In late winter of 2022 I met a Hannah Yesmunt who “blew up” on TikTok for designing her own genderless swimsuit. In doing so, a garment manufacturer in Los Angeles offered to produce her androgynous designs as a passion project. Hannah reached out to me via email asking to meet over coffee and we instantly gelled. She had a name and vibe. Saint Andro Swimwear was born.
When I started in 2022
Hannah had already asked a local illustrator to take a crack at designing a logo & icon for the brand. Together we broke down the elements we liked and then wrote down all the words we wanted the brand’s visuals to eventually encapsulate…
Early Logo & brand Exploration
· swim protection
· queer
· androgynous
· gender fluid
· playful
· technical
· ethically produced
· neurodivergent
· expirimental
· future nostalgia
· size inclusive XS-5X
· made in los angeles
· proud midwest roots
· DIY
· sensory friendly
· sports curious
· expirimental
· swim protection · queer · androgynous · gender fluid · playful · technical · ethically produced · neurodivergent · expirimental · future nostalgia · size inclusive XS-5X · made in los angeles · proud midwest roots · DIY · sensory friendly · sports curious · expirimental
We scrapped the chivalry in lieu of a more balanced formula that could grow with us; continually playing with long-established binaries like solid and liquid, digital and analog, masc & femme, old & new, thoughts & prayers to visually question the status quo.
We chose descriptive words like Gender Fluid over ‘Gender-less’ or ‘unisex’ to emphasize ties to literal water as well as generally acknowledging the ever-expanding spectrum of identity in our shifting culture.
Our font choices were practical &
importantly nothing special:
Helvetica, Futura & Monotype
the ‘Ice Breaker’ Launch
We were in need funding and a secure following, so with digital patterns sent to the product developer in LA, we needed something to set tone for what was to come. Hannah’s brother was a professional coder, so I mocked up a mobile-friendly website in Photoshop with components for him to build out for capturing prospective emails and phone numbers.
Paying homage to our Midwest roots, the fact that it was still cold out, and that we only had one suit to work with, the idea of playing with an obscuring element made sense. Using ice felt like an obvious choice.
Below is the original pitch deck I sent to Randy, the owner of Ice Gurus, who graciously agreed to help us freeze our suit in ice & allowed us shoot on their loading dock for photography trade.
External Links
Ice Breaker Lookbook
Ice Breaker BTS Reel
Tee Shirt Drop
Start Garden Demo Day
Can I touch it?
After spending all summer developing our first collection through several rounds of prototyping and fit testing, we also worked to secure funding. In September we were accepted to compete at Start Garden’s 2023 Demo Day for a chance to win $10k.
Since the brand was still mostly conceptual at the time (which didn’t bode well for our winning chances) I knew we needed something engaging and suggestive of our potential.
We knew the competition would be outdoors, hot & packed with 99 other booths, so we hoped this would draw ‘em in with a playful sensory experience, ice! We called our friends up at Ice Gurus again, and I laminated some materials to go underneath.
We also used this as an opportunity to promote our Exhibition & Artist Residency at Kendall College of Art & Design just down the street, happening simultaneously…
External Links
Fit Testing in Los Angeles at Slow.Blink Film Studio
Factory tour in Los Angeles
Flex Lab Artist Residency
Our Fall 2023 semester Art Residency at Kendall College of Art & Design covered the final span of our launch; starting with final rounds of prototyping, fit testing & product testing then onto first collection photoshoot, speaking engagements and finally, a year since we started, on Dec 1st we had our official launch party. It felt like a marathon to the finish.
The process of developing a brand identity then immediately turning around and using it to describe the process of building brand identity was more than a bit meta. The exhibition was the definition of transparency, and in my mind a success. It was a great experience in trusting one’s gut.
External Links
SA Journal: Exhibition Recap
IG Reel: Exhibit Planning
Press Release
C01 Photoshoot November 2023
Shoot considerations & (my favorite) limitations:
We had had to work around the building’s hours of operation so we split the shoot into 2 days with 4h chunks each day.
It was important for us to include a variety of bodies, but with the time restraints we calculated 20 mins in-front of the camera with each model. To keep things moving efficiently, the creative brief above had as much context for all to access: what to expect on set, poses, art direction, styling, items to bring, how to prep before the shoot, what the makeup artist was doing and so on. This limited the chances I would need to step away from shooting to help make other executive decisions.
We asked friends who had worked with us on previous projects to assist. Adjusting props, welcoming talent on set, pulling wardrobe and keeping us on schedule. It ran like comfy cozy clockwork. Shout out to Christa!
Lighting needed to be simple and adjustable, so I drew up diagrams of how I could bounce look-to-look, minimizing guesswork. I set up the day before and tested everything.
We used local talent that I had either worked with before or had answered our open model call online, for which we received 30+ applications! Swimwear is a fickle item to shoot - even on the most confident person - and a white sweep can be very intimidating. Making sure models felt comfortable and understanding of the artistic goals reinforced a successful outcome & teamwork mindset.
Once complete, as part of our residency I gave a presentation that was open to the public, breaking down all aspects of photoshoot production, breaking down the Deck I had made, ending with a Q&A and studio lighting demo.
External Links
C01 lookbook
IG Reel Art Residency Recap
IG Reel Launch Party Recap
Film of C01 campaign coverage by Hailey Janssen
Creative Mornings Grand Rapids Talk July 2024
We were asked by our local Grand Rapids Chapter of Creative Mornings to give a talk on the topic of Trust. It was a 30 minute presention with examples of all the brand and product development we had worked on to this point. The event was held at the Grand Rapids Art Museum, which I still can’t believe I get to say.
We asked our friend & talented graphic designer Kelsea Rounds to desgin & format our presentation & I’m so glad we did! Those slides below.
External Link
BTS Reel from CMGR
Since our first launch we’ve enjoyed several passion-project releases, collaborations, features & events, all available to discover on our website & socials.
