Website re-design for DRIVN App/Platform. DRIVN came to us needing re-think their initial website design from their initial product launch. Forthebrand helped define a content strategy and organize the site to better suit their sales goals and prospective customer personas

• Content Strategy
• Information Architecture/UX
• Persona Development
• Website UI Design
• Graphic + Icon Design

A collection of Apparel and Accessories for Sparx Hockey. 

3D product renderings for Sparx Hockey were used to supplant traditional product photography which was time intensive and cost prohibitive. Using Keyshot, we were able to quickly render out even the most intricate scenes and product explosion shots on demand.

This project was one of those once in a lifetime kind of projects. In order to show support for our friend Matt Parziale, who had played his way into the 2018 Masters as an amateur, we wanted to design some apparel and accessories for friends and family to wear during that magical week in April. 

We designed logos and badges, and launched a "Mass-ters" website where we are currently taking pre-orders. All proceeds are going to go to charities of Matt's choosing, the First Tee and the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund.

Get yours here before it's too late! 

Skate Hollows have been relatively obscured by high volume retail shops for years, sort of a thing you don't talk about because it's easier not to. We took on the project of branding the skate hollow depths and creating "retail ready" packaging for both the US and Canada. 

It was evident early on that color was going to be the main differentiator that allowed one hollow (expressed in fractions 1/2", 5/16", 3/4", etc.) to distinguishable from the next. While going down a few different paths for packaging (tins, cans, tubes, clamshells, and more), we decided on a classic box with a slideout insert for holding the Grinding Ring inside of the box which we worked with a local packaging engineer to design. 

The final product was a cohesive design system between Grinding Ring and Packaging. Each hollow had a dedicated Pantone color matched on the hubs decal color ring and outer packaging color panels. 

Product Manual Design & Layout for Sparx Hockey. 

For the Brand researched, created, user tested, rendered, and produced all aspects of the project. 

We were tasked with creating a multimedia campaign promoting DRIVN's mobile platform for their first year attending the United Soccer Coaches Conference in Philadelphia, PA. The conference was their first and a huge opportunity to get in front of over 10,000 potential customers (coaches, administrators, players).

While DRIVN has an intricate platform that can be customized to fit any team, coach, or organization's need, we needed to be clear and focus on the key characteristics that matter most. 

The Sparx Edge Checker. Hands down best in the game. Ordered by the bundle by NHL teams upon release in 2015.

For this product, For the Brand played a role of Product Manager calling out all of the key features we'd need to have in order to be the best Edge Checker in the game. Along with the genius of the Sparx Engineering team, we were able to do just that and we have the real-world NHL use to speak for us. 

 

In 2016, Sparx ran two holiday ads in the popular USA Hockey Magazine which is distributed to more than 400,000 hockey households in the US. 

These two ad concepts were touching on two impactful stories the Sparx brand was built around.

The first was a do-it-yourself theme that placed the Sparx Sharpener in the garage. Thousands of Sparx customers had sent in their photos of their home setups and this was a great representation of what Sparx could look like in your home. This photo could have been taken by any one of our customers. 

The second ad was built around the pain point of broken hockey sticks. Every hockey parent knows what it's like to spend $200+ on a composite hockey stick only to have it snapped after a month or two of use. We wanted to suggest that our potential customers could spend their hard-earned money on a career lasting investment rather than a high-priced, temporary equipment piece. 

Inspiration came from some of the most famous, thought-provoking, and minimalistic ads of all time. Images that were simple & clean that invoked feelings of a greater story. 

Zeal is a Providence, RI based manufacturer of Hockey Sticks and Lacrosse Shafts. They are the only company in the world to finish the stick & shaft making process here in the U.S.

We traveled down to Providence with a crew of three (humans) and I think, at least 5 cameras (3 DSLRs & 2 GoPros) to get an in-depth look at how custom hockey sticks are made. Oh, and we may have designed two for ourselves!

Check out Zeal for a custom hockey stick!

Sparx needed to address key account needs by designing an in-store skate sharpening experience. Traditionally, the skate sharpening service was performed behind closed doors and has typically been a very dull and dirty process of which not much is known. The goal of this project was to bring it out in front of the customer and make it sexy. 

The solution was a standalone kiosk where retail employees could complete the entire buyer's journey from consulting on skate fit and performance down to what type of steel runners and hollow were best for each player. The skates never had to "disappear" for 30 minutes as they traditionally had to for the sharpennig process. 

The Skate Sharpening Kiosk was the solution For the Brand devised in conjunction with the engineering team at Sparx. 

MonkeySports is the global retail leader in Hockey, Lacrosse, and Baseball Equipment with their sites: HockeyMonkey.com, GoalieMonkey.com, LacrosseMonkey.com, Homerun Monkey.com. They also have 11 brick & mortar retail locations in the U.S., Canada, and Sweeden. 

For the Brand created a Retail Identity & Signage System that consisted of category-specific sign creation, custom Monkeysports specific fixture design, and a cloud-based sign printing solution that would allow store managers to upload prices changes and have category specific signage printed on-demoand in store. 

Launched MonkeySports first Video Review Series "Monkey Minute” in collaboration with Product Marketing, Social Media, and E-commerce teams at MonkeySports.

Forthebrand concepted, directed, and shot the series. Graphics were made with Photoshop and After Effects with Red Giant plugins.

Business card design for Play It Again Sports in Dedham, MA.

This was a fun project to work on, it’s not everyday where a client will be alright with spending a little extra to make a great first impression but these surely did the trick. Printed by Taste of Ink, these cards were double sided, rounded corners, matte finish with an UV spot gloss logo pattern on the front side.

There was a second set printed for the rest of the staff without some of the fancy extras. These helped Play It Again Sports, Dedham stick out and earned high praise with vendors and at the annual PAIS show where close to 500 franchise owners gather to book orders, take classes and talk shop.

This card was also featured on multiple business card design sites as “Design of the Week”. During the year after these cards were printed, this local franchise won top honors as the Best Franchise in the country.

This was a personal project in which I created a mobile-first, fully-responsive, custom Wordpress Theme from scratch in 2014.

Visit the live site here.

I created a satirical book on design and how to become a jedi master of design (before all the new movies came out, k, thanks).

Download your own for free here!

Tasked with an opportunity to blend 2 up-and-coming hockey startups: Apex Skating, based out of Ottawa, is a leader in tech & tracking in hockey training and have partnered with many professional level teams in the past few years including the Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, and the Ottawa Senators and Sparx hockey, as you may know by now, is the automated in-home skate sharpener taking the hockey world by storm. 

We were tasked with creating a unique experience and campaign around the tech in both companies and how they go hand-in-hand with each other. For the Brand shot a teaser video which ran online (paid social ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) to collect camp sign-ups and chose a prime location, the new home of the Boston Bruin's practice facility, Warrior Arena. Each camper was set up with gifts from Sparx, CCM, and Biosteel-- an NHL-like experience.