Evolving a creative brand into a world of visual storytelling.

Chia's Visual Stories

Evolving a creative brand from products and e-commerce into a world of illustration, storytelling, experiences and collaborations.

The Beginning —
ChiaDNA started with an idea.

In 2014, I wanted to turn my illustrations and creative ideas into something people could discover, use and bring into their everyday lives. There was no logo, no product line and no online presence — just a creative idea and the ambition to turn it into a real brand.

I built ChiaDNA from the ground up, connecting brand identity, product design, packaging, e-commerce and marketing into one growing brand.

Building the Brand—
Big Ambitions, Small Budget

ChiaDNA was built with a lean budget, so I had to connect creative thinking with practical decisions from the beginning.

Brand:
Create a distinctive identity from nothing.
Product:
Turn illustrations into products people could actually buy.
Packaging:
Make the story visible before someone even experienced the product.
E-commerce:
Create more than a shop — create a digital extension of the brand.
Marketing:
Find customers through online and offline channels.

My Role —
Founder · Brand & Marketing · Designer · Illustrator

Because I was building my own brand, my role went far beyond creating the visuals.

I connected creative direction with the practical decisions needed to bring the brand to market — from brand strategy and visual identity to products, packaging, e-commerce, marketing and customer touchpoints. I also planned and executed the go-to-market activities, created the visual and marketing assets, worked with suppliers and partners, and learned directly from real customer interactions.

01 — Define
Positioning, identity, visual language and storytelling

02 — Product
Illustration-led products and product development

03 — Packaging
Turning products into part of the brand experience

04 — E-commerce
Building an online shop that also told the brand story

05— Marketing
Online and offline campaigns

06 — Activate
Pop-ups, retail partnerships and offline experiences.

07 — Go-to-market
Planning how the brand, products and communication would reach real customers

Bringing the Brand to Market—
From creative idea to real customers

Turning creative ideas into something people could discover, buy and experience so I built a connected customer journey:

Brand → Product → Packaging → E-commerce → Marketing → Retail → Customer

The brand came to life through:

Social media and digital content
Online marketplaces
E-commerce
Pop-ups and markets
Local retail partnerships
Product packaging
Offline customer experiences

Impact 2014-1017 —
From creative idea to market presence

+30% sales growth 2015–2016
Increased brand awareness Across the Randstad in the Netherland.
The brand developed from an initial creative idea into a functioning ecosystem across products, packaging, e-commerce, marketing and retail.

The Turning Point—
The brand had grown, but so had main work and life.

ChiaDNA started as something I built alongside my main professional work. As my career developed, my time, energy and resources became more limited.

At the same time, my creative practice was changing. I was no longer only making products. I was creating illustrations, stories, characters, workshops, creative experiences and collaborations. Thus, I realised I needed a creative direction that could grow alongside my main work — without the same time, energy and operational commitment required by a product-based business.

So instead of continuing to build ChiaDNA in the same way, I decided to evolve it into something more flexible, focused and sustainable for the next chapter.

Why the Brand Needed to Evolve—
From a product brand to a creative world

ChiaDNA was built around

· Illustration · Products · Packaging · E-commerce · Retail · Marketing · Sales

Chia's Visual Stories was built around

· Illustration · Storytelling · Creative Experiences · Workshops · Collaborations · MonsterLand

The question was no longer, “What products can I make?” It became, “What stories and experiences can I create?”

A New Chapter—
ChiaDNA becomes Chia’s Visual Stories.

n 2026, I repositioned the brand around the creative work that had naturally grown from it — illustration, storytelling, experiences and collaborations.

The new direction gives my creative practice more room to breathe, while creating a clearer connection between the different things I make and the worlds I build.

It is not a completely new beginning. It is the next chapter of a brand that has been evolving since 2014.