Industry

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC)

Eco-Luxury Lifestyle

Home & Living

Sustainable Consumer Goods

Services

Brand Strategy & Positioning

Visual Identity Design

Art Direction

UI/UX Design (Web)

Design System Development

Packaging Design

E-commerce Experience Design

Motion Direction

Year

2024

Zleeco: Creating a Direct-to-Consumer Sustainable Brand from Concept to Launch

Zleeco: Creating a Direct-to-Consumer Sustainable Brand from Concept to Launch

How thoughtful design made the brand feel luxurious, while still offering something truly different and valuable.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As Creative Director, I conceptualized and built Zleeco—a sustainable pillow brand—from ground zero, personally handling material testing, quality assurance, packaging design, and brand identity creation. Through market analysis, I identified an opportunity to redefine luxury in the sustainable home goods space. Rather than positioning Zleeco as a lower-priced alternative, I crafted a sophisticated marketing narrative around "Accessible Luxury"—offering the same premium quality as high-end competitors like Avocado, but with a revolutionary value proposition enabled by our direct-to-consumer model and partnerships with TENCEL for material certification.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES

Sole Designer, Brand Strategist, and Creative Lead

Sole Designer, Brand Strategist, and Creative Lead

CHALLENGE & OPPORTUNITY

Market Challenge:

Premium sustainable pillows were typically priced at $100+ (e.g., Avocado), making them inaccessible to many consumers despite growing demand for eco-friendly home products.

Opportunity Identified:

Establishing credibility in a premium market with a new brand

Creating a distinctive sustainable identity in a crowded space

Building partnerships with certified material providers

Developing rigorous quality control for a premium product experience

Strategic Approach

Market Analysis & Positioning

I conducted comprehensive analysis of 12 leading competitors, identifying that luxury sustainable brands were creating artificial exclusivity through high price points rather than superior material quality. This analysis revealed that established brands like Avocado were charging $100+ primarily due to retail markups and marketing costs, creating a barrier to luxury for many consumers.

Strategy: Position Zleeco as "True Luxury at Its True Value" by crafting messaging that challenged traditional luxury pricing while maintaining the premium product experience. Rather than positioning as "less expensive," I developed messaging around "paying for quality, not retail markup."

Brand & Product Vision

I developed a comprehensive brand strategy document that positioned Zleeco as redefining luxury in the sustainable home goods space.

The brand essence was captured in three core pillars:

  • Authentic Luxury

  • Sustainable Craftsmanship

  • Revolutionary Value

Strategy: Create a visual and verbal identity that communicated unmistakable luxury cues while introducing a disruptive narrative about the true meaning of value and quality. The brand language deliberately used premium terminology comparable to high-end competitors while introducing the revolutionary concept that luxury should be more accessible.

Direct-to-Consumer Strategy

I mapped the complete customer journey to identify key touchpoints where we could reinforce our luxury positioning and disruptive value narrative without traditional retail presence.

Strategy: Design an exceptional unboxing experience indistinguishable from ultra-premium brands and create sophisticated educational content centered on the theme "Luxury Shouldn't Cost More Than It's Worth." The messaging consistently positioned Zleeco not as a lower-priced alternative but as an enlightened approach to luxury that questioned why consumers should pay arbitrary markups for equivalent quality.

"Luxury is not about price. It's about craftsmanship, materials, and a revolutionary perspective on value."

"Luxury is not about price. It's about craftsmanship, materials, and a revolutionary perspective on value."

— Brand Philosophy

— Brand Philosophy

Design Process

Material Testing & Product Development

Product Quality Assessment

I personally conducted extensive testing of 18 sustainable material combinations, evaluating factors including durability, comfort, manufacturing feasibility, and cost efficiency.

Process: Created a comprehensive testing matrix scoring each material option against 15 performance criteria, iterating through multiple prototypes to achieve the optimal balance of sustainability, comfort, and price.

I personally tested the final product to ensure it met our quality standards and luxury positioning.

Process: Evaluated the product's comfort, durability, and overall quality to confirm it matched our premium market positioning, ensuring it could genuinely compete with higher-priced alternatives on quality while offering better value.

Material Testing & Product Development

Brand Identity & Narrative Development

I personally conducted extensive testing of 18 sustainable material combinations, evaluating factors including durability, comfort, manufacturing feasibility, and cost efficiency.

Process: Created a comprehensive testing matrix scoring each material option against 15 performance criteria, iterating through multiple prototypes to achieve the optimal balance of sustainability, comfort, and price.

I designed a sophisticated brand identity system featuring an elegant wordmark, a refined color palette blending muted luxury tones with nature-inspired accents, and a custom illustration style that evoked both premium craftsmanship and sustainable origins.

Process: Developed a provocative brand narrative centered around "Redefining Luxury," with messaging frameworks that positioned Zleeco as a revolutionary approach to luxury rather than a budget alternative. The copy deliberately used premium language comparable to high-end brands while questioning why luxury should be artificially exclusive through inflated pricing.

Packaging Design

Brand Identity & Narrative Development

I created a cohesive packaging system for both toddler and adult product lines, using 100% recyclable and biodegradable materials that maintained a premium unboxing experience while reducing environmental impact.

Created cohesive packaging for both toddler and adult lines with distinct visual cues for each audience while maintaining brand consistency.

I designed a sophisticated brand identity system featuring an elegant wordmark, a refined color palette blending muted luxury tones with nature-inspired accents, and a custom illustration style that evoked both premium craftsmanship and sustainable origins.

Process: Developed a provocative brand narrative centered around "Redefining Luxury," with messaging frameworks that positioned Zleeco as a revolutionary approach to luxury rather than a budget alternative. The copy deliberately used premium language comparable to high-end brands while questioning why luxury should be artificially exclusive through inflated pricing.

Digital Experience & Content Strategy

Brand Identity & Narrative Development

I personally conducted extensive testing of 18 sustainable material combinations, evaluating factors including durability, comfort, manufacturing feasibility, and cost efficiency.

Process: Created a comprehensive testing matrix scoring each material option against 15 performance criteria, iterating through multiple prototypes to achieve the optimal balance of sustainability, comfort, and price.

I designed a sophisticated brand identity system featuring an elegant wordmark, a refined color palette blending muted luxury tones with nature-inspired accents, and a custom illustration style that evoked both premium craftsmanship and sustainable origins.

Process: Developed a provocative brand narrative centered around "Redefining Luxury," with messaging frameworks that positioned Zleeco as a revolutionary approach to luxury rather than a budget alternative. The copy deliberately used premium language comparable to high-end brands while questioning why luxury should be artificially exclusive through inflated pricing.

BUILT UNDER MY STUDIO

Zleeco was created under Alien & Bear — my independent design practice.

As the founder and solo creative behind Alien and Bear, I led the entire creation of Zleeco — from concept to market. Every part of Zleeco was designed, developed, and launched by me through my studio.

Strategy, naming, brand positioning

Logo, packaging, and brand identity system

Website UX/UI, visual content, and development (Framer)

Launch content for Amazon, Instagram, and print

Zleeco is not just a project — it's a brand I built from the ground up through Alien and Bear.

Retail Design: Amazon Visual Experience

Designing for Conversion: Zleeco's Visual Retail Story on Amazon US

Designing for Conversion: Zleeco's Visual Retail Story on Amazon US

Designing for Conversion: Zleeco's Visual Retail Story on Amazon US

I transformed existing product feature content into a strategic, user-friendly narrative for Zleeco's Amazon listings. Using TENCEL™-approved materials, I restructured technical specifications to create a more compelling and accessible product story.

🔑Key Contributions:

🔹Crafted marketing messaging from technical features

🔹Transformed specifications into customer-focused narrative

🔹 Uniquely designed adult and toddler SKU visual systems

🔹Balanced storytelling with technical value props

Aligned with Zleeco and TENCEL™ brand guidelines