Metalhead Kustoms

| Project Scope:

Branding & Identity / Art Direction / Mobile & Desktop UI/UX / Ecommerce Website Creation / Graphic Design / Digital Illustration / Merchandise Creation / Social Media Platforms Creation & Management / Copywriting

| Tools used:

Illustrator / Photoshop / XD / Figma / Lightroom / Dimension

| Overview:

Metalhead Kustoms is a bold, personality-driven brand specializing in custom automotive builds and fabrication for hotrod enthusiasts. Led by Ian Vance, known for his gritty, unfiltered persona, the brand required a digital launch and visual identity that matched his distinctive character while maintaining familiarity for his loyal following. The goal was to bring the brand’s offline reputation into a cohesive, elevated online experience that still felt raw, honest, and deeply personal to his audience.

I led the entire creative rollout of Metalhead Kustoms' digital launch, overseeing branding and identity, designing and building a full e-commerce website, and delivering content across merchandise, illustration, digital assets, and social channels. Every aspect was built to reflect the brand’s throwback, high-octane aesthetic while modernizing its presence for new customers and long-term growth. See fully case study below.

| Impact:

• 38% User Engagement Boost

• 500k+ YouTube Views

• 40% Fewer Scheduling Conflict

| Challenges:

Launching Metalhead Kustoms’ first full-scale digital presence meant carefully balancing authenticity with strategy. The brand already had a strong offline following, but its online identity was nonexistent.

• Audience Alignment: The site and brand needed to speak directly to existing followers while also attracting new customers unfamiliar with Ian’s personality or offerings. This meant building a digital identity that felt raw and familiar, without sacrificing clarity or professionalism.

• Onboarding Structure: Time was being lost manually handling service inquiries. The business lacked a clear intake process to sort customers by service type or need, which often led to miscommunication and scheduling issues.

• Scattered Visual Ecosystem: Without any structured brand system, designs across merchandise, social content, and marketing lacked consistency. Everything had to be created from the ground up to give Metalhead Kustoms a recognizable, ownable look.

• Limited Internal Tools: No automated systems existed for email communication or customer routing. Everything was being handled manually and inconsistently, which left too much room for dropped leads and operational friction.

| Process:

The approach was equal parts creative direction and functional strategy. Every decision had to feel true to the brand while solving practical problems for the business.

Brand & Identity Development

We established a rugged, throwback-inspired visual identity that reflected the brand’s roots in the community.

• Visual System: Designed a flexible brand mark and typographic system inspired by classic American automotive cues, paired with a bold color palette of red, off-white, black, and metallics.

• Visual Voice: Created a tone and design language that matched the raw voice of Metalhead Kustoms while still being clean and scalable.

Website & Funnel Strategy

The website needed to educate, qualify, and route users without having to handhold every lead.

• E-Commerce Integration: Designed and developed a Shopify-based storefront for selling merch, parts, and custom packages.

• Service Funnel UX: Built a multi-step intake form that asked users specific questions, segmenting them by service type and need. These flows triggered automated outreach and allowed for easier follow up and scheduling.

• UI/UX Design: Structured a responsive layout that made content easy to explore, with clear calls to action and service breakdowns optimized for mobile users.

Content Creation & Promotion

To fully activate the brand, we needed to create assets that lived beyond the website.

• Merchandise Design: Illustrated and developed a collection of custom shirts, hats, and decals that matched the brand’s identity and resonated with Ian’s audience.

• Social Asset Development: Designed post templates, promo visuals, and email campaign graphics to support ongoing engagement.

• Ongoing Direction: Helped define a rollout plan for content pacing and promotions tied to product drops and service windows.

| Result:

Metalhead Kustoms transformed from an offline word-of-mouth operation into a fully built-out digital brand with the infrastructure, identity, and tools to grow its reach while staying rooted in the aesthetic and community that built it.

• Brand Launch: Introduced a complete brand identity and visual system that reflected Ian’s personality and resonated with his hotrod audience.

• Improved Lead Management: The new onboarding funnel helped route users into the correct service paths, reducing missed leads and giving Ian back time in his schedule.

• E-Commerce Readiness: The Shopify site allowed for merchandise and custom offering sales, creating a new revenue stream and central hub for the brand.

• Audience Growth: A consistent visual presence and social asset library gave the brand the tools to grow its reach and stay top-of-mind across platforms.

• Operational Efficiency: Automated intake forms and templated outreach simplified how new customers were onboarded, allowing the brand to scale services more efficiently.