Ratchet Ring
Design Collaboration

As an early Ratchet Ring supporter and daily user, I reached out to Project Ratchet after the company began exploring patterned ring designs. Drawing on previous geometric design work, including custom New Year's Eve invitation graphics, I proposed a series of surface pattern concepts that could be adapted to the Ratchet Ring platform.

The Project Ratchet team later invited me to develop a collection of custom engraving concepts for future releases. Working directly with founder August Hektor, I explored a wide range of geometric pattern systems designed to balance aesthetics, manufacturability, and seamless repetition around a circular form.

Role: Concept Development | Pattern Design | Vector Illustration
Client: Project Ratchet (ProjectRatchet.com)
Deliverables: Surface Pattern Systems | Production Artwork
Outcome: Multiple Concepts Advanced to Customer Voting | Commercial Product Releases | Public Design Credit

Pattern Exploration

The project began with a broad exploration of geometric engraving systems. Early concepts investigated a variety of visual directions, ranging from flowing organic structures to highly structured Art Deco and architectural motifs.

During development, manufacturing feedback revealed that simpler geometric forms and cleaner linework would reproduce more consistently than dense or heavily curved patterns. Several concepts were refined, simplified, or eliminated throughout development. The strongest directions advanced through customer voting, production review, and later refinement before moving into commercial release.

Geodesic

TriWeave

Diamond Warp

TriGrid

Spiderweb

Honeycomb

Square Grid

Tiles

Hex Ripples

Circuits

Pegs

Art Deco

Art Deco Diamond

Waves

Stained Glass

Selected Design Concepts

Organic crystal-inspired patterning.

Art Deco symmetry optimized for repetition.

Jewelry-inspired geometric facets.

Design Challenge

The challenge was creating patterns that remained visually distinctive while wrapping seamlessly around a circular product. Early concepts explored a variety of geometric structures before being refined through manufacturing feedback that favored cleaner symmetry, repeatability, and production consistency.

Unlike a flat graphic, every pattern needed to wrap seamlessly around a cylindrical surface while maintaining visual continuity from every viewing angle. Designs also needed to remain legible after engraving, requiring careful balance between detail, line weight, and manufacturing limitations.