Summer / Fall 25’

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PREMISE

to be an artist
is to perceive beauty in the overlooked moments.
to transform what one sees
into something that resonates beyond words.
to carry a particular sensitivity.
walking through the world differently,
collecting fragments others miss,
assembling meaning from the everyday.

we begin with listening.
truly listening.
sitting with their stories,
their processes,
their doubts and dreams,
before crafting anything visual.
the relationship between artist and identity
is not static.
it breathes.
it evolves.
it requires space to grow.
our process acknowledges this fluidity.
as we build a framework that holds the present moment
while remaining open to future transformations.
no confinement.
no limitations on becoming.
artists change.
their work changes.
identity must honor this journey.

we offer something different -
a collaboration that respects the natural rhythm
of creative evolution.
a visual home that expands
as the artist expands.
this is our gift to fellow creators:
freedom within structure.
roots and wings.
a foundation that supports
rather than restricts.

ABOUT

Curated brand identity, portfolio websites, and creative community for independent artists

The DN-A Artist Program is a seasonal initiative designed exclusively for independent artists seeking to clarify their brand identity and showcase their work in a space that honors its true essence. Through thoughtfully crafted brand assets and designer portfolio website layouts, we will create spaces reflective of the artist’s unique vision and voice.

Guided by the hand of DN-A art director and brand designer, Darcy Nellis, artists will formulate a cohesive brand experience through logo design, typography exploration, and color selection, uncovering the brand identity as a partnership between the artist and the art itself. Darcy, a multidisciplinary artist in her own right, understands the delicate balance between expression and presentation, with an informed perspective for displaying the work in its most compelling format, similar to the curator of an art gallery. Alongside her, Maya of Alétheia Made — an intuitive web developer, designer, and artist — brings these concepts to life through a selection of refined, functional Squarespace portfolio websites that support both form and function. Together, they offer a design and development experience that honors the artist’s creative input, while also providing a platform that evolves with them.

Each portfolio is carefully tailored to ensure that it not only both showcases an artist’s work but and amplifies it, creating a space that allows for interpretation, breathing room, and meaningful reflection for the viewer — much like an art gallery itself. These websites are intentionally designed to remain timeless yet adaptable/tensile/malleable, allowing the artist’s evolving style and body of work to flourish without constraint. The result is a living, breathing digital gallery — one that grows with the artist, reduces overwhelm, and encourages natural progression.

The DN-A Artist Program is for those who understand that their identity and their work are ever-evolving. It’s for artists who desire a platform that can keep pace with their growth, a space where their distinctive vision is celebrated, safekept, and seen as it was always meant to be.

DARCY NELLIS
Art Director / Brand Designer

Darcy Nellis is a multidisciplinary artist and designer based in the Carolinas, passionate about crafting meaningful experiences for artists and brands who support them. She often approaches design through analog practices, with film photography, collage and drawing as the foundation, which enhances her ability to bring physical materials into digital realms. This method encourages a slower pace and gives capacity to closely notice details. With a natural pull toward tactile textures, her work encompasses a wide-range of mediums in order to create honest brand experiences that communicate a tangible message.

Maya Normandi
Web Developer / Designer

Maya Normandi is an artist and a self-taught designer and web-developer through her boutique studio Alétheia Made. Her dimensional approach combines strategy, beauty and identity to develop handcrafted brand and web-worlds that use art as a means to communicate truth. She intends to bring artistry and depth to digital contexts, and to use creativity partnered with expertise to build collaborative creative identities that evolve alongside the clients they represent. She currently resides in the Arizona desert, and her work is informed by the elemental beauty between her Pacific coast homes of California and Ecuador.

PROGRAM OUTLINE

Summer ‘25 (June - August)
Fall ‘25 (Sept - Nov)

PHASE 01 — ONBOARDING

Client materials are due at session start, shared one week prior at orientation.

  • Facilitated group video call to open our seasonal session and invite introductions, community and, onboarding information.

  • A series of writing prompts reflecting on your past, present and future throughout your life as an artist and in the context of your brand.

  • Digital strategy questionnaires to clarify the vision for brand, identify your website portfolio goals, and communicate needs.

  • Comprehensive guidelines to gather and curate SEO-optimized media, copywriting and additional contextual content.

  • Individual 60 minute call with Darcy and Maya to review your onboarding materials together at the start of your session.

PHASE 02 — BRAND IDENTITY

1 day, 1 round of revisions,
w/ Darcy

  • Artist inspiration, brand research, mood board, color palette, refine visual look and feel.

  • Primary logotype, primary submark, typography selection, create mockups, brand presentation.

  • Designer layout choice consultation and portfolio curation and application (up to 5 portfolio projects).

PHASE 03 — WEBSITE / DESIGNER LAYOUT

1 day, 1 round of revisions,
w/ Maya

  • Navigation, sitemap structure and add-on audit to determine the need for additional support.

    • 3 Site Pages (Home, About, Contact)

    • 2 Collection Pages + Item Templates (Portfolio, Blog)

    • Admin Pages (Creative Credits, Terms, Policies)

    • Marketing Blocks (Announcement Bar, Newsletter Block)

  • Brand application (brand identity assets, fonts, colors), content input, and animation style choice. Includes 1 additional custom development request if deemed within scope (1hr or less).

PHASE 04 — OFFBOARDING

Thorough training + guides for confident creative identity ownership.

  • A digital pdf including your brand elements and color codes for reference.

  • Brand Key + Web Guidelines, Platform Training + Tutorials, Launch Guide (Account, Domain, SEO + Site Setup), 15-day post-session support.

  • Facilitated group video session to close out our collaborations, cultivate community and invite celebration.

ADDITIONAL — COMMUNITY

Intentional resources and discussions for connection.

  • Prompted discussions, presentations and Q + A calls to find support as independent artists, professional creatives and business owners.

  • Intimate access to Darcy and Maya’s internal resource lists and notes on design, development, artist identity and business ownership.

  • A published index of our previous, present and future Artist Program residents.

TOTAL INVESTMENT — $5000

Art Direction / Brand Identity ( $2,000 )
Portfolio Website / Designer Layout ( $2,000 )
Resources, Support, Community & Guidelines ( $1,000 )

COMING SOON: Designer Layouts 1-4
Hannah Shea, Designer Layout 01

View Site

Swatch book for "Gmund Used", a collection of colorful, recycled paper samples, showcasing its commitment to sustainability and design

VALUES

COMMUNITY

We create safe spaces where artists can simply be. Here, you share your work, connect with others, and feel seen. It’s not just about what you create, but about the conversations that exist between the lines of your work. Our Open Studio Sessions invite you to share freely, to learn, and to grow together. Feedback here is gentle, kind — always to help you see your own potential. Supportive critique is a point of conversation, not comparison. We believe in lifting each other, exchanging wisdom, and navigating our journeys side by side. Our webinars and events throughout each season are moments to pause, reflect, and return to what inspires us as artists in this moment of time.


EDUCATION / RESOURCES

Inspiration flows from every direction. We gather stories, articles, and wisdom to maintain a state of appreciation for art, life and creation. These resources are more than information, they are a carefully gathered collection of fragments we’ve found value in over the past decade of our lives. We’ve curated a library of tools including type foundries, design assets, and practical guides for you to reference and access on your journey. These are our gift to you, so you can spend less time searching for answers for your business and more time focused on your own deep work. Our videos, artist articles, and guides are made to help you shape your brand with quality and intention. Whether it’s photography, copywriting, or the art of self-presentation, we share what you need to uncover the truth of your story and communicate it clearly. And, when you’re ready for a deeper connection, we’re here for 1-on-1 sessions, and Studio Days to continue working together as needs arise.


ARTISTIC FREEDOM

Artistic freedom is central to our values. We work with you, not for you. Your individual voice guides everything we do, interwoven with your vision, your story, and your brand. We create with you, not around you, ensuring that everything we build together feels true to who you are. Here, you are free to express yourself in your own way. There are no rules, only endless possibilities. Your work, your identity, and your journey are only yours to shape. And as you evolve, so does your brand. We give you the tools, tutorials, and guides to maintain and update it, ensuring it always reflects the artist you are today. You own the work, and we support you as it grows.

INCLUSIVITY

We believe that art thrives in community and a healthy community must be rooted in inclusion, equity, and respect. We are committed to creating a space where artists of all backgrounds feel seen, heard, and supported. We welcome and celebrate individuals of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, ages, and life experiences. Diversity is something we value deeply because it shapes the art we create, the stories we share, and the way we grow together. We know that each artist brings a unique perspective to the table, so we encourage open dialogue for others to listen, to learn, and to uplift voices that have too often gone unheard, throughout historic and present contexts. Through collaboration, and ongoing reflection, we aim to build a community where everyone feels safe to show up fully and authentically as artists and humans. This is our ongoing dedication: to cultivate an inclusive environment where every artist can thrive, expand, and feel a sense of belonging in the art space.

FAQ

  • Item description
  • The Artist Program is ideal for established artists who have at least 5+ completed portfolio projects ready to display on their online portfolios. This is not a requirement but highly encouraged so we have plenty of content to pull from. There are no fees required to apply.

  • Our office hours are Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm, with Fridays being reserved for returning clients who have booked Studio Days.

  • Yes, we require a 50% deposit upon booking and 50% upon completion of the project. If you are needing a different payment plan, we can discuss options.

  • We do consider one scholarship per session for artists facing financial hardship and/or artists in underrepresented communities, including people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and other marginalized groups. Please email [email protected] if you would like your application to be considered for a scholarship.

  • We are always empathetic towards life circumstances that could conflict with our prescheduled session times and 1on1 meetings. If this happens, we will need to reschedule your meeting times to the third month of the session in order to keep others on track for their scheduled times during the first two months. There is a $50 rescheduling fee.

  • Costs for designer font licenses, print collateral orders, custom domains, and Squarespace hosting, are not included in the package price and are the responsibility of the client. We are happy to guide you through this process and we do receive a 20% off discount the first year for Squarespace plans when you purchase through us.

  • We have developed four distinct, strategy-developed website designs built to support your needs as an artist. Each designer layout is built with the same site structure, but different design, interactive and aesthetic choices that offer rare web worlds.

    While more than one artist may build from the same starting point, each layout serves to fully support your unique artist identity, transforming the foundation into something entirely your own through your portfolio, story, and new creative identity.

    Our designer layouts offer incredible value, integrity and impact for a thoughtful experience and output that honors your creative vision.

  • Yes, you will receive files for your brand fonts that you can download to your computer for usage. Although, oftentimes we will give you the option to choose from a selection of beautiful designer fonts which require licensing to purchase. In this case, you would be responsible to pay for them. If you’d rather avoid this cost, we can find free or lower cost alternatives.

  • We only use Squarespace for our Artist Program participants at this time.

  • In order for us to build a consistent experience for your website, we require a brand identity to be completed before we begin the website design and development. This guides the layout style, font selection, colors, etc. which ultimately inform the look and feel of the site.

  • We do our best to make it as easy as possible for you to update your site on your own. We offer a full instruction page, along with walkthrough tutorials to help you learn how to keep your site current. Occasionally there could be a CSS feature that makes it more difficult but we can discuss those features as needed.

  • Yes, extensive functionality implementation such as complex ecommerce needs, membership websites, and advanced integrations can be quoted on a case-by-case basis but will require additional web development support. This can be booked with Maya as a separate add-on.

  • We provide you with detailed SEO guidelines for you to prepare the portfolio content on your site, so you can add proper descriptions and resize / compress images to current standards. We’ve also designed the layouts to be SEO friendly by nature.

  • Studio Days are day rate intensives (10 hours including final file creation), in which we partner together to audit your brand, create or update designs and accomplish outstanding tasks for your business. This is a great way to elevate your brand in just one day. Whether you're a returning client needing to refresh your current brand in order to reestablish your connection with your audience, make updates to your website, create a creative campaign, or design / order your brand collateral, there are endless possibilities for what we can accomplish together when we are in direct communication for a full, uninterrupted day.

  • If you are wanting to wait a while before adding more designs or implementations to your brand or website, you will have access to Studio Days as a returning client, so this could be booked at a further date to complete the remainder of work.

  • There’s one round of revisions included for both the brand and web portions, but we can also add on rounds at an hourly rate of $200/hr, although with all the art direction and designer layouts approved beforehand, usually only one round is needed, if any.

  • We deliver brand assets in black and white as png, svg, eps, pdf, jpeg, including vector files. We also give you .otf or .ttf font files. You will receive a customized pdf Brand Guide for your reference as well.

Eva Hesse: A Retrospective : Exhibition and Catalogue, 1972

PROGRAM PREVIEW

Join Darcy + Maya for an introduction to the Artist Program 25’, a live recorded demonstration of a completed brand identity and designer layout portfolio website, plus an interview with Hannah Shea, and a dedicated Q+A session.

( WATCH NOW )

ARTIST PROGRAM APPLICATION

SUMMER : CLOSED // FALL : OPEN APPLICATIONS
The Artist Program holds space for 10 artists per session.