Case Studies

Korsa Performance Apparel

Holiday Creative

Adventure Run

04 Web / Front-End Road Runner Sports 2024

A Grand Opening Page That Didn't Need a Calendar

Saucony Grand Opening - Event Timeline Page

Screenshot

The situation

Road Runner Sports was celebrating a big shoe launch in partnership with Saucony. It was a multi-day event spanning August 7‑17 with a mix of short activities, full-day promotions, and everything in between. The ask was a landing page that could surface all of it without overwhelming anyone.

The brief called for an event timeline. They PM did not want a calendar, not a grid of cards, but something that could communicate events at a glance. There was no existing template for this.

The challenge

There were two problems running in parallel. First, a layout constraint: events varied wildly in length, from a single afternoon to a four-day stretch. A standard card grid would flatten that and a full calendar felt like overkill for a promotional page with numerous days without events. I needed a visual that could show when things started, when they ended, and how they overlapped without requiring the user to do mental math.

Second, there was a deadline. The window between approval and launch was tight, and I was working directly with a stakeholder whose feedback loop was compressed. That meant I had to make layout decisions quickly, present them clearly, and not go back to the drawing board more than once.

The decisions

Built from scratch. No internal templates existed for this kind of timeline display, so I started from a blank file and worked out the visual logic first before touching code.
Chose a horizontal timeline metaphor that mapped calendar days as columns, letting event blocks span their actual duration across the grid. Event duration became visible and clear.
Used clean typographic hierarchy and restrained color to keep the page feeling informational, letting the brand partnership (Saucony + RRS) carry the promotional visual weight.
Designed the layout with the stakeholder's approval checkpoint in mind. I kept the first draft tightly scoped so feedback could be specific rather than general.

Timeline detail view

The outcome

The page launched on schedule. Users could scan it and immediately see what was happening when. I came away with a reusable mental model for presenting time-based content that doesn't need a full calendar to make sense, and a better instinct for scoping work when the feedback window is small. In-person events were deemed successful and hundreds of participants were present at the 6 participating stores. No on-page anaylytics are available, but I remain happy with the final product.

05 Internal Tool Road Runner Sports

Building the Checklist I Wished We Already Had

HTML Email Project Checklist - Internal Team Tool

Screenshot of checklist too

The situation

At some point you notice the same mistakes happening on different projects - not because people aren't paying attention, but because there's no shared structure to catch them. A pre-send checklist for email had been on my informal to-do list for a while. Eventually I just built it.

I wanted it to feel approachable, not punitive. A checklist that people dread using doesn't get used.

The challenge

The challenge wasn't the content - I knew what needed to be on it from years of sends. The challenge was the form. It had to be stateless (no database, no login, nothing to maintain), usable on the fly, and written in a tone that matched how my team actually communicates. Too formal and it reads like a policy document. Too casual and it loses credibility.

The decisions

Built in plain HTML - no frameworks, no backend. Stateless by design so there's nothing to break and nothing to maintain.
Wrote the copy in a friendly, direct voice - each line reads like a colleague reminding you, not a form demanding compliance.
Organized items by phase (build, QA, pre-send) so it mirrors the actual workflow rather than a flat dump of requirements.
Kept it short enough to actually get used. Every item on the list earned its place.

The outcome

It became part of our regular pre-send flow. The feedback I got most often was that it didn't feel like a tool - it just felt like a useful thing. That's the highest compliment a utilitarian piece of work can get.