When RP55 approached Ciniva Web Agency to design a new e-commerce site for the AKOO clothing brand, we were obviously very excited. This streetwear brand’s reputation preceded itself—it was founded by hip-hop producer/rapper/actor/showbiz mogul T.I. They’ve built a company that is carried in specialty retailers across the country, and in our initial meetings it became clear that the brand was poised to go further. As experts in databases and e-commerce, our team was eager to flex our muscles and produce a site that can support AKOO’s plans for growth.
Their existing CMS was becoming a limitation, and the design was stale. CWA determined that the Magento CMS would be a good fit due to its commerce capabilities, and we began to work with the creative and IT teams at AKOO to craft a design that put more choices at the users’ fingertips. The home page features several different ways to get to the products, as well as engaging social content that fleshes out the brand. Striking a balance between product content and lifestyle information was crucial to the success of the website.
With eight collections a year, there’s a constant flow of new products being added, so a sturdy but intuitive CMS was a must-have. After some training with Hannah and Rob, the AKOO team was comfortable with Magento and able to start loading products.
As Art Director, Saige was the primary force behind the design, learning everything she could about AKOO and its competitors. She worked closely with the AKOO team to re-invigorate the brand and create a design that would adapt to their ever-changing collections. Aram was the lead developer on the project, working closely with the client’s IT teams to ensure that the site met all their functionality requirements. Rob and Hannah handled much of the client interface and trained the AKOO team on how to maintain the site.
