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
Retro-forward design system with defined typography, color, and texture
Product positioning centered on collectible culture and playful productivity
Landing experience integrating product mockups, narrative hierarchy, and waitlist conversion funnel
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
Needed an accent color to counteract dominant blue
Minimal palette allows hardware renders to stand out
Bold, simplified wordmark increases memorability and strengthens brand recognition
Cons
Risk of visual noise if hierarchy is not controlled
Lacked a secondary accent color to balance the dominant blue and create energy (proposed pink)
Logo initially lacked flexibility
Landing Page Planning
Early landing page experiments
Pros
Clear value proposition: Let a game get in the way between you and your phone.
Product mockups clarified user flow
Visually differentiated from competitor screen-blocking tools (Opal, Brick)
Cons
Needed to show, not tell differentiation from other products more clearly
Text-heavy when users were more curious about how it works
Required stronger context between visuals and copy
Result
Presenting the competitive product analysis & GTM
Landing Page Walkthrough
What we delivered
Deliverable 1: One-page scrolling landing page with waitlist + launch campaign video
Deliverable 2: Cohesive branding guide and reusable asset system
Deliverable 3: Animated investor pitch deck
