Zildjian Digital Identity & E-commerce

Redefining the digital shopping journey for the world’s most iconic cymbal brand. Zildjian has been the industry standard for centuries, but their digital experience was falling short of how modern drummers actually shop. As Creative Director, I led a complete overhaul of the digital identity and e-commerce platform—balancing high-end brand storytelling with pure functional utility. By centering the design on discovery and sound exploration, we delivered a 42% increase in page visits and kept users on the site significantly longer.

Screenshots of a music merchandise website showcasing products like cymbals and drum sets, a map with store locations, and a person smiling, with app navigation and product details visible.
A young man with a cap under bright lights, playing a Zildjian cymbal in a music studio or store, with navigation menu options at the top.
Screenshot of Zildjian website homepage featuring music and cymbals, with sections promoting their products, artist stories, and sound exploration.
Product image of an 8-inch Zildjian FX Stack Pair with Mount cymbal, gold color with multiple holes, branded with Zildjian logo.
A set of three images of a cymbal, with the top view showing a Zildjian FX Stack cymbal, the middle image showing the cymbal mounted on a stand from a side angle, and a close-up of the cymbal's surface with branding. Additionally, there are video thumbnails of a female drummer playing drums and a male drummer playing drums.
Collection of mobile app screens for Zildjian, a cymbal brand, showcasing product listings, sound labs, user reviews, and shopping features with a black and gold color scheme.
Website homepage for Zildjian featuring various cymbals and drummers demonstrating different sound and play styles.
Screenshot of Zildjian's website showcasing a selection of cymbals for percussion, featuring images and prices of various cymbals, with a header image of a drummer playing drums. The page includes sections on unfiltered tones and artist features.

A visual language that respects the history but works for the future. Zildjian has 400 years of heritage, but the digital tools needed to be fast and simple. I directed the team to create a clean, consistent look that works across thousands of products. We focused on making the site feel as premium as the gear itself, ensuring that whether a drummer is looking for a specific sound or just browsing, the experience is effortless.

Building The System

Screenshot of a music website showcasing a cymbal and quote by Dave Grohl, with images of musicians playing drums and cymbals on the right side.
A live concert scene with a band performing on stage, surrounded by pyrotechnics and smoke, with a crowd in front.
Collage of four black-and-white photos of diverse drummers, with overlaid text describing different voice attributes: Expert, Dynamic, Inclusive, and Fun, centered around a gold banner labeled 'Zildjian Voice Attributes'.
Color palette with nine shades, including dark gray, mid gray, light gray, lighter gray, lightest gray, white, gold, and black.
Typography style guide showing font family Century Gothic with various weights and sizes for headers and text, including specific style codes.
Dashboard interface with options for different call-to-action button styles and colors, toggle buttons for dealers and distributors, map pins, and dealer map controls for location, radius, and brands.
An icon legend menu with various icons and labels describing their functions, including menu, close, edit, Facebook, search, favorite, delete, Twitter, user, favorite selected, Instagram, user signed in, YouTube, view all, pause audio, checked box, unchecked box, basket, items in bag, add to bag, added to bag, drill-in, product carousel, carousel left, carousel right, zoom, download, clear/remove, checked, unchecked, maximize, minimize, help/info, soundlab, link, empty bag, alert, quote, thank you.
A collage of tablet screens showing various webpages about drums and cymbals, with images of cymbals, drum kits, and musicians.

I’ve been playing Zildjian cymbals since I got my first pair when I was 13. To have this project fall in my lap because I happen to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the new business spreadsheet to the letter “Z” was pure magic.

Spreadsheet Win

A man standing in the center of a cymbal store, surrounded by shelves filled with shiny cymbals on both sides and behind him, with an expression of surprise or excitement.

Team

My Role – Creative Director
Ricardo Salema – Executive Creative Director
Design – Yoonjee Kang, Lisa Lee, Jayna Malooney
Copy – Karen Kelley
UX – Sasha Giacoppo, Matt Drazin
Motion – Aj Kolb – Motion