Tuna Machines
A timer with a game in it: a new solution to phone addiction
Duration
Sept 2025 → Dec 2025
Roles
Design Strategist
Designer
Skills
Branding & Identity Storytelling
Website Design
Pitch Deck
Tools
Figma
Framer
Overview
Background
Tuna Machines was a ground-up branding project for a CPG productivity tech startup. The product was a pocket-sized, retro productivity device that gamifies time management by physically blocking phone use and rewarding focus with collectible virtual fish. I helped shape and deliver a design-forward visual identity with a clean, nostalgic ethos to support a product positioned as a fun solution to phone addiction. My work included an animated investor pitch deck synthesizing product, marketing, and financial strategy, a one-page scrolling landing site articulating the value proposition, and a cohesive branding system with reusable assets.
Challenge
How might we create a design-forward, culturally resonant brand system and digital presence so that a novel productivity hardware device can drive attention and virality throughout launch and early adoption?
Concept
Introducing Tacklebox by Tuna Machines
Solution Synopsis
Process
Design Process
We began by extracting and defining the brand ethos. This informed color selection (simple and high contrast), typography (clean sans serif with a pixel accent), logo explorations rooted in the fish motif, and a tagline encapsulating our approach to phone addiction with game instead of guilt. In parallel, we analyzed competitor positioning (Opal, Brick) and reframed the problem around the complex emotional relationship people have with their phones.
Thinking about the target Consumer
Iteration
We explored a few different versions of branding direction and website storytelling to find the balance between sleek minimalism and retro novelty.
Branding Iteration (placeholder)
Pros
Cons
Landing Page Planning
Early landing page experiments
Pros
Cons
Result
Presenting the competitive product analysis & GTM
Landing Page Walkthrough
