ORIGIN™: TYR SPORT
FIRST-GEN MOVEMENT CAMPAIGN
COMPANY
TYR Sport is a California-based performance brand rooted in swimwear, now expanding across all terrains. Known for grit, discipline, and tradition-defying athletes.MISSION
Design a campaign for TYR Sport that empowers first-generation athletes by reframing struggle as legacy.Athletic campaigns often spotlight prodigies, but overlook the firsts: those who are first in their family, community, or culture to even enter the arena. First-gen athletes face pressure, invisibility, and burnout, yet no brand speaks directly to them.
Until now.
PROCESS
I scoped this as a cross-channel campaign with a 3-week self-imposed sprint window, using only organic social research (Reddit, TikTok, athletic forums) and no paid testing tools.I then scanned through for unfiltered stories from athletes with no blatant legacy to inherit.
The common thread came out to be that they were never simply competing; they were translating struggle into momentum. I explored creative directions ranging from underdog tropes to full-on legacy rewrites to test tone and concept across various cultural lenses.
SOLUTION
Origin™ is an unapologetic campaign honoring the athletes who build from scratch. Through storytelling-drenched apparel drops, cinematic ads, and influencer collabs, I designed a movement - not just a moment.“You didn’t inherit this. You built it.”
IMPACT
I ran informal one-on-one Zoom sessions and anonymous feedback polls with a dozen self-identified first-gen athletes across track, martial arts, and swimming to validate tone, tagline resonance, and key visual assets.As a result, this project sparked identity-driven engagement and pride, proven through concept validation sessions with real first-gen athletes. The final output included a cross-platform launch, full-video commercial campaigns, and billboard design.
And the takeaway?
Strategy grabs attention, but storytelling earns loyalty.
A yearbook page-style collage of where we all came from.
How we originated.
Why our legacy began.
Family pictures, photo album textures, heirlooms, the smooth sheen of yearbook paper, handwritten letters, historic textile patterns, early stage triumphs, and high school sports.
Red is added for the heat of your fight. Your aggressive fortitude. The elicitation of your urgency for change.
Gold creates accent, as the start-to-finish process of refining gold is as transformative as you are. The shade boldly displays rewarding victory after struggle.
Bright, electric green steps in as loud, persistent growth.
And finally, black depicts your dramatic, authoritative vigor.
A classic, high-traffic (literally, when by a highway *wink*) version of out-of-home advertising.
A script example for influencer collaboration and sponsorship content that suits a wide range of social platforms.
PROJECT 2
IMAGINARY AUTHORS
PEN ROLLERBALL FRAGRANCE PRODUCT LAUNCH
COMPANY
Imaginary Authors is a Portland, Oregon-based fragrance house built on fictional storytelling, with each scent inspired by a novel that, well, doesn’t exist.It’s niche, expressive, and unapologetically weird.
Just like Portland.
MISSION
Create a rollerball fragrance product format for Imaginary Authors that reflects the writing process and fits seamlessly into a writer’s daily ritual.Fragrance sampling is impersonal and uninspired, especially for writers and creatives who ruthlessly crave ritual. There’s no sensory product that honors the process of writing as the lifestyle it truly is.
PROCESS
I reviewed and inquired about author routines, as well as surveyed niche perfume lovers (bonus points for those who had a knack for journaling, writing, or poetry).The insight?
Fragrance is never just scent.
It is mood architecture.
I limited this concept to a 10ml format for refillability, portability, and cost-efficiency. I also restricted the design to resemble common stationery for stealthy desk appeal. I brainstormed formats that could physically “live” in a writer’s pocket, pencil case, or workspace and tested them against idealized ritual prompts from real creatives.
SOLUTION
A 10ml travel-sized rollerball fragrance disguised as a capped fountain pen. Perfect for the classy, convenient, and clever seeking a slim, transportable, and refillable olfactory option.Paired with the iconic vintage book-style box, it becomes part scent, part story, and part tool. I created a CAD mockup, launch timeline, and product page to immerse buyers into a writer’s world.
IMPACT
The pen-rollerball concept bridges creativity and functionality. I tested the concept via moodboard and CAD mockup shares with 10 self-identified writers and fragrance fans to collect feedback on emotional resonance, desk appeal, and perceived gift value.The feedback proved this could move beyond niche, and cross into cult.
As for what I learned?
If the product already feels like a story, it no longer needs to scream for attention.
Feather and fountain pens, book pages flying about (akin to fragrance dispersion upon spraying), the classic vintage book cover packaging, a quaint bird (specifically for “The Cobra & The Canary” scent), and brimful library shelves.
PRODUCT DESIGN
A mockup of the product’s packaging design for visual presentation and developmental testing.
To close, the gold banding around the body of the pen is magnetic, to connect with the corrseponding magnetic gold trim at the bottom of the cap.
This provides a premium sensory experience with an authorial, poetic feel.
It also provides the most longevity and durability as opposed to click-on caps (which wear out), or screw-tops (which can get cross-threaded).