Julia Hertrich
info@juliahertrich.comWrite
DeEn

Lab

In the lab I build tools around the way I work. They take over what repeats, so my time goes into looking and deciding. What proves itself becomes a tool for clients, so they can apply their brand themselves.

Why a lab

  1. 01

    Systems, not one-offs

    A brand needs hundreds of formats. Designing rules instead of single images keeps things consistent and still alive.

  2. 02

    Faster to the right variant

    A generator shows in minutes what takes days by hand. Decisions are made on real variants, not sketches.

  3. 03

    Tools others can use

    Good generators work without design software. Teams create on their own while the brand rules stay in place.

01 / 08 · 2026

Typoroboter

A poster generator in the browser: letters fill a grid and stretch across their cells.

The idea

A typographic poster lives by its grid. What happens when the grid itself becomes the tool and every letter fills its cell completely?

What it’s for

I set the grid, proportions and type once; after that, the look carries any new sentence. A team can carry on campaign and event posters on its own without losing the typographic signature.

Tools

JavaScript · Canvas · SVG · MediaRecorder

Open tool View experiment

02 / 08 · 2026

Halftone Studio

A screen tool for image, video and webcam: halftone, dither, pixel and ASCII from one source.

The idea

The halftone screen is the oldest way to make a photo printable. What happens when the screen is not made of dots but of any shape, even the glyphs of a brand?

What it’s for

An image style that applies to any photo or video: for campaigns, social media series or visual worlds that deliberately step away from the stock photo look.

Tools

JavaScript · Canvas · SVG · MediaRecorder

Open tool View experiment

03 / 08 · 2026

Type Animation Generator

Moving type posters made of text, a ticker, circular text and scan lines.

The idea

A motion look is a decision, not a one-off. Type, pace and moiré can be fixed so that every new piece of content appears in the same look.

What it’s for

Story, reel and screen formats, exported straight to video. The team delivers on its own, without animation software, and the brand stays recognisable.

Tools

JavaScript · Canvas · SVG · MediaRecorder

Open tool View experiment

04 / 08 · 2026

PixelGrid Studio

A layout tool on a fixed grid: photos, fragments, brush and colour blocks in layers.

The idea

A poster on a coarse grid forces decisions: every cell is either filled or empty. How much design is possible when the grid decides everything?

What it’s for

Fast layouts for posters, social media formats and editorial pages with a clear, constructed signature. Layers and progress can be changed at any time, the grid logic stays.

Tools

JavaScript · Canvas · Layers

Open tool View experiment

05 / 08 · 2026

Poster Composer

Overprint in the browser: three ink plates, basic shapes and freehand, mirrored on the centre axis.

The idea

In screen printing and risograph, colour comes from separate plates that mix in overprint. Can this logic be rebuilt so that you see the print while you draw?

What it’s for

Poster and cover drafts with a real print feel in minutes. Formats from A4 to story, and the plates can later be separated directly for printing.

Tools

JavaScript · Canvas · SVG · Multiply

Open tool View experiment

06 / 08 · 2026

Visual grammar

A reference for visual decisions: what an image does, with which technique, backed by analysed campaigns.

The idea

Images are usually argued about in terms of taste. What if every visual decision could be named: which effect it aims for, which lever carries it and where it typically fails?

What it’s for

A shared language for art direction, creative briefs and critiques. From insight to idea pattern, from pattern to the matching techniques, and on to examples showing how others solved it.

Tools

React · TypeScript · D3 · Claude Code

View experiment

07 / 08 · In progress, early access 2026

Agency platform

A team of agents for small design studios: every project phase with its own role and its own methods, from the first enquiry to the impact review.

The idea

A small studio does the same work as a large agency, just without the departments behind it. What if every phase had a specialist working with the right methods, and a pilot holding the project together?

What it’s for

One chat per project. The pilot knows the dossier, the documents and the current phase, and puts the specialists to work. A reviewer checks every result against the brief, and the designer decides what gets taken on board.

Tools

Claude Code · Markdown · Figma · PDF

Join the waiting list View experiment

08 / 08 · In progress, early access 2026

Pitch playbook

From a patchy brief to the pitch deck, with assumptions that stay marked as assumptions.

The idea

Every brief is incomplete, and in a pitch there is hardly any room for questions. What if a pitch turned exactly that into its advantage: knowledge and guesswork kept apart, instead of selling claims as insight?

What it’s for

Brief analysis, review of the current state, three directions, wireframes and the deck in one chain. Every statement carries its origin, and assumptions appear in the deck as hypotheses with a validation step.

Tools

Claude Code · Markdown · Figma

Join the waiting list View experiment