Knot Your Carbon

KNOT IS A EXPERIMENTAL CYCLING BARND SOON TO LAUNCH A LINE OF COMPOSITE BIYCYCLE WHEELSETS. OVERVIEW KNOT WHEELS IS A DESIGN-FORWARD CYCLING COMPONENT BRAND BUILT FOR CRIT RACERS, TRACK RIDERS, AND PERFORMANCE STORYTELLERS. I CREATED THE GO-TO-MARKET IDENTITY, RIM ART DIRECTION, DECALS, PRODUCT VISUALS, AND MARKETING STRATEGY. PROBLEM MOST WHEEL BRANDS LACK A CULTURAL IDENTITY—THEY ARE TECHNICAL BUT NOT EXPRESSIVE. CRIT AND TRACK CULTURE DESERVE A PRODUCT LINE THAT FEELS LIKE SKATEBOARDING ENERGY MEETS PERFORMANCE ENGINEERING. SOLUTION I BUILT A FULL BRAND ECOSYSTEM FOR KNOT WHEELS, ANCHORED BY THE TONQA 50S WHEELSET: GENERATIVE DECALS BUILT IN TOUCHDESIGNER WIDE-RIM, AERODYNAMIC DESIGNS A CAPSULE-DROP RELEASE STRATEGY A 3D LANDING PAGE DEVELOPED WITH HEX STUDIOS (DEFERRED PAYMENT MODEL) PROCESS RESEARCHED OEM MANUFACTURERS (XM CARBONSPEED) AND SELECTED CARBON SPECS. DEVELOPED RIM AESTHETIC DIRECTION INSPIRED BY GENERATIVE WAVES + DATAMOSH MOTIFS. DESIGNED DECALS IN TOUCHDESIGNER USING NOISE DISPLACEMENT + POINT CLOUD PATHS. CREATED WHEEL RENDERS IN BLENDER AND BUILT MARKETING ASSETS. STRUCTURED THE BUSINESS MODEL: CAPSULE DROPS, LA RIDERS FOR HYPE, INFLUENCER SEEDING. DRAFTED PARTNERSHIP DEALS + PITCH MATERIALS FOR SPONSORS AND BRANDS. OUTCOME BRAND SECURED EARLY INTEREST FROM DESIGN STUDIOS + RIDERS IN THE US. TONQA 50S IS POSITIONED AS A VISUALLY DISRUPTIVE AND PERFORMANCE-FORWARD WHEELSET. BUILT A SCALABLE PRODUCT IDENTITY FOR FUTURE LINES (TONQA 60S, GRAVEL-SPECIFIC RIMS). CREATED HYPE AROUND “CYCLING AS SKATEBOARDING” CULTURE. TOOLS USED TOUCHDESIGNER, BLENDER, PHOTOSHOP, CHATGPT, FIGMA, ILLUSTRATOR, RHINO, GRASSHOPPER. ROLE BRAND FOUNDER • LEAD DESIGNER • PRODUCT STRATEGIST.