Buzzer
Branding a sustainable fashion hub in Berlin
Buzzer is an independent clothing store located in Friedrichshain, one of Berlin's busiest districts and the heart of its club and alternative culture. It focuses on upcycled, vintage, and secondhand designer garments, and works as a hub for fashion-forward youth, regularly hosting pop-up events, workshops, and community-driven initiatives. I designed the new brand, from the logotype to the storefront, and contributed to the launch campaign.
Buzzer
Branding a sustainable fashion hub in Berlin
Buzzer is an independent clothing store located in Friedrichshain, one of Berlin's busiest districts and the heart of its club and alternative culture. It focuses on upcycled, vintage, and secondhand designer garments, and works as a hub for fashion-forward youth, regularly hosting pop-up events, workshops, and community-driven initiatives. I designed the new brand, from the logotype to the storefront, and contributed to the launch campaign.
Brand
Storefront
Art Direction
Role
Visual Designer
Timeline
Dec - Mar 2025 (3 months)
Team
1 videographer, 9 models, 2 photographers
Impact
Followers in 6 months
4K+
vs ~6K over the prior decade (≈13× the pace)
TikTok likes
80K+
organic growth, often featuring the storefront
TikTok likes
80K+
organic growth, often featuring the storefront
Sales, sustained
+10%
at least, vs same quarter prior year
Sales, sustained
+10%
at least, vs same quarter prior year
“It's so instagrammable now that it grows on its own, and the business keeps growing with it. The redesign definitely did that.”
Kacper, owner @buzzer.berlin
Problem
85,000 people a day. Zero seconds of attention.
Buzzer opened in March 2025 on Warschauer Straße, the corridor that funnels people between Frankfurter Tor, the RAW-Gelände clubs, and a station complex that moves over 85,000 passengers a day, with every wall on that stretch layered in graffiti, stickers, and posters competing for the same two seconds of attention. The space came with expectations attached: under its previous name (hahayoureugly), the store had been featured in Vogue's guide to the best upcycling and vintage stores in the capital.
After a decade, the newly renamed Buzzer needed to distinguish itself from the rest of its category: no earth tones, nothing that felt handmade. It had to carry itself like a contemporary fashion house, polished but a little strange, eclectic, slightly alien. The brief, in short: stand out on one of the most saturated streets in Berlin, without borrowing the visual language sustainability usually comes wrapped in.
Problem
85,000 people a day. Zero seconds of attention.
Buzzer opened in March 2025 on Warschauer Straße, the corridor that funnels people between Frankfurter Tor, the RAW-Gelände clubs, and a station complex that moves over 85,000 passengers a day, with every wall on that stretch layered in graffiti, stickers, and posters competing for the same two seconds of attention. The space came with expectations attached: under its previous name (hahayoureugly), the store had been featured in Vogue's guide to the best upcycling and vintage stores in the capital.
After a decade, the newly renamed Buzzer needed to distinguish itself from the rest of its category: no earth tones, nothing that felt handmade. It had to carry itself like a contemporary fashion house, polished but a little strange, eclectic, slightly alien. The brief, in short: stand out on one of the most saturated streets in Berlin, without borrowing the visual language sustainability usually comes wrapped in.
The finished storefront at Warschauer Str. 76.
Identity
Somewhere between Lil Peep and Acne Studios.
The whole identity was designed for high-contrast visibility and brand recognition in a dense urban environment. On the street, the brand hangs as two stainless steel signs, one across the facade and one perpendicular at the corner, so it reads from every angle of approach.
Identity
Somewhere between Lil Peep and Acne Studios.
The whole identity was designed for high-contrast visibility and brand recognition in a dense urban environment. On the street, the brand hangs as two stainless steel signs, one across the facade and one perpendicular at the corner, so it reads from every angle of approach.
The brand is deliberately ungendered and a little alien, with a specific crowd in mind: alternative kids who treat getting dressed as a sport, photograph everything they like, and want to feel responsible while looking good. Its job is signaling who will feel at home inside. Its imagery is borrowed from the worlds that crowd already lives in: SoundCloud-era emo, Y2K chrome nostalgia, club flyers, and the feeling of a city everyone is just passing through.
The brand is deliberately ungendered and a little alien, with a specific crowd in mind: alternative kids who treat getting dressed as a sport, photograph everything they like, and want to feel responsible while looking good. Its job is signaling who will feel at home inside. Its imagery is borrowed from the worlds that crowd already lives in: SoundCloud-era emo, Y2K chrome nostalgia, club flyers, and the feeling of a city everyone is just passing through.
Concept for an in-store screen spotlight video showcasing fashion designers
Launch
The street as the medium.
The launch campaign was a poster campaign. We printed the opening announcement in the style of a club flyer. Later, we pasted it in grids across the neighborhood's advertising columns, each grid mixing all four colorways. The opening itself was a real party: tattoo artists, a tooth gems booth, a DJ set, and a store full of people with colorful hairstyles
Launch
The street as the medium.
The launch campaign was a poster campaign. We printed the opening announcement in the style of a club flyer. Later, we pasted it in grids across the neighborhood's advertising columns, each grid mixing all four colorways. The opening itself was a real party: tattoo artists, a tooth gems booth, a DJ set, and a store full of people with colorful hairstyles
Reflection
When the product isn't on a screen.
I spend most of my time designing digital products, and I love that work. But Buzzer reminded me how different it feels when design turns physical. It was also personal: Friedrichshain welcomed me during my time in Berlin, and leaving something good on its walls felt like giving something back.
I also loved seeing the impact of my design in direct sales and performance numbers. Ideally, the next step would be taking Buzzer online, with an ecommerce built on the same identity.
Reflection
When the product isn't on a screen.
I spend most of my time designing digital products, and I love that work. But Buzzer reminded me how different it feels when design turns physical. It was also personal: Friedrichshain welcomed me during my time in Berlin, and leaving something good on its walls felt like giving something back.
I also loved seeing the impact of my design in direct sales and performance numbers. Ideally, the next step would be taking Buzzer online, with an ecommerce built on the same identity.
Spotted on TikTok on a summer afternoon <3
