Portfolio update

Work in progress

Please note that some case studies are still being refined, but here's a sneak peek.

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AUDE

Turning a personal watchmaking hobby into a custom-built e-commerce business.

AUDE started as a way to turn my passion for assembling mechanical watches into a real side business. I designed and built the full experience, from the storefront and customer area to the admin CMS and final shipped product.

The goal was to keep full control of the product, avoid dependency on external platforms, and learn backend-heavy workflows with AI-assisted implementation support.

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Impact

20,000+

Lines of code

Launch-ready watch models

5%+

Sales in the first month

Creative collaborations validated

Work Type

Independent Project

Industry

Fashion e-commerce

Role

Founder / Product Designer / Front-End Developer / Photographer

Scope

UX/UI Design / Customer + Admin flows / Product architecture

Core Stack

Nuxt 3 / Vue.js / Tailwind CSS / Firebase / Firestore / Stripe / Resend

Tools

Figma / GSAP / FloatingUI / Chart.js

AI Support

Back-End / Debugging + QA iteration

Duration

2025 (4 months)

The Outcome

AUDE is a clear example of how AI can remove execution barriers when the product direction is already well defined.

A custom e-commerce platform built around a personal hobby and turned into a side-income stream.

What shipped

Customer journey: browse → product → cart → Stripe checkout
Customer account: order history, order status, refund visibility
Admin CMS: product management, inventory control, operational workflows
Integrated notifications and email communication (post-purchase)

AUDE responsive homepage with hero headline and collections CTA on desktop and mobile

AUDE responsive collection page showing multiple watch models with filters and product cards

AUDE responsive product page with image gallery, specifications, price, and add-to-cart controls

Stripe Checkout

Stripe was integrated to handle payments through a secure and familiar checkout flow.

Stripe-hosted checkout used for AUDE orders, with shipping details and payment methods

Admin Dashboard

A single operational overview for sales, order statuses, refunds, top products, top collections, and the returns pipeline.

Product Management

A complete CMS for adding, editing, and managing products, with the option to save items as drafts or publish them directly.

AUDE admin add-product form with publishing state, image uploads, structured fields, and live product preview

AUDE admin product catalog table with stock status, visibility controls, search, filters, and item actions

AUDE admin edit-product modal with fields for collection, stock, status, pricing, and product copy

Orders & Returns

Operational after-sales tasks are handled from the same back office, with order cards for fulfilment progress and tracking, plus a dedicated queue for approving, rejecting, and refunding return requests.

AUDE admin orders screen with fulfilment progress, tracking details, print-address action, and order status cards

AUDE admin return requests queue with approve, reject, and refund actions for customer cases

Problem

I didn’t want to rely on third-party e-commerce tools. More than solving a market problem, the challenge was to step outside my comfort zone and build the full system myself.

Build a full e-commerce platform from scratch without prior backend experience.

Research & Insights

The direction started with competitor research across websites and social media. A clear pattern emerged: many buyers were looking for cleaner, more minimal watches rather than replicas or overdesigned assemblies built from existing models. Some brands offered that aesthetic, but usually in very limited variations, often with only a silver dial.

The key insight was simple: there is a niche market for clean, minimal watches.

Design Decisions

Starting from scratch could feel overwhelming, so defining priorities, MVP scope, and next steps clearly was key to keeping the project moving.

Mapping the flow early was essential to decide what to build first and what could wait.

AUDE project Kanban workspace used to map priorities, flows, and implementation stages before design and development

Core Product Flow

The order lifecycle was mapped before UI work, covering checkout, payment outcomes, account creation, fulfilment, and post-purchase states.

AUDE end-to-end purchase flow diagram from store browsing to checkout, payment outcomes, account creation, and post-purchase states

Wireframes

The wireframes evolved from low-fidelity to high-fidelity to refine layout, hierarchy, and the key information needed on the product page.

AUDE low-fidelity desktop wireframe for the product detail page

AUDE high-fidelity desktop wireframe for the product detail page

Admin Features

The screens below support the real business tasks behind the storefront: publishing new watches, managing catalog visibility, tracking fulfilment, and handling returns without leaving the system.

Operational tooling was designed as part of the product, not as an afterthought.

AUDE admin add-product form with publishing controls, media uploads, and live preview

AUDE admin product catalog table used to manage stock, visibility, and homepage placement

AUDE admin order-management screen with internal notes, status tracking, and shipping actions