project overview
Wild Fin is a business I launched in June 2020 and it’s a part of my career I’m incredibly proud of. The clothing was sustainably made, and I donated 10% of sales to various ocean charities, raising thousands of pounds over the couple of years I ran the business.
I ran Wild Fin entirely myself, which gave me the opportunity to own every aspect of the business, from designing the branding and clothing to running the social media, creating content, designing and maintaining the website, building an online community and loyal customer base, capturing lifestyle photography, packing orders and everything else that comes with running a business.
Some of the work featured below will inevitably look dated now given it was created 4/5 years ago, but it was important for me to include this project because it showcases where my creative skillset expanded beyond design. Running the business gave me first-hand experience of owning the marketing, content, brand building, e-commerce and strategy while furthering my understanding of brand-building beyond the visual output.
I also had some incredible opportunities come from Wild Fin, including running a social competition alongside Boots Botanics (yes, THE Boots), working with content creators in the Maldives, and having a wild manta ray officially named ‘Wild Fin’ on Manta Trust’s MantaBase, which is used to identify individual manta rays and support ongoing research. Very cool!
logo & packaging
socials
I launched this business during lockdown, where social media was vital for human connection and there was a big emphasis on supporting small businesses. I was able to build a strong community by being the 'face' of the business and involve my community as I grew the brand.
Instagram had a lot less features than it does now, but I absolutely loved making content for my page and continuously changing and implementing new ideas to see what worked.
I opted for 'premium' quality garments which inevitably put the price tag up, so whilst the business was essentially just me, I ensured the visual output always felt considered and strong, so the price tag felt justified. If you check out the instagram page, you'll notice how much my skillset evolved during my time running Wild Fin and how the brand evovled over time.
Instagram Stories & Posts (2021/22)
photography
Photography was an aspect of running Wild Fin that I really enjoyed, and my skillset evolved considerably over time. I used a DSLR to shoot product photography for ecommerce, learning how to retouch images to ensure products looked their best online, alongside using my iPhone to capture more natural, lifestyle-led content inspired by Pinterest and influencers.
As I was often the subject of my own content, I learned to direct from in front of the camera, communicating my vision to family and friends to bring my ideas to life. This experience has been hugely valuable in my career since, helping to shape the way I direct shoots, guide models and collaborate with photographers to bring a creative vision to life.
greeting cards
Lots of my customers were purchasing Wild Fin to give as gifts, so it just made sense to offer gift cards. I designed these simple, ocean themed illustrations with puns. The design work featured below was the thumbnails for my etsy page.
wild fin
wild fin