TOMS

TOMS

TOMS

TOMS was still early. Fewer than sixty thousand pairs given. The mission was clear and the digital footprint was still forming. My work focused on the foundation: UX templates, SEO structures, and the first scalable version of their social engagement engine.

How did we help:

Performance Optimization

SEO Architecture

Backlink Infra

Mobile-first templates

System Design

Discovery

Identity Development

Brand Messaging

Visual Identity

Content Structure

22% conversion lift

46% social retention lift

Industry

Industry

Lifestyle, Retail

Lifestyle, Retail

Headquarters

Headquarters

Santa Monica, CA

Santa Monica, CA

Founded

Founded

2006

2012

Company Size

Company Size

Fewer than 100 employees

101-250

Key Markets

Key Markets

US

US

Growth Stage

Growth Stage

High growth, early brand expansion

High growth, early brand expansion

Overview

TOMS was moving fast. The one-for-one model was gaining national attention, and celebrities were wearing the shoes everywhere. Traffic came from entertainment blogs, early social platforms, and fast-rising cultural moments. The brand needed Performance Optimization and Mobile-first templates that could hold that sudden attention without breaking.

Early Challenge

The digital ecosystem wasn’t built for scale. Every campaign was a rebuild. Every celebrity moment needed a new landing page. The team called these pages feeder sites. They were small, SEO-focused structures built around celebrity photographs, product mentions, and quick social spikes.

The problem was consistency. Nothing matched. None of it reused. This limited SEO Architecture, slowed the team, and cut into campaign velocity.

Approach

I treated everything like an early design system.

System Design. Content Structure. Visual Identity. A repeatable set of templates that improved performance, worked well on mobile, and could be launched in a fraction of the time.

SEO Architecture and Backlink Strategy shaped the backbone. Each template strengthened domain authority by connecting celebrity-driven landers, seasonal stories, and product pages into a single search ecosystem. This turned scattered attention into real, compounding search value.

Discovery and Identity Development guided the language. Brand Messaging kept every piece aligned with Blake’s original tone, which helped keep the momentum authentic rather than transactional.

Celebrity Integration

The celebrity angle was real leverage. We designed layouts that held strong photography, quick storytelling, and clean paths to product lines. The mix of Mobile-first templates and Performance Optimization meant pages loaded fast even when traffic spiked from entertainment sites.

Those choices drove a measurable lift. Campaigns launched faster. Users moved deeper into the product flow. Traffic bounced less and converted more.

Key Initiatives

  • Built a reusable system of Mobile-first templates that improved load speed and reduced dev effort

  • Created SEO Architecture that unified campaign pages, celebrity landers, and core product lines

  • Developed Backlink Strategy to strengthen domain authority through entertainment and partner sites

  • Improved Performance Optimization across seasonal pages and high-traffic spikes

  • Designed early System Design patterns for repeatable campaign and commerce workflows

  • Established Content Structure to streamline storytelling and product alignment

  • Tightened Identity Development and Brand Messaging for consistent output across channels

Key Results

  • 22% conversion lift

  • 46% social retention lift

  • Faster launches through reusable templates

  • Higher domain authority from backlink strategy

  • Improved mobile performance and stronger search ranking

  • Scalable structure that supported early high-growth expansion

The Impact

TOMS needed digital infrastructure that could keep pace with cultural momentum. The work created that foundation. It connected brand identity, early SEO strategy, and fast-moving celebrity traffic into a unified, scalable system that helped push digital commerce past one hundred million.

Role

UX and Digital Strategy Consultant, partnering with the Senior Director of E-commerce to build templates, systems, SEO frameworks, and social retention structures during the company’s early expansion.

“Sustainable growth came from building the digital foundation underneath it. Search, templates, and repeatable structures made the brand easier to find, easier to share, and easier to trust.”

Blake Mycoskie

Founder of TOMS | Chief Shoe Giver

“Sustainable growth came from building the digital foundation underneath it. Search, templates, and repeatable structures made the brand easier to find, easier to share, and easier to trust.”

Blake Mycoskie

Founder of TOMS | Chief Shoe Giver

“Sustainable growth came from building the digital foundation underneath it. Search, templates, and repeatable structures made the brand easier to find, easier to share, and easier to trust.”

Blake Mycoskie

Founder of TOMS | Chief Shoe Giver

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StudioXDS

Design that scales from day one.

Founding design and UX leadership—helping teams grow from 0→1 into scalable systems.

© 2025 StudioXDS. All rights reserved.

StudioXDS

Design that scales from day one.

Founding design and UX leadership—helping teams grow from 0→1 into scalable systems.

© 2025 StudioBuild™, Built by StudioXDS. All rights reserved.

StudioXDS

Design that scales from day one.

Founding design and UX leadership—helping teams grow from 0→1 into scalable systems.

© 2025 StudioBuild™, Built by StudioXDS. All rights reserved.