront now share one voice.
\ The founder's signal
The feeling came first. The system made it usable.
We sketched from OC's vintage reference, studied how technical brands signal trust, and tested a palette that would hold its character on both screens and presses. The result borrows the optimism of roadside service branding without becoming a copy of it.
\ Clarity before code
Own your
software.
The position had to be as clear as the logo.
A documented strategy session became Clarity V1, then a tighter V2. The central promise emerged: help growing businesses replace disconnected subscriptions with custom software they can own, control, and trust. Enterprise thinking, without enterprise overhead or AI theater.
From
Rented tools / scattered workflows / software waste
To
Owned systems / cleaner operations / practical AI
Bold. Smooth. Truthful.
\ Logo family
A fry basket redrawn as a software signal.
The mark is playful at first glance and controlled underneath. Full signatures, compact icons, stamps, alternates, and background rules give the identity enough range for an app icon, code repository, proposal, shirt sleeve, or storefront header.
Hot Red
#DB0003
Neon Orange
#FF5F1F
Charcoal
#1A1A1A
Off-White
#FEFEE3
\ A disciplined guide
Playful does not mean improvised.
SP Minami is reserved for the logo's distinct voice. Geist carries code, documents, product interfaces, and print with the same precise utility. Color values, logo clear space, pattern, scale, and background behavior were documented for consistent use.
\ Every surface counts
The brand guide became a working kit.
\ Brand you can wear
Big ideas left the deck and entered the street.
The first merchandise system paired the compact fry mark with a direct promise: BIG IDEAS. BUILT RIGHT. Sleeve and back placements were designed for heavyweight unisex and cropped garments, then carried into a campaign with the same warm, service-brand character as the identity.
\ The drop, photographed
\ Small-batch commerce
The identity became a drop, not a static mockup.
We extended the system into a Medusa storefront concept for limited merchandise. Inventory, product variants, quick add, mobile shopping, and future-drop access give the identity an operational home rather than a presentation-only ending.
Prototype captured from the live Small Fry Labs drop experience. External sites open in a new window.
View commerce prototype\ Still building
Brand clarity met an engineering partner.
Black Bambu continues to shape the brand, merchandise, and customer experience. Small Fry Labs extends select engagements into custom software and practical AI engineering. Together, strategy, identity, and the system behind the screen can move as one project.
Build the next system\ Next move