LARGO
 YANFANG SHE

Largo is a curated discovery platform that introduces emerging makers across Asia, to design and craft enthusiast in the US, through their products and stories.

The platform exists because thousands of small craft producers in the region are doing considered, skilled work that never reaches an audience capable of sustaining them — not because the work is insufficient, but because the visibility infrastructure does not exist.



I.Brand Identity System
II.Intent & Rationale
III.Cultural Relevance & Audience
IV.User Journey
V.Competitive Landscape
VI.Business Model
VII. Early Sketches
VIII. Bibliography












MFAD 2026
I. Brand Identity System

Largo is named after the musical tempo, slow, broad, deliberate. The name describes how the platform is meant to work: not fast consumption, but considered discovery. The tempo also describes what it values in its makers: intentional and careful.


The framework maps brand values to their corresponding characteristics and design drivers. 
Each design decision on Largo connects back to one of these three columns.



The palette is drawn from traditional pigments and dyes used across the region. The geometric patterns follow the same logic: each tile is abstracted from a visual motif native to one of the craft categories it represents. Largo uses a set of five geometric tile patterns, each mapped to a craft category represented on the platform. Patterns appear as category identifiers, and decorative elements in editorial layouts. 


II. Intent & Rationale


The idea for Largo began with a simple observation: the same region that produces much of the world's goods has almost no platform for its own makers to be seen on their own terms. 

Most discovery happens through export marketplaces that strip context, or through travel that very few people take. 
So The work exists. The audience exists. What is missing is the bridge between them.



The platform makes these makers visible through storytelling — sharing the people, processes, and values behind each product.
III.Cultural Relevance


What makers wanted and what buyers were looking for turned out to be the same thing — context. Makers wanted to be understood before they were bought from. Buyers wanted to know what they were buying into. Largo's structure is built around that: story before shop, process before product.











“ The kiln decides the final surface, not me. I can't promise consistency. If someone knows how it's made, they'll take care of it differently. That matters to me more than selling more pieces.”


                                                                                                       
— M, Kyoto




“ I bought this bowl when I was traveling in Kyoto. I have no idea how I would find that maker again or buy another piece.”


                                                                                
— G, design editor, New York




“ I want to buy directly from the person who made it, but I never know if what I'm finding online is actually that.”  

                                                                                 
— Dan, curator, Los Angeles


“ I sometimes sell at the local market on weekends but they charge from both side, I just simply don’t want to support that. Someone told me to open an Exxy shop but I don't know how to write in English or ship internationally.”

                                                                         
— P, textile maker, Chiengmai





“ I have buyers in Shanghai and Beijing, but no one in the US has ever heard of me. I don't even know where to start.”                    

— Y. Gong, ceramist, Yunnan













                                             
All quotes translated from their original languages.




IV. User Journey



Largo has one mission, this is how we do in 3 steps.







Largo and makers find each other through social exposure and word of mouth. 


Explorers read makers' stories, see the process, learn what goes into every piece.
Makers and explorers participate through workshops and events to bring the experience offline.



This is Samantha. She's an independent ceramist based in Yunnan. She's good at what she does, but she doesn't have a way to reach people outside her region.















Largo finds her first. In Phase 1, we're actively reaching out to makers and curating the initial roster. Later in phase 2, makers can also apply to join.









Samantha is great at her craft but doesn't know how to present it online. Largo helps her with that. We work with her on photo production and storytelling, so she can showcase her work properly.






















Samantha joins Largo, and her story gets featured on the homepage.

Once they're on the platform, makers can also participate in foundation funded workshops and events in the US. That's another revenue channel for them and a way for consumers to meet them in person.










Now, the other side. This is Grace. She's a explorer from New York, looking for things that feel unique, with real stories behind them.












Grace finds Largo through Instagram. She sees posts about makers across Asia. Samantha's work catches her eye, so she clicks through to the website.

















Grace lands on Samantha's featured maker page. She reads about the wood kiln process, Yuelun's approach to clay, where the materials come from.

















She reads the story, and she wants to support. She scrolls down and sees Samantha's work available for purchase. She decides to own a piece.
















Then Grace notices Samantha is hosting a clay workshop in Brooklyn next month. She signs up right away. That's the full loop: Discover, Understand, Participate.












V. Competitive Landscape



Largo sits at the intersection of editorial storytelling and Asian craft. Looking at the existing landscape, these categories exist separately but have never been brought together in one platform.








VI. Business Model

Largo has three revenue streams. Layer one: cultural foundation grants, around $15K to $30K annually. This covers most of our fixed operating costs. 


Layer two: paid workshops. $60 to $80 per ticket, 20 people per session, two to three times a month. That's up to 60 people every month getting hands-on time with a maker.



Layer three: marketplace commission, 15% take rate on each purchase. Maker listing is always free. Each layer serves a different function. Grants keep the lights on. Workshops build community and cover variable costs. Marketplace revenue grows as the maker roster and audience grow. breakeven. 






This is what the first eight months look like. The red is our monthly operating cost, about $3,150, and it stays flat. The green stack is revenue building up: grants at the base, workshops in the middle, marketplace on top. Around month five, revenue crosses the line. After that, the model sustains itself.


















VII. Early Sketches
















VIII. Bibliography

 Chutia, Lakhimi Jogendranath, and Mrinmoy K. Sarma (2016). "Commercialization of Traditional Crafts of South and South East Asia: A Conceptual Model based on Review of Literature." SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2277975215624728

Ding, Chen, et al. (2025). "A Systematic Review of the Traditional Handicrafts Preservation Toward Sustainable Intangible Cultural Heritage." SAGE Journals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440251337837

Ismail, Sumaiya, et al. (2025). "Digital Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia: Knowledge Structures and Resources in GLAM Institutions." MDPI Informatics, 12(3). https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/12/3/96

Jain, Neha, et al. (2025). "Sustainable Brand Storytelling: The Role of Ethical Consumerism in Purchase Intentions." Advances in Consumer Research, 2(4), 4337–4346. https://acr-journal.com/article/sustainable-brand-storytelling-the-role-of-ethical-consumerism-in-purchase-intentions-1534/

Júnior, et al. (2023). "A Story to Sell: The Influence of Storytelling on Consumers' Purchasing Behavior." Psychology & Marketing, 40, 239–261. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.21758

Timakum, T., et al. (2021). "Systematic Approach to Preservation of Cultural Handicrafts: Case Study on Fabrics Hand-Woven in Thailand." Cogent Business & Management. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311975.2021.1872889

Wang, Jian, et al. (2022). "Trust and Consumers' Purchase Intention in a Social Commerce Platform: A Meta-Analytic Approach." SAGE Open. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440221091262
MFAD 2026

Advisor:  Kritbodee Chaicharoen
Special thanks to Yuelun Gong, whose generosity in sharing her practice, process, and perspective.