Spirit Tag — finished product on design sketchbook
Design Story · Apple Partner Trainer Camp '26

Spirit
Tag

An AirTag case designed in the spirit of Apple.

Studio
Ariel Studio
Year
2026
Type
Product Design
Materials
PLA · AirTag · Laser

Designed from
inside Apple's world.

When Apple Partner Trainers across Southeast Asia gathered for Camp '26, Ariel Studio was tasked with creating a gift that could stand alongside Apple's own products.

The brief pointed in one direction: go back to Apple. Study the products. Then make something new from those borrowed ideas.

How to make a gift for the Apple event — the full build, from file to hands.

Design Concept

Five ideas,
borrowed from Apple.

The case speaks Apple's visual language — from the geometry of its app icons to the gesture that defined the iPhone. Every detail has a reference. Every reference has a reason.

01 — Form Language
iOS Icon Shape
The macOS and iOS rounded square — Apple's most recognized form — becomes the design grammar. Square logic. Circular soul.
02 — Lock Mechanism
Notification Badge
The red badge on iOS icons becomes the lock. A raised puck that holds the lid. Meaning: you will always be noticed.
03 — Opening Mechanism
slide to unlock
Slide to Unlock
The case opens by sliding horizontally — a direct homage to iPhone's defining gesture. Slide to reveal the AirTag slot inside.
04 — Edge Language
Diamond Chamfer
The chamfered edges of iPhone's aluminum chassis — the angle that catches light. Applied to every edge of Spirit Tag in the same spirit of precision.
05 — Personalisation
Front Lid as Canvas
The front surface is the only part not predetermined. A personalization zone for a name, a spirit icon, or a symbol. Yours to claim.
Design Principles

Four principles.
Every decision.

Throughout the entire project — from the first sketch to the last unit inspected — four design principles kept every decision grounded in the same spirit as Apple's own work.

01
Simplify
Remove everything that doesn't serve a purpose. The case has no unnecessary surface, no decorative element that doesn't carry meaning.
02
Detail
The chamfer angle, the magnet strength, the lanyard hole diameter — every small decision was made deliberately. Nothing was left to chance.
03
Material
PLA for its precision printability. N52 magnet for its reliable snap. AirTag for its perfection as a tracking core. Every material earned its place.
04
Consistency
Unit 1 and unit 57 feel identical. Same chamfer. Same snap. Same spirit. Consistency is not a constraint — it is the point.
From Sketch
Design sketchbook showing Spirit Tag concept exploration

Every line
a decision.

The sketchbook is where each borrowed idea was tested. How does an iOS notification badge become a physical lock? What angle best echoes iPhone's chamfered aluminum? The answers lived on paper first.

  • Form exploration — adapting the macOS icon roundrect to a circular AirTag body
  • Mechanism study — how the slide-to-unlock gesture translates into a physical open/close action
  • Material language — corner rounding radius, chamfer angle, surface texture
  • Personalization zone — defining the front lid as a canvas while keeping the system visual
Design sketchbook alongside assembled Spirit Tag components
"Slide to unlock.
Now in your hands."
Form & Materials

Designed with
intention. Built
with precision.

FDM 3D printing in PLA brings the CAD model to life. The magnetic snap mechanism uses an N52 neodymium magnet embedded mid-print. The lanyard hole is load-tested. Every tolerance was measured against Apple AirTag's exact dimensions.

FDM Printed PLA Apple AirTag N52 Neodymium Magnets Laser Engraved Lid Nylon Lanyard

The circular form draws from Apple's icon geometry — the same mathematical curvature that defines macOS app icons. Clean. Inevitable. Recognizable. The chamfered edges echo iPhone's aluminum language.

The lid slides horizontally to open — slide to unlock executed in plastic and precision. Inside: a perfect-fit AirTag cavity. Outside: the notification badge lock, the spirit icon, and the owner's name.

Spirit Tag open — AirTag cavity visible
Banana Juice and Compass Spirit Tag with AirTag
Assembled Spirit Tag cases placed on the open design sketchbook
Personalisation System

The front lid
is yours.

55 hand-crafted spirit icons across 7 elemental categories — each computed deterministically from the recipient's name using SHA-256. The algorithm replaces the designer's choice: same name, always same icon.

55
Spirit Icons · 7 Categories
Complete Spirit Tag collection — all color editions
Spirit Tag case stack — bokeh close-up
Spirit icon lids — editorial depth of field
Olive green edition alongside design sketchbook
Owl and Compass — 3D relief engraving detail
Production

From file to hands.

57 units. Same process. Same standard. No shortcuts between the first and the last.

01
3D Modelling
CAD model built to AirTag's exact tolerances — circular body, magnetic lid channel, lanyard hole geometry, chamfered edge profiles.
02
FDM Printing
PLA body printed in ~2.5h per unit. The N52 magnet is embedded mid-print at a precise layer height — no post-assembly needed.
03
Laser Engraving
The spirit icon — computed by SHA-256 from each recipient's name — is laser-etched onto the front lid from a unique file for each unit.
04
Assembly & QC
Slide mechanism tested, AirTag seated, lid snap force verified. ~4h total per unit. Every piece inspected before packing.
Workshop — batch production in progress
Assembly stage — magnets, tools, and components
Production flatlay — assembled units and components
Spirit Tag with lanyards
The Result

An Apple gift,
made by hand.

57 pieces. 6 countries. One design system. Each one carrying Apple's language, a spirit computed by algorithm, and a name engraved in permanence.