An exercise in trying new things, failing fast, forgetting failure, or simply finding something more exciting.

Chapters 1-3

Chapter 1 - SWAG SWOP

I created SWAG SWOP, an apparel brand inspired by the world of crypto day trading, dedicated to all the finance bros and babes. I realized crypto is a wild west, an unchartered landscape mainly compromising of scattered uber-art-directed projects or "complete" anonymity. Unlike the world of sports dominated by Nike and Adidas, the crypto world was loosely branded with, I don't know… Patagonia vests, black hoodies, and Lambos? There is no authentic branding for the world of crypto and those obsessed with it.

I scoured the phrases used in the crypto world and tuned them into frat-house humor. The aesthetic was simple: brash and saucy typo-driven slogan t-shirts, hoodies, and caps. There were even a couple of mad magazine "spy vs. spy" inspired characters.

The shop was set up on Shopify and directed to a print-on-demand vendor (I can't remember which one). Once again, creating a brand in a non-branded area was a simple experiment and making a passive income side gig. The fun factor certainly made up for the sales, which were zero.

Where I maybe failed in this was the whole gurken-parade of running ads, promotions, and social media grind, which I have to admit, interests me zero.

Chapter 2 - BERLIN VIBES ONLY

I actually do love design, and I do love my job. Despite the fact I seriously hate Adobe, I hate to admit I have returned to the empire of evil. I was sucked into some stock photo abo terror, so I wanted a way to use up my leftover credits. I somehow caught onto the "good vibes only" wave I probably picked up from the bravo magazines "i buy for my daughter."

I took 1 of the two lowest common denominators in advertising - the other being babies - and combined cute animals with a generic "but coffee first" texting niveau. I chatgpt'ed traits associated with animals and chose basic stock photos to align with them. Some were actual photos, and some were actually ai'ed - and I came up with about 25 slogans, images, and posters. Then set up an Etsy shop and connected a print-on-demand service just to see how Etsy actually works. In comparison to, e.g., Squarespace commerce (what I use) and Shopify (what WASTED GERMAN YOUTH was run on once we kinda got kinda professional).

Finally, I wanted to exploit my hometown of Berlin and its coolness and packaged the whole drama under "BERLIN VIBES ONLY" ala "berlin is my inspiration" or "i ❤️ berlin, even when i dont sometimes" and played around with the random stock photos templates on offer to showcase the posters.

Once again, where I maybe failed in this was the whole ads and promo and such.

It was once again actually an exciting project with zero sales, but simply an experiment in brand building and the whole passive income print-on-demand thing.

Chapter 3 - HALF A BATH

As a Pisces, I love water and bathtime. I call the bathtub my second office. It is a place of peace, focus, and revitalization. I make and take many calls in the tub, both private and work-related. I must admit the acoustics aren't the best; maybe that's the next project. I am obsessed with optimization and inspired by the bathtubs of Japan, and I realize that water will soon be the new gold. I was permanently traumatized about pulling the plug and watching this gift of nature disappear.

Sometimes, a bath does not have to be a soak, and sometimes, a simple shower will suffice. But I was looking for an in-between. With the luxury of a bath combined with the compactness of the Japanese homes, the idea of HALF A BATH was born by somehow halving the standard European bath - saving water and, of course, money. I saw this also as an excellent solution for baby bathtime, where only half a bath is needed.

As ambitious as this project was, it ended at the sketchbook. Creating an easy-to-install and remove solution was (simply) impossible. A blow-up (think plastic wine cask) solution would be terrific, but this flies like a balloon. Anything heavy weighs down the separator, but it would be difficult to lift out and reinstall. Then, of course, storage issues.

But is this a good idea? Is there a market for this? This was a simple exercise in attempting to make something good into something maybe better and trying to save the planet. im no engineer, but I love the idea and the name.