In August 2024 I launched A Happy Cactus, an e-commerce streetwear brand that blends desert ecology, supernatural storytelling, and Stoic philosophy. I built the brand 0 to 1 as a testbed to explore how physical product design, digital ecosystems, and blockchain authentication could form a fully integrated fashion experience rooted in UX principles.
Owner & Creative Director
Overview & Impact
How might we build a fashion brand that integrates digital provenance and user-centered design systems from day one?
In my early research, I found that customers valued transparency, emotional connection, and long-term value, but rarely encountered all three in a cohesive, user-centered experience. What was missing wasn’t visual appeal or exclusivity, but a system that made people feel seen, valued, and part of something bigger. I saw an opportunity to reimagine the role of UX in fashion, starting not with the garment, but with the system around it.
My goal was to create more than just a clothing line. I set out to build a scalable product model that invited customers into a larger story about perseverance, supernatural forces, and the impact of climate change. Partnering with blockchain-authentication company Berify, I launched a system where customers could tap any NFC-enabled tag and view a digital artifact tied to their purchase, complete with narrative context, manufacturing notes, and authenticity data. Beyond the e-commerce platform, I designed the entire end-to-end product experience, including packaging, digital interactions, and a lore-based content system that framed each drop as part of an evolving narrative.
Key Results
The result was a fashion experience where transparency, emotional connection, and long-term value were embedded from day one. With an 80% sell-through rate in the first two months, and 10% of profits donated to the Saguaro National Park, over 14 months I created a successful brand that continues to evolve through cross-functional collaboration, systems-level thinking, and sustainable growth. Most importantly, my work resulted in a system that proved UX and product design can extend beyond the screen, ultimately shaping physical products, storytelling, and the lasting relationship between a brand and its customers.
Discovery
Most labels sell a product, but few build lasting relationships with their customers.
Before launching A Happy Cactus, I immersed myself in the direct-to-consumer fashion landscape to identify where UX principles could elevate not only the buying experience, but the long-term relationship between a brand and its customers.
To understand the problem space I utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining user interviews, competitive analysis, social listening, and experiential insights to uncover opportunities across the full purchasing journey.
Methods
User Interviews
Competitive Analysis
Social Listening
Experiential Research
Sample Sizes
15 Retail Buyers
10 Brand Audits
User Groups
Streetwear Buyers
Market-Leading Brands
Online Resale Communities
Myself as the User
Tools Used
Google Docs / Notion
Miro
Reddit / Discord etc.
Berify Dashboard
Opportunity
Build connection through narrative.
User Interviews
To understand user motivations and post-purchase behavior. Identified key values: transparency, emotional connection, and long-term value.
Opportunity
Make authentication an interactive feature.
Competitive Analysis
To analyze how market leaders build hype and trust. Found gaps in authentication, legitimacy, and cohesive storytelling.
Opportunity
Extend product life with digital continuity.
Social Listening
To observe user sentiment in resale forums, customer reviews, etc. Validated demand for provenance and deeper product meaning.
Opportunity
Bridge the product with a larger ecosystem.
Experiential Research
To reflect on challenges I faced as a customer. Highlighted need for sustainable post-purchase systems that extend product value.
These insights became the foundation of A Happy Cactus: A streetwear brand designed not only to look good and feel exclusive, but to also function like a living UX system, where provenance, emotional resonance, and lasting utility are embedded within every purchase.
Solution
I designed the brand as a system where every touchpoint builds trust, deepens the narrative, and extends its value.
To address the gaps I uncovered within existing brand models, I designed A Happy Cactus to function as an ecosystem. Each part of the experience, from purchase to post-drop, was crafted to build legitimacy, deepen the connection to the narrative, and extend the life of every garment.
Blockchain Authentication
Each garment included a card with a Berify NFC tag. When tapped, customers accessed product information, ownership confirmation, and authenticity verification. This built trust and positioned each garment as a collectible asset within a traceable system on the Polygon blockchain.
Characters & Lore
The world of A Happy Cactus is rooted within an evolving story. Each drop introduces new lore, original characters, and additional commentary on Sonoran ecology and Stoic philosophy. These visuals and narratives transform each garment into a fragment of a larger world.
Grow Your Happy Cactus Event
As part of our initial rollout, we mailed out hundreds of NFC tags to various friends, family, and supporters within our Discord from around the world. By scanning the tag every Friday over the course of four weeks, users witnessed a virtual cactus grow into the character on our first shirt.
Grow Your Happy Cactus Event Cont'd
These heatmaps show where users scanned their NFC tags during the four week event, revealing global engagement across the U.S. and Europe. Each scan reflected a moment of interaction, proving the reach of our community-powered rollout.
Sustainable Engagement
To counter fast fashion’s disposability, I designed every part of the ecosystem to enhance the post-purchase value. Packaging was positioned as a collector’s box, designed to be kept and reused. Post-drop engagement included limited NFT airdrops tied to specific NFC tags.
Iteration
User feedback helped transform the experience into a more intuitive, emotionally resonant system.
Post-scan experience felt “one-and-done.”
Early feedback revealed a drop-off in engagement after the first NFC scan, with users asking, “now what?” While I couldn’t modify the Berify UI, I updated the content tied to each tag with evolving story fragments, NFT rewards, and post-drop lore to encourage repeat scanning. This repositioned the tag as a narrative touchpoint, giving users ongoing reasons to re-engage with their garment.
Packaging was visually striking, but logistically challenging.
The original cactus green collector’s box elevated the unboxing experience but was expensive and inefficient to ship, especially overseas. I began transitioning to a more scalable solution: a lightweight satchel bag with a hand-sprayed logo. The new bag reduced shipping friction while preserving the brand’s visual identity and collectible appeal.
Lore delivery was too vague and too fragmented.
I initially leaned into mystery, sharing abstract visuals and cryptic phrases across posters, packaging, and social media posts. While this built intrigue, users were confused about how it all connected, especially around Cal, our cowboy skeleton and central character, whose name was never revealed. I addressed this by embedding clearer story context into the scan experience. Each artifact now includes character references, themes, and drop-specific lore, turning each scan into a moment of discovery, not just verification.
These changes helped clarify the user journey, close the loop between product and story, and position each garment as part of a long-form interactive system, rather than just a static purchase.
Conclusion
This project taught me that fashion is more than a product. It is an interface.
A Happy Cactus challenged me to design not just garments, but a narrative system, a digital infrastructure, and an emotional journey users could return to. By thinking holistically and designing across mediums, I turned fragmented moments like a scan, an unboxing, or a post-drop NFT into meaningful, continuous touchpoints.
I learned how to guide users through ambiguity, clarify the story without removing the mystery, and create feedback loops between what people wear and what they believe in. I also saw firsthand how constraints like packaging logistics or third-party platform limitations can become prompts for smarter, more intentional design.
Most importantly, I proved to myself that UX can live beyond the screen. Whether it's a blockchain scan, a box on a doorstep, or a virtual cactus growing over time, every interaction is an opportunity to build trust, shape narrative, and create something worth keeping.
If I were to iterate further, I would explore ways to evolve the scan experience over time, such as unlocking new story layers, linking past drops, or letting users contribute to the narrative themselves.
