Overview

In 2020, I began an incredible journey with Sparkpick, an eco-fashion blog inspired by my reflections after watching The True Cost, a powerful documentary on the fast fashion industry. What started as a simple blog quickly grew into something much bigger, including the launch of our eco fashion brand, SPARK + REBEL, in 2022.

Throughout this project, I’ve worn many hats—Fashion Designer, Creative Director, Stylist, and Product Designer—and it’s been such a rewarding experience to see this vision come to life and evolve.

Design Personas

It all started when my fashion design mentor, Larisa, and I were recording DIY videos for Sparkpick. We were transforming used garments into fresh, new pieces. That’s when it dawned on me—this could become a fashion brand. A brand for Millennials like myself and Gen Z who love standing out while exploring conscious fashion.

What came next was a deep reflection on my own needs, followed by market research with friends who shared a similar sense of style. This process helped us identify two key design personas for the brand.

One of these personas, Kai, embodied the archetype of the Creator—a thoughtful, introspective, and highly imaginative individual. Kai often travels to cities like Tokyo, Berlin, and Copenhagen for inspiration and works as a Creative Director at a boutique design studio in Brooklyn. For Kai, fashion is a canvas for self-expression and storytelling.

I also wanted the brand to feel rebellious, inspired by my deep love for Harajuku fashion and punk style. The second design persona, Riley, reflected this spirit. A Graphic Designer and Digital Artist from LA, Riley is bold, unapologetic, and fiercely independent. A creative thinker who loves to push boundaries in art, fashion, and self-expression, Riley views fashion as both an art form and a tool for rebellion.

The Hero’s Journey

After creating the design personas, I mapped out the Hero’s Journey to fully capture the experiences, desires, and core needs of both Riley and Kai. This framework is inspired by Donald Miller’s book Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen, which uses the Hero’s Journey to craft compelling marketing messages and strategies.

In our story, the Hero is someone who wants to express their individuality and creativity through bold, sustainable fashion.

The Villain? Fast fashion, with its unsustainable practices, generic designs, and unethical production methods. SPARK + REBEL steps in as the Guide. We understand how hard it can be to stand out while staying true to your values and creativity. That’s why we bring years of expertise in fashion design, styling, and sustainability to create a one-of-a-kind experience. We collaborate with trusted upcycling artisans and vintage curators to ensure every piece is high-quality, original, and eco-conscious.

The Hero’s transformation? They start off frustrated by the lack of bold, sustainable, and unique fashion options. But through SPARK + REBEL, they become empowered to confidently express their personality and style in a way that’s authentic and impactful.

Brand Voice

Based on the personas and their journeys, we crafted SPARK + REBEL’s brand voice to be bold, authentic, and unapologetically rebellious. (Refining it took a couple of years, and we believe this evolution will continue as the brand grows and adapts.)

Our slogan—"Wear Your Revolution"—perfectly embodies the heart of SPARK + REBEL: a rallying cry for those who use fashion to express their individuality, creativity, and desire for change.

The visuals bring this voice to life with two core styles: Harajuku street style and punk vibes. These styles inspire a mix of vibrant, saturated colors—magenta, red, neon lime, and black—paired with bold typography, edgy layouts, and dynamic color blocking. Harajuku elements add playfulness and creativity, while punk aesthetics bring raw energy and a rebellious edge. Together, they create a striking and fearless visual identity.

The overall vibe of SPARK + REBEL is a daring fusion of creativity and individuality. It’s about empowering our community to break the rules, embrace self-expression, and make a statement through sustainable fashion. With every piece, we merge rebellion and responsibility, showing that bold style and eco-consciousness can go hand in hand.

Colors & Typography

Because SPARK + REBEL is a sub-brand of Sparkpick, I wanted the two to share certain branding elements to maintain consistency while allowing each brand to have its unique identity.

For typography, we kept Avenir, which we also use at Sparkpick, because of its clean, modern look that is both timeless and versatile. Avenir’s geometric design complements SPARK + REBEL’s bold, structured aesthetic while ensuring readability across all platforms. Its simplicity allows the brand’s vibrant and rebellious visuals to take center stage.

For colors, we pulled from a shared color palette but defined a distinct set of primary and secondary colors for SPARK + REBEL.

• As primary colors, we chose medium red and magenta to represent boldness, passion, and creativity. These colors evoke energy and rebellion while staying true to the Harajuku and punk vibes that define the brand’s identity.

• Black is frequently used for backgrounds, providing a sleek, edgy canvas that highlights the saturated colors.

• Greens, greys, and mustard brown are used sparingly, drawing inspiration from nature’s palette to balance the boldness with earthy, grounding tones.

We also incorporate color blocking and vibrant psychedelic patterns to amplify the brand’s rebellious, artistic spirit. These elements add energy and playfulness to the visuals, reflecting the brand’s fusion of Harajuku creativity and punk edge. This bold approach to color and design ensures that SPARK + REBEL stands out as a unique, unapologetic voice in sustainable fashion.

Fashion DNA

SPARK + REBEL blends the bold energy of Harajuku street style with casual, punk, and utilitarian influences. Our brand has been on a journey—starting with a mix of utilitarian and punk aesthetics, infused with the concept of modular fashion. We created a collection of modular hoodies, tees, and tote bags, designed so you could fit your entire capsule wardrobe in one bag.

As we grew and got a clearer vision of our market and design personas, we expanded into vintage fashion on Etsy and began upcycling leather jackets. We embraced playful, saturated colors, and introduced patchwork, collages, and embroidery to add more individuality and creativity to each piece.

Digital Fashion

Two of our earliest collections made their way into the world of digital fashion! SPARK + REBEL was one of the first brands on DressX, bringing our bold, modular designs to the virtual space.

For our first collection, we reimagined historical military uniforms with a modern twist, blending them with modular fashion to create something unique—like a trendy cropped jacket with cool detachable pieces. Our second collection leaned into street style and punk vibes, featuring a sleek long coat and another stylish cropped jacket, both with the same playful, mix-and-match versatility.

Website design: Landing page

Our website is always evolving! In our latest 2025 update, we introduced product pages, fine-tuned our messaging on the Landing page, and created dedicated pages for each collection to make shopping and exploring our brand even more exciting.

The Landing page is where we bring SPARK + REBEL to life—it showcases our brand story, commitment to sustainability, and highlights our top collections along with customer reviews. The hero banner proudly displays our slogan: “Be seen. Be heard. Be you.” with a bold CTA button inviting visitors to shop.

Just below the fold, we speak directly to our audience with a value proposition that resonates: “Tired of boring fashion that doesn’t let you express yourself?” We make it clear that SPARK + REBEL is all about individuality and bold self-expression.

To build trust and community, we feature three top customer reviews for social proof, and at the bottom of the page, our Instagram grid keeps the energy going—showcasing real people rocking their SPARK + REBEL looks.

Website design: Sustainability page

At SPARK + REBEL, sustainability isn’t just an afterthought—it’s at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we created a long-scroll Sustainability page to dive deep into what makes our brand eco-conscious, transparent, and responsible.

On this page, we highlight our core sustainable principles and the carefully chosen fabrics that help us minimize our impact on the planet. We also bring our mission to life with behind-the-scenes photos of our creative team, showing the people who make SPARK + REBEL what it is.

Because ethical production matters, we proudly share our fair trade commitment and the steps we take to ensure that our workers are treated with dignity and paid fairly. We also talk about our efforts to give back—like our donations to Klima, our investment in solar-powered factories, and our dedication to using recycled and recyclable packaging for all our garments.

Website design: Product page

In 2025, we took our Etsy shop to the next level by adding dedicated Product pages for each garment we sell. We wanted to go beyond the basics—so along with essential product details, we included extra touches to make shopping more inspiring and transparent.

Each product page now features styling tips to help customers mix and match pieces effortlessly, making it easier to express their personal style. We also share sustainability insights, detailing the eco-friendly materials used and the responsible practices behind each piece. Plus, we provide transparency about our production process, so shoppers know exactly where and how their garments are made.

Marketing & Social media

You can shop SPARK + REBEL on Etsy and Poshmark, but our brand is so much more than just a store—it’s a community! We connect with our audience across Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and in 2025, we launched email marketing to keep our biggest fans in the loop with exclusive drops, styling inspiration, and behind-the-scenes content.

I personally create all of our marketing assets (and I absolutely love it!). From bold, eye-catching visuals to engaging content that reflects our rebellious, sustainable spirit, every piece is crafted to bring the SPARK + REBEL vibe to life.

Key Insights

Working on SPARK + REBEL has been a journey of growth—both professionally and personally. It feels like stepping out of the darkness and into a world of color, bringing more creativity into my work every year.

My biggest takeaway? Keep iterating on branding and messaging until it truly clicks. Building a fashion brand is like building any other business—sometimes it takes ten failures before you find success. And that’s okay. Every misstep is a lesson that brings you closer to your vision.

When launching a new product, make it “Made to Order” whenever possible to prevent unnecessary fashion waste. And above all, believe in the power of sustainable fashion—it can be bold, unique, and creative, just like all of our amazing, sparkling customers.