Beyond sweatshirts: Creating a stylish nerdy sweatshirt collection
Designing a sustainable clothing brand with the mission to celebrate human curiosity, discovery, and innovation
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THE CHALLENGE
Design and manufacture a collection of sweatshirts with the mission to promote STEM education and celebrate scientific and technological advancements. Develop a brand identity, launch an e-commerce website, and drive sales. |
THE OUTCOME
Ethical and sustainable manufacturing in Los Angeles. A holistic brand identity, marketing, and sales strategy with a focus on value-adding content and community-building. |
THE PROCESS
Prototyping & Manufacturing
I created a dozen prototypes to test market interest. The positive feedback prompted me to go to Los Angeles to establish manufacturing there. It was important to me to visit fabric mills, dye houses, pattern makers, sewing facilities, and personally meet with the people who would be crafting the sweatshirts. I worked to strike a balance between responsible fashion and affordable prices.
Brand Identity Design
I brainstormed names and choose Made On Mars. I designed the logo, created the brand style guide and assets, organized studio and lifestyle photo shoots, and build the Made On Mars website. I created the Made On Mars Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter accounts. See "Case Study: Made On Mars Brand Identity Design" below for an overview of my design process.
Showroom + Launch Event
I launched Made On Mars on July 20th, 2019 (Apollo 11 50th anniversary). I organized a launch event at the Batch SF showroom on August 4th, 2019. I promoted the event with Facebook ads and LinkedIn outreach.
Marketing & Sales Strategy
I developed the marketing and sales strategy with a focus on content marketing. I designed social media post and managed them using the social media management software Buffer and the marketing platform for Instagram Later. I managed social media communities on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter by replying to all comments and direct messages.
Influencer Marketing
My objective was to find STEM influencers and fashion influencers who would promote Made On Mars to their communities. Instagram direct messages and email outreach proved to be effective, leading to new followers and sales.
Advertising & Promotions
I used Facebook, Instagram, and Google as paid digital marketing channels. However, influencer marketing resulted in higher conversion rates.
Analysis
I managed the advertising budget, measured time spent on influencer marketing, and tracked conversion rates. This helped me to optimize my strategy on a daily basis.
Prototyping & Manufacturing
I created a dozen prototypes to test market interest. The positive feedback prompted me to go to Los Angeles to establish manufacturing there. It was important to me to visit fabric mills, dye houses, pattern makers, sewing facilities, and personally meet with the people who would be crafting the sweatshirts. I worked to strike a balance between responsible fashion and affordable prices.
Brand Identity Design
I brainstormed names and choose Made On Mars. I designed the logo, created the brand style guide and assets, organized studio and lifestyle photo shoots, and build the Made On Mars website. I created the Made On Mars Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter accounts. See "Case Study: Made On Mars Brand Identity Design" below for an overview of my design process.
Showroom + Launch Event
I launched Made On Mars on July 20th, 2019 (Apollo 11 50th anniversary). I organized a launch event at the Batch SF showroom on August 4th, 2019. I promoted the event with Facebook ads and LinkedIn outreach.
Marketing & Sales Strategy
I developed the marketing and sales strategy with a focus on content marketing. I designed social media post and managed them using the social media management software Buffer and the marketing platform for Instagram Later. I managed social media communities on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter by replying to all comments and direct messages.
Influencer Marketing
My objective was to find STEM influencers and fashion influencers who would promote Made On Mars to their communities. Instagram direct messages and email outreach proved to be effective, leading to new followers and sales.
Advertising & Promotions
I used Facebook, Instagram, and Google as paid digital marketing channels. However, influencer marketing resulted in higher conversion rates.
Analysis
I managed the advertising budget, measured time spent on influencer marketing, and tracked conversion rates. This helped me to optimize my strategy on a daily basis.
The creative process behind 6 embroidery designs
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Apollo 11 Sweatshirt
The Apollo 11 sweatshirt celebrates space exploration. The design is an embroidery rendition of the famous photograph of Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong on the Moon. 50 years ago, an estimated 530 million people watched Armstrong land on the moon and declare it "...one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." |
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Chromo Sweatshirt
The Chromo sweatshirt celebrates the Age of Genomics. The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 and completed in 2003. CRISPR, a gene editing technology, was invented in 2012. “We can now 'read' human genomes, and we can ‘write’ human genomes in a manner inconceivable just three or four years ago." - Siddhartha Mukherjee in "The Gene: An Intimate History." Our DNA is “packaged” into 23 chromosomes. The embroidery design is an artistic rendition of a Karyotype, a photograph of the 23 pairs of chromosomes ordered in pairs. Here the chromosomes are in their duplicated version, hence the “X” shape, of a dividing cell. |
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Endocrine Sweatshirt
The Endocrine sweatshirt celebrates our quest to understand human physiology and to advance medicine. The endocrine system is a chemical messenger system comprising feedback loops of hormones released by glands directly into our bloodstream, regulating distant target organs and tissues. The thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, adrenal, ovaries, testes, pituitary and hypothalamus are glands in the endocrine system. They produce and secrete hormones that regulate our metabolism, growth and development, tissue function, sleep, mood, and reproduction. This embroidery design depicts the hormones adrenaline, melatonin, serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin. |
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Golden Ratio Sweatshirt
The Golden Ratio sweatshirt celebrates human creative expression. Since Euclid, mathematicians have studied the properties of the golden ratio. Although debated, the golden ratio appears in some patterns in nature. Artists and architects often follow the golden ratio in their compositions to make them aesthetically pleasing. The design is an embroidery version of the golden ratio, executed in metallic silver and gold thread. “The giant number of brain cells interposed between stimulus and action is a critical contributor to the massive creativity or our species. It is what allows us to consider possibilities beyond what is right in front of us. And that’s a large part of the magic of human brains: we relentlessly simulate what-ifs.” - Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman in “The Runaway Species” |
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Neuro Sweatshirt
The Neuro sweatshirt celebrates scientific research focused on understanding the nearly 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections of a human brain. There are as many connections in a single cubic centimeter of brain tissue as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Research projects like the BRAIN Initiative and the Human Connectome Project aim to unlock the mysteries of our minds. "And what we’ve discovered by peering into the skull ranks among the most significant intellectual developments of our species: the recognition that the innumerable facets of our behavior, thoughts, and experience are inseparably yoked to a vast, wet, chemical-electrical network called the nervous system. The machinery is utterly alien to us, and yet, somehow, it is us." - David Eagleman in "Incognito." This embroidery design is a colourful representation of a human brain. |
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Circuit Board Sweatshirt
The Circuit Board sweatshirt celebrates the Information Age. Human curiosity, experimentation, and ingenuity gave rise to the semiconductor industry. The start of the Information Age is associated with the invention of the transistor, particularly the MOSFET (metal-oxide-silicon field-effect transistor). Transistors are key building blocks of circuit boards inside our electronics. The embroidery design is an artistic interpretation of a circuit board. “We usually imagine that invention occurs in a flash, with a eureka moment that leads a lone inventor toward a startling epiphany. In truth, large leaps forward in technology rarely have a precise point of origin.” - Jon Gertner in “The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation” |
Case Study:
Made On Mars Brand Identity Design
Made On Mars’s visual identity reflects our commitment to being a sustainable and stylish clothing brand that celebrates human curiosity, discovery, and innovation. The overall aesthetic is modern, clean, and symbolizes space exploration through its color palette.
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Color PaletteOur design system features a metallic copper logo and orange or white text on black background. The metallic copper is inspired by its use in spaceships and spacesuits. The orange is inspired by the orange and red surface of Mars. The black is symbolic of the vastness of space and the night sky.
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The LogoOur logo conveys a sense of futurism. The contemporary all caps Pirulen Bold font beautifully spells out "Made On Mars." The logotype was designed by Ray Larabie and was selected for its strong and clean form. It was modified to be more compact and fit the website header better as well as work well as an embroidery.
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TypographyTo match the modern aesthetic of our logo and brand, we selected Montserrat for headings, buttons, and body text. For tags and other print material, we selected Altivo.
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Tags & LabelsThe hang tag cardstock is black with silver glitter to represent space exploration. It's attached to the sweatshirts with a copper ribbon and copper safety pin. The woven labels are made from black and copper thread and the satin label is classic white with black ink care instructions.
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PackagingKeeping every touchpoint of the customer journey in mind, from discovery to the buying decision, we designed a comprehensive brand identity. Our branded mailer box, copper tissue paper, sticker, and thank-you card are consistent with out brand identity.
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