Roles / What I did

  • Research/User interviews

  • Brand Strategy/Identity

  • Logo/Visual System

  • UX/UI Design

  • Product Development

  • Prototyping (physical and digital)

  • Tokenization

  • Marketing Material

Overview

ARKO was born from frustration: making art outside often meant fighting the elements, not flowing with them. Most tools weren’t built for presence; they disrupted it. ARKO is a hybrid gear and experience brand designed for artists, photographers, and filmmakers who create in the wild. Lightweight, weatherproof, and intentional, it blends the utility of outdoor gear with the sensitivity of creative tools. The brand lives both physically and digitally, anchored by a website that offers gear, resources, and a community for field-made art.

Tools

  • Illustrator

  • Photoshop

  • Sketchbook

  • Figma

  • Figr

  • Paint

  • Wood

Who this Brand and Product is for

To guide ARKO’s development, I created three personas representing key types of outdoor creatives—each with unique challenges and creative goals. From a seasoned photographer feeling the weight of years in the field, to a fast-paced adventure filmmaker, to a young painter eager to deepen her wilderness practice, these profiles helped ensure the gear supports a wide spectrum of artistic journeys in the wild.

How ARKO Came to Life

ARKO started with empathy, understanding the realities of creating in rugged, changing environments. I mapped the user journey to find where design could ease friction and enhance creative flow. Through rapid iteration across interface and product, I built a cohesive system that felt intentional, tactile, and scalable. The visual identity is clean, rugged, and quietly confident, mirroring the environment it’s meant to thrive in. The digital platform was just as intentionally designed in Figma with a modular, tokenized system, ensuring consistency and flexibility. It’s where the product lives, where users shop, learn, and engage with the brand.

Branding

The ARKO brand was built to reflect the intersection of utility and creativity in wild spaces. From the ground up, it was designed to feel both intentional and rugged, mirroring the mindset of those who create in nature. The visual identity balances clean, modular design with organic textures and field-inspired details. Every element, from the logo to the packaging, was crafted to support the brand’s ethos: gear that empowers presence. Naming, tone of voice, and visual systems were all rooted in the same goa,l making the creative process feel natural, supported, and deeply connected to place.

The Symbol

Our symbol embodies the essence of our brand. This mark represents the fusion of creativity, exploration, and craftsmanship, capturing the spirit of outdoor artistry. Designed with a blend of a bear, a camera lens, and expressive brushstrokes, it reflects our belief that art and nature are deeply connected.

AI for Quick Art Direction

At the outset of the project, I used AI tools to accelerate early creative development. I also used AI to help define a clear visual language for photography and marketing (as seen below): imagery that feels grounded, quiet, and intentional, highlighting moments of solitude, creativity, and connection in nature. Rather than replacing the creative process, AI served as a strategic tool to streamline ideation and bring clarity to the brand’s visual and emotional tone from the start.

Tokenization and Brand System

To ensure ARKO’s brand elements remained consistent and easily accessible across all platforms, I tokenized key components such as colors and typography into a flexible design system. This approach allowed for a scalable and cohesive application, whether on packaging, digital interfaces, or marketing materials, while maintaining the brand’s distinct personality. Tokenization also streamlined collaboration with developers and designers, making updates and iterations efficient without compromising brand integrity.

ARKO Physical Art Kit and Website

The physical ARKO paint kit was carefully designed to be lightweight, durable, and weather-resistant perfectly suited for creative adventurers working in unpredictable outdoor conditions. Its modular components allow artists to customize their setup, making it easy to carry and quick to deploy on any trail. Complementing the kit, the ARKO website serves as a central hub for users to discover products, access field-tested tips, and engage with a community of like-minded creatives. Together, the kit and digital platform create a seamless ecosystem that supports artistic expression in the wild.

Outcome

By the end of the project, ARKO successfully redefined how creatives engage with the outdoors. Artists moved from struggling with their tools to embracing a system that enhances focus, flow, and creative freedom. The combination of durable, user-friendly gear and an intuitive digital platform created a cohesive experience that supports the unpredictability of nature while honoring the artistic process. Ultimately, ARKO became more than just gear it fostered a mindset of presence, creativity, and deep connection to the natural world.

Learnings

This project reinforced the power of holistic design, treating brand, product, and marketing as an interconnected ecosystem unlocked the strongest solutions. Keeping a people-first mindset grounded the work in real user needs, helping cut through noise and make clearer decisions. Iteration proved essential, with every prototype, digital or physical, bringing greater clarity. Embracing systems thinking created a scalable design framework that balanced creative freedom with speed. And focusing on the physical qualities of touch, weight, and form expanded my understanding of user experience well beyond the screen.