Custom Shopify Theme for Hardy Marks Publications
Replaced an outdated Shopify theme with a custom Dawn-based build - cinematic aesthetic, mobile-first, conversion-optimized, and built to grow without third-party apps.
The Challenge
Hardy Marks Publications holds the rights to Ed Hardy's book catalog - tattoo art, flash, and related titles from one of the most iconic names in the culture. The products have a distinct aesthetic. The website didn't match it.
Their existing Shopify theme was dated, performed poorly on mobile, and wasn't built to convert. As the brand prepared for a major product launch, they needed a site that could carry the weight of that moment - one that looked the part and didn't lose customers at the door.
The Solution
We started with the client's visual references - among them, A24's cinematic minimalism - and used those as a design north star to define an aesthetic direction that fit the brand: dark, editorial, and spare without being cold.
From there, we built a fully custom Shopify theme on top of Dawn, Shopify's official base theme. Dawn ships lean and fast with all the structural plumbing in place; our job was to skin it to the brand's exact spec and extend it with functionality that would otherwise require paid apps.
Custom page templates. We rebuilt the product page, collections page, and overall checkout experience from scratch - matching the visual direction, optimized for mobile, and built to guide customers toward a purchase. Each template was designed to feel like the brand, not a Shopify default.
Built-in preorder functionality. The brand needed preorder support for upcoming releases. Rather than bolting on a third-party app - which adds cost, bloat, and a seam in the user experience - we built the preorder flow directly into the theme as a custom template. The same codebase handles standard and preorder products, with no app required.
Mobile-first throughout. The old theme broke down on smaller screens. Every template was designed and tested mobile-first, so the experience holds up regardless of how a customer finds the site.
A foundation for growth. The custom theme means future features - new product types, landing page templates, campaign-specific experiences - can be built directly into the codebase instead of patched in with plugins. Fewer apps means a faster site and less ongoing cost.
The Result
In the first month after launch, the site delivered a 2× increase in sales. A product launch contributed to the spike, but the site was built and live before that launch - the conversion improvements and improved mobile experience were already in place when the traffic arrived.
The brand now has a site that reflects what they actually sell, performs on every device, and is built to extend without accumulating plugin debt.
What We Built
- Custom Dawn-based Shopify theme - cinematic, editorial aesthetic from scratch
- Custom product + collections templates - conversion-optimized, mobile-first
- Built-in preorder functionality - no app required, native to the theme
- Optimized checkout experience - on-brand, frictionless, and fast
- Extensible theme architecture - future features built in, not bolted on