Industry
Firearms
Company
999 Defense
My role
Creative Director
Responsibilities
Creative direction
Print, digital, and merchandise design
Production management of merchandise
Planning, designing, and distribution of all social media content
Curating and organizing collaborations
Impact
120% growth in gross sales over 5 years
66% newsletter open rate
3% average Instagram engagement
Traditional firearms brands often rely on repetitive patterns and outdated tropes, limiting their appeal to niche groups while alienating wider audiences. The firearms industry has long been perceived as insular, with limited connection to cultural trends outside its core community. The challenge was clear: how could a firearms brand transcend these boundaries to connect to new audiences without alienating its base?
At the foundation of this work is Virgil Abloh's Tourist vs Purist approach towards design (2m02s).
Fashion and pop culture draw references and inspiration from firearms and military culture. Often, this leads to work accepted by wider audiences but usually at a cost. For example, camouflage often appears in fashion but is usually heavily modified, losing the original spirit as a disruptive pattern. I attempted to apply military patterns and inspiration with the accuracy it deserves to all kinds of objects that can still appeal to a larger audience but can also stand up to the scrutiny of a community that knows and appreciates the details.
Most firearms brands release merchandise that uses this predictable formula:
apparel + brand logo, release a few color variations, rinse and repeat.
I took an approach to rapidly releasing t-shirt designs throughout the year. This allowed the brand to showcase its connection to cultures, with each shirt acting as a canvas for diverse expressions. Each drop becomes a snapshot of the cultural currents the brand is immersed in—whether through references to music, art, social movements, or niche communities.
This approach signals not just a surface-level engagement but a deep understanding and participation in the cultural ecosystems that resonate with its audience. By staying agile, I reinforced 999 Defense's role as a cultural storyteller, constantly evolving and staying relevant.
Normalization of a culture helps it to breakthrough to new audiences. By injecting a small piece of firearms culture into content that appeals to people who are into other hobbies such as flower arrangements, retrogaming, or Japanese softdrinks, I was able to reach people with new ideas.