Nordlicht
2025Atelier Nordlicht · Web
A slow, material-led site for a Hamburg architecture practice — type that holds at billboard scale, and rooms photographed like still lifes.
Independent practice · Köln, DE
Isla Kern
Visual systems for studios, products, and printed matter — designed to be read slowly, and to last.
Available for 2026 commissions
01 — Selected work
Projects
6 projects
02 — About
A practice of restraint
Isla Kern is an independent designer and creative director based in Köln, DE. She works with studios, founders, and publishers on identity, product, and editorial systems that hold under close reading.
Before opening her practice she spent six years leading brand and product at a small European studio, shipping work for architecture offices, cultural institutions, and hospitality groups.
The through-line is restraint: fewer marks, clearer hierarchy, materials that age well — on screen and on paper.
- Based
- Köln
- Focus
- Brand, product, print
- Status
- Open 2026
Selected clients
Studios, houses, and rooms
A short list of collaborations from the last few years. Not exhaustive.
- Atelier NordlichtArchitectureHamburg2025
- Ceramica AtelierCraftKöln2025
- KlangraumProductBerlin2024
- Heft MagazinePublishingZürich2024
- Table & GrainHospitalityKöln2024
- Museum LudwigCultureKöln2023
- Haus am WaldseeCultureBerlin2023
- Silo PressPublishingAntwerp2022
03 — Capabilities
Skills
Design
- Identity systems
- Editorial layout
- Art direction
- Type pairing
Product
- Interaction design
- Design systems
- Prototyping
- Accessibility
Craft
- React & TypeScript
- Motion
- Print production
- Front-end architecture
04 — Contact
Start a conversation
Briefs, collaborations, and quiet commissions. Share a little about the work — send opens your mail client, and a copy stays on this device.
hello@islakern.studioKöln, DE