Kona BBQ

Growing with the Brand

Seven years, four titles, one brand. My role at KONA evolved with the brand as it scaled, from a graphic designer supporting product launches to directing the entire visual world.

Transforming the Brand Identity

When I joined KONA, the visual identity was still forming. Over the years I took ownership of it, evolved it, and shaped it into the brand KONA is today. The direction I built blends bold typography, earthy textures, warm lifestyle imagery, and KONA’s signature “vacation in your backyard” energy, creating a brand experience that feels elevated, inviting, and made for outdoor cooking enthusiasts. As the design team grew, I set the aesthetic direction and guided a junior designer through storyboarding, A+ content, and social work, so the brand held together across every project.

The elements at its core

Three visual anchors that make the brand instantly recognizable in a scroll or on a shelf.

01 · Signature Element

The Tribal Print

A hand drawn motif I created that became KONA’s most recognizable design element. It runs across packaging, ice packs, box tape, and brand collateral.

Tagline

Vacation in your backyard.

02 · Signature Element

The Voice

The line that anchored the brand voice. Every campaign, product story, and social post lives inside this idea — bold flavors, good times, island spirit.

03 · Signature Element

The Flavor Color System

A color-coded palette that made every wood pellet blend instantly identifiable at shelf and on-screen — Premium, Apple, Cherry, Oak, Hickory, and beyond.

Packaging Design

Across 50+ product launches, I designed a packaging system that created clear flavor differentiation while keeping a cohesive family look across the product line. This included the structure, typography, color system, icon style, and a custom hand drawn tribal print that became a signature visual element across KONA’s packaging and product designs. I also extended the system into KONA’s ice packs, creating custom molded graphics that brought the brand identity into a functional product format.

Beyond the Bag

The brand doesn’t stop at the label. I extended the identity into every surface a customer touches after checkout, from custom box tape and limited-edition stickers to bubble mailer designs and the magnetic Smoke Pro guide that ships with premium orders. The goal: every unboxing feels intentional, on-brand, and worth sharing.

Ecommerce & Campaign Creative

I developed conversion focused ecommerce and campaign creative across Amazon, Shopify, email, social, and product launch materials. From listing images and A+ content to promotional campaigns and launch visuals, each piece was designed to improve clarity, build trust, and help customers quickly understand the value of each product. I also designed and coded custom Shopify landing pages to turn product education into polished digital experiences.

The Amazon Shopper Journey

Every step a KONA customer takes on Amazon is a surface I designed. The listing that catches their eye, the A+ content that convinces them, the subscribe-and-save postcard that lands in their box, the branded tape they unwrap, the sticker they might slap on their laptop. The design work isn’t individual pieces — it’s one continuous experience.

01

The Listing

Redesigned Amazon imagery drove the +$37K in additional sales across four products in 1–2 months.

02

The A+ Content

Full flavor family and product education below the fold, designed to answer questions before they’re asked.

03

The Insert Card

Subscribe-and-save postcards with QR codes to unlock more flavors and repeat purchase incentives.

04

Custom box tape + limited-edition stickers — add image when available

The Unboxing

Custom box tape and limited-edition stickers turn the shipment itself into a brand moment.

Social & Campaigns

I built out KONA’s campaign creative and social presence to match the elevated feel of the packaging. That included leading co-branded campaigns like the GE Profile x KONA partnership, designing paid social across Instagram and Pinterest, and shaping an Instagram content system that turned the feed into an extension of the brand world.

Photography & Lifestyle

Lifestyle imagery played a key role in shaping KONA’s brand experience, transforming product visuals into a warm, inviting world of outdoor cooking, connection, and backyard escape. From food photography to styled product scenes, the imagery helped make the brand feel more experiential and emotionally engaging.

How the Work Gets Made

Design decisions at KONA weren’t made in a vacuum. Every listing, every packaging refresh, every campaign was informed by data, tested, and iterated. This is how the work actually happens.

Results & Impact

Design changes I made moved measurable numbers across KONA’s product line. Wood pellets alone drove $1.28M+ in annual impact, and a targeted Amazon image refresh across four other products added another $37,626 in additional sales in just 1–2 months.