From physical and digital products, services, and experiences to storytelling, we design unique and effective solutions for brands, people, and the planet.
We devise systems.
OX
Nanoxidil-powered hair styling and scalp care kit for men. Virility, vitality, volume. Stylish, professional grade tools for everyman’s bathroom. Not your dad’s hair club.
Excerpts from the design brief.
A name and identity system that speaks volume, speed, and professional power.
Bold, not bald.
Complete care kit.
Mastercard
Mastercard - Commerce for Every Device
The more connected the world becomes, the easier it should be to connect with what matters most. Mastercard continues to innovate secure and seamless digital solutions across devices to meet your everyday needs.
Directed/Edited by our own Ryan Smith
Washington Times
Getting with the times, the client faced a challenge of staying relevant with younger audiences and ahead of the eroding paid subscribers of the national print edition. We worked together to devise an entirely new, minimalist, premium format with bigger emphasis on original or quality images and video, user-configurable filters for topic curation, and embedded quality sponsored content similar to TV commercials.
First time user enters a topic of interest to cull the news feed for a customized experience.
An easy to navigate image-driven digest allows quick access to the latest news.
Editorial filters allow for focusing of the news without developing ideological biases.
Universal web app is effortlessly scalable to a growing number of screens.
User testing session.
Kannaswiss
Haloing off the Swiss school of modern graphic design we forged an identity that is at once accessible and inviting while also being reliably “pharmaceutical” in order to communicate the brand’s promise and the related value system and the premium price positioning of their expanding line of CBD-enhanced products.
An excerpt from the design brief.
Wellness is central to the brand promise.
The “plus” monogram device is loaded with meaning.
Subliminal promise of comprehensive lifestyle support implied and expressed.
The first SKU that launched the medicinals category.
An ever-expanding number of SKUs.
Bagasse fiber mesh molds echo the values of the brand.
Attention to detail is endemic.
A custom mold for the most Swiss of all chocolates.
Retail facade elevation prototype reinforces the underlying Swissness.
Modular expo system that packs flat for a life on the road.
Comfortable, functional and modern.
Reusable totes from organic jute.
Organic cotton tees.
Sheesh
Not another kabob joint! The mandate from the client seemed as clear as it did impossible: To create a unique, contemporary American fast-casual dining experience based on the Afghan-Persian culinary tradition that was not just inclusive of but also attractive to women and families, responsive to modern dietary needs and portion sizes, and distinctly non-ethnic in a way that defies negative stereotyping. Sheesh is launching in the fall of 2018.
The art of grilling is in the DNA of the brand.
Excerpt from the design brief.
A modernized take on the traditional menu.
The brand values of integrity, versatility and agility as represented by the interior finishes.
The logo meanders like a good fairytale from a campground on the Silk Route.
Exterior signage prototype.
Silk road culinary herbs and spices connect the dots between ancient heritage and the contemporary environmental context.
We use humor and attitude to deliver dietary education as part of brand messaging.
A modular menu and messaging wall.
Comfortable and casual, like the cuisine.
Serviceware inspiration.
NØBO
Fight odor causing bacteria with the help of your microbiome. No more B.O. Even less B.S.! All natural probiotic deodorant for all. The brief was about as minimalist as a designer could hope for in both its limitations and its possibilities in terms of being able to strip things down to the basics - an inspiration for the brand and the product from the formulation of all natural essential oils and ingredients with probiotics to how it will help expand the possibilities of probiotics as a platform for continued development for other personal hygiene and beauty products.
Secondary logo style for digital use.
Zero odor emission promise is embedded.
Honest Tea
Honest Team launched The Great Recycle in New York’s Times Square with the goal of helping to boost national recycling rates. The experiential tour has since visited 20 states and recycled more than 540,000 beverage containers. Ryan Smith directed and produced a series of videos for the event, including the brand storytelling through a stop-animation journey of a bottle through its recycling lifecycle and coverage of the event itself.
Qixo
Branding, UX, and UI prototyping for frictionless fantasy gameplay. Inspired by the love of the game, designed with global user base in mind.
The monogram puts everything into context.
Simplified, horizontal form of the brand mark.
Differentiation by color.
Brand elements used in a social media campaign context.
Logged in user.
Shouk
Picture an all-vegetarian Israeli market. We did. Marrying the din of an open air market pita stand with a reliable bag of found objects we created an environment that communicates the essence of the bazaar while providing for a delightful discovery of another side of the greater Middle Eastern cuisine that goes well beyond falafel. Try the cauliflower!
Excerpts from the design inspiration deck.
Functional signage built from scraps.
Window signage.
Keeping a low carbon footprint wherever possible is core to the brand.
A modular menu system built entirely by hand of found objects.
Dimensionalizing the brand.
Peter Coppola
Let's iron things out wit this new straightening iron from Peter Coppola - a Personal Brands brand.
And redesign of the entire line followed.
CAVA
Together with Peter Hapstak of HD+ we forged a unique identity for this hyper successful fast casual dining brand from suburban Maryland presently taking over the nation.
Ryan Smith was the creative director and producer behind their first piece of video storytelling CAVA: A Culture, Not A Concept.
Sustainability goals are reflected as essential to operations.
Brand messaging embedded.
A customer-friendly ordering process.
Another Cava has been opened to the delight of many.
Kicksback
When Nike Innovation's Nexus project approached Alphaforms about creating a life-like, high-resolution e-commerce application in order to test a business plan. We worked as a subset of the Peer Insight team in order to create the solution which succeeded in several key performance categories including qualifying for continued funding by the internal VC board. The end product of that collaboration is now known as the Nike Adventure Club. You know, for kids.
Shoelace-inspired identity.
Working with Peer Insight we co-created and collaborated with Nike in order to validate the use cases and build a beautiful alpha experience, end to end.
