Get Daffd
A person seen from behind in a black Data Invaders hoodie, a pixel arcade graphic of data icons across the back
Work

Lightdash Merch

Wearable, functional pieces that take the Lightdash brand off the screen. A black base, purple accents, pixel icons and one rule: never in the same place twice.

Freelance concept, design and art direction for Lightdash, 2025.

Problem.

Extend the Lightdash brand beyond screens and events. Build a set of wearable and functional items that align with the product's visual language, and create consistency between product, booth and physical experience.

Craft.

  1. Worn daily, not just at events.

    Represent the company without heavy branding or slogans. Details, materials and colour accents do the talking. Small custom choices, like drawstring colour, patch sets and limited drops, reflect the flexibility that defines Lightdash as a product.

    A woman in a studio sitting on a steel cube, wearing a dark sweatshirt with a large red pixel chilli on the chest, a black tote with purple straps and a woven Lightdash label beside her
    Chilli sweatshirt and tote.
    Close-up of the black tote with a round red embroidered patch of a pixel chilli pepper
    A nod to the Lightdash hot sauce.
    Three mint wide-mouth water bottles covered in Lightdash stickers, including Data teams first, Explore your data, pixel bolts, a space invader and the Lightdash wordmark
    Stickers on a bottle.

  2. Restraint first.

    The foundation of the system. Wearable, neutral, long-term. No oversized graphics or slogans, just fit, form and fabric quality, with details aligned to the Lightdash interface. Clean grids, controlled spacing, black base. Staples that anchor the brand and can be worn daily without feeling like merch.

    A person in a black hoodie with a small white Lightdash wordmark on the chest and purple drawstrings
    Visual restraint.
    A man on a city rooftop at dusk in a black sherpa fleece with a purple zip and collar and a small Lightdash patch on the chest
    Sherpa fleece.
    Black cap with a white Lightdash wordmark on the front
    Cap.

  3. Never in the same place twice.

    A mix of screenprints and patches using Lightdash icons in new ways. Stitched elements, pixel graphics and printed motifs build a modular, layered look. Icons appear on sleeves, backs or cords, never in the same place twice. Matte finishes keep the focus on texture and contrast, not gloss.

    A person in a black hoodie with a column of colourful pixel icons printed down the sleeve
    Pixel icons down the sleeve.
    A person seen from behind in a black hoodie with a large purple outlined lightning bolt stitched on the back
    The bolt.
    Two hands pressing clear Lightdash packing tape, printed with the wordmark, purple pixel bolts and Ship your metrics, onto a kraft mailing tube
    Ship your metrics tape.

  4. Screenprint, then patches.

    One hoodie option layers the two techniques. A tonal wordmark is screenprinted first, then embroidered patches are stitched on top, so the same base print can carry a different patch pair each time.

    Front and back of a black hoodie with blue drawstrings and a small stacked Lightdash wordmark print on the chest, with a pink invader and a blue bolt patch on top
    Front and back.
    Wireframe of the method, a tonal wordmark screenprint as layer one, embroidered patches as layer two, the two combined, and four patch pairings on the same base print
    Screenprint first, patches on top.
    Layout of the chest print, four diagonal tonal Lightdash wordmarks with a pink invader patch and a blue bolt patch on top, labelled stitches and screenprint
    The layout.

  5. Defend the dashboard.

    A retro game take on the Lightdash universe. Symbols of data discovery mix with arcade culture, and data icons become digital invaders, turning queries into a mission for insight. A soft cotton hoodie with pixel artwork inspired by old-school screens. Play with data. Defend the dashboard.

    A person seen from behind in a black Data Invaders hoodie, a pixel arcade graphic of data icons across the back
    Data Invaders.
    Two purple motel-style key fobs, one reading Room 404 Not Found with the Lightdash wordmark, the other with rows of pixel rockets, invaders and databases
    Room 404. Not found.

  6. Every trip earns a patch.

    Every trip would add one new patch, from a conference in Las Vegas to an offsite in Chamonix. The team sews it onto their hoodie or tote, so the merch slowly turns into a record of where they've been together.

    A black rectangular patch with NYC spelled out in yellow, red and blue subway-style circles
    A playing card patch, an ace with a red pixel chilli in the middle and Las Vegas along the bottom
    A round white patch with a red border reading I'd rather be writing SQL than slides
    A dark green patch with a database icon reading Born to query, forced to offsite
    A purple pennant patch with Chamonix in cream script lettering

  7. And socks.

    The icon stack keeps to the system, the same pixel set running up the cuff. The flames don't.

    A black crew sock with a vertical stack of pixel icons up the cuff, a heart, a cursor, a database, a key, a bolt, a dinosaur, a rocket, an invader and a balloon
    Icon stack.
    A pair of black socks with purple flames and white lightning bolts around the cuff and a white Lightdash wordmark on the foot
    Off brief. They just looked too good not to make.

Outcome.

A small, modular system. Staples that anchor the brand, accents that keep it playful, and patches that tie merch to real milestones, not random designs.