Brand.
Product.
Tech.
Human.
Brand.
Product.
Tech.
Human.
W A K E N D ®
Taekwondo was my rhythm until the injuries stacked up. In 2018 I found wakeboarding. Cold mornings on the dock, a crew that felt like family....and then the hip reconstruction that stopped everything. The Taekwondo code puts integrity at the center. So I carried that standard with me. In that quiet, I started sketching from the hospital bed and saw the same pattern everywhere: brands selling logos, not the soul of the sport. What if apparel wasn’t merch but a language. Cut, weight, and wear that spoke the way we ride? That question wouldn’t let go. That’s where WAKEND started - in that moment, I became the idea.
W A K E N D ®
I created the brand the practical way: name, mark, and a clear visual system, then all the business groundwork to trade legally. With breathtaking support from barta.legal, we registered the company, filed global trademarks, bought domains, and set up contracts so production and distribution wouldn’t stall later.
Our mark is simple on purpose: W. — two raised arms at the finish. It stands for winning the way we mean it: not by trophies, by heart. It’s for people who pick the harder line and move anyway. We put that promise on the swing tags, on the inside labels, and on the app icon so the same signal carries from fabric to screen. It’s a reminder, not a logo parade: do the work, keep the standard, finish clean. That’s the attitude the rest of WAKEND is built on.
• Naming & availability: shortlist, domain checks, handle audits, final registration.
• Logo & variants: primary/secondary marks, mono/invert, clear space, minimum sizes; export set (SVG/PNG/PDF).
• Typography & palette: type pair chosen for legibility and weight; color specs with contrast checks for print/screen.
• Usage rules: quick brand guide (layout, spacing, image ratio, do/don’t), file naming, export presets.
• Voice & copy: headlines, product copy, policy tone; microcopy patterns for PDP, checkout, and email.
• Imagery direction: product vs. editorial framing, grading notes, shot lists, reel/cover templates where needed.
• Packaging & labels: size tags, care icons, label placement, dielines; print-ready files.
• Business setup: company formation, trademark filings, NDAs, supplier/MSA templates, basic rights/approvals workflow.
• Implementation checks: spot QA across garments, e-shop, and app to keep the same look/feel everywhere.
• Asset library: Figma source, export kits, logo pack, brand sheet—single source of truth for partners.
Film grit, hard blacks, honest highlights. Directional light or on-camera flash, tight crops, low angles, and room for type. One restrained palette across product and people so the story reads as one.
W A K E N D ®
WAKEND started in the sketchbook, not a catalog. I designed garments as systems. Fit blocks, tolerances, and materials that survive real use before graphics ever enter the frame.
The north star was integrity: OEKO-TEX heavyweight fabrics, local manufacturing, and a repeatable QA loop that turns taste into tolerances.
I converted intent into tech packs(BOMs, stitch specs, label maps) that a factory can’t misread, then iterated prototypes with change logs, not opinions. Packaging, care, and repair rules were designed alongside the product so the experience holds after checkout. The result is a pattern library that scales without sacrificing character.
• Problem framing: Replace “print on blanks” with original patterns; design for durability.
• Research & direction: 20+ rider/park conversations → use contexts, stress points, climate, benchmark weights and drape.
• System decisions: Fit blocks, grading rules, measurement tables.
• Tolerance matrix for seams, rib, collars, cuffs.
• Tech packs & specs: Full BOM, stitch and seam taxonomy, trims, label placement, wash/care system; packaging dielines.
• Prototyping & QA: Sample rounds with defect taxonomy, acceptance criteria, and change-log discipline; reject “almost good.”
• Supplier enablement: Factory briefs, QC checklist, inbound inspection flow; photo briefs for product/editorial imagery.
• Product mockups: Produced high-fidelity garment mockups mapped to tech-pack measurements, true-scale print/embroidery placement, fabric drape, and colorway variants to align factory, shoot plan, and PDP assets before sampling.
W A K E N D ® s t o r e
Commerce was built for trust and readiness. Theater wasn't an option. I chose Shopify deliberately for speed and reliability, then injected a lean design system at the theme layer so brand and performance could coexist.
The information architecture puts decisive facts first—fit, weight, care, delivery—and keeps the gallery and copy honest. I tuned cart and checkout with microcopy, error states, and focus/accessibility behavior that works for real people. Ops are wired through Packeta, with transactional emails and policies that reduce support drag. The storefront reads at speed and behaves predictably under pressure.
• IA & flows: Nav, collection logic, PDP hierarchy; decision content above the fold (fit/weight/care/returns).
• Design system: Tokens (type/space/color), component kit (cards, grids, badges, accordions), content patterns.
• PDP engineering: Size/fit modules, image set rules, zoom/alt text, spec tables, cross-sell logic; empty/error states.
• Checkout polish: Address validation, form friction audit, inline feedback, focus states and keyboard paths.
• Performance & SEO: Image art-direction + compression, semantic headings, canonical/OG setup.
• Ops & comms: Packeta integration, policy pages, transactional email set (order, ship, return), tone and templates.
• Instrumentation: Funnel events (view → add → checkout), PDP interactions, shipping selections; event naming & dashboards.
W A K E N D ® a p p
• Discovery & JTBD: Ran semi-structured interviews and drafted JTBD statements; captured pains/gains and desired outcomes for riders, crews, and park admins.
• Synthesis: Affinity map → opportunity–solution tree; articulated product principles (“own the decision surface,” “one tap from intent to action”).
• Competitive analysis: Heuristic evaluation (Nielsen) + feature benchmarking; produced a competitive scoreboard and positioning notes.
• Customer journey & funnels: Built an end-to-end journey map and three conversion flow models to locate triggers, anxieties, and drop-off points.
• Prioritization & scope: Used MoSCoW and Now/Next/Later to lock MVP to: Drops, Size Profile, Push, PDP handoff; parked Orders/Wallet (v2) and WAKEND.me configurator (v3).
• Information architecture: Defined top-level IA and screens: Home, Drops, Drop Detail, Profile, Watchlist. Mapped empty/zero/error states.
• Content & voice: Wrote a voice & language sheet (plain, direct, no hype) and microcopy patterns for alerts, permissions, and errors.
• Design system & UI: Extended design tokens to iOS; built a component library (cards, lists, modals, pickers), interaction states, and motion principles (fast, minimal).
• Prototype & evaluation: Produced interactive prototypes. Ran cognitive walkthroughs and internal heuristic reviews; adjusted flows and labels before handoff.
• Icon & identity: Explored app-icon grid (colorways, legibility at small sizes) to keep the WAKEND mark consistent across platforms.
• Build & handoff: Spec’d interface contracts for API/auth; worked in a Cursor/Replit/Xcode loop with acceptance criteria and UI tests.
• Instrumentation & release: Authored an event schema (open→tap, push→view, view→checkout, repeat); planned closed-beta/TestFlight cycles, feedback triage, and backlog cuts by impact × effort.