HMX Saru v2
DIVINIKEY released the Saru R1 years ago, and it never quite caught on. We always believed it came too early for its time. By the time we brought it back as v2, competitors had cornered the tactile-switch market. So the revival needed to do two things: feel worth returning to, and arrive with a real story, not just a spec sheet. I led the launch end to end, from the photography and digital design to the collaborative market strategy behind it.
A switch that came back from before its time.
Art Direction | Photography | Digital Design | Marketing
The Product Photography
I shot the full image set for the listing, from clean white-background product shots to lifestyle and detail images. The goal was to let people read the switch clearly, its shape, its stem, its finish, while still feeling the character we built into the hero. These are the images that carry the PDP and do the work of helping someone decide to buy.
The Hero
I built the hero around movement, because the switch's feel is the product. I quieted the whole visual field so the orange stem would pop, and kept the name and details small so the switch itself stops you first. The background gradient traces the switch's force curve, rising and falling the way the switch actually travels, and the switches move across the frame the same way.
The Product Card
Included as a giveaway in orders during our DK Day sale, the card had to work in the hand. I carried the framed text box from the banner into it, a small visual constant that tied the two together: one side a clean product shot, the other the full specs inside that same frame, kept legible and ordered. A QR code takes you straight to the listing.
Building the Audience First
From February on, I handled our monthly sales data submission to KBDnews' Switch Trends report, which earned DIVINIKEY a named section in every issue alongside around twenty vendors worldwide. It's editorial presence, not paid placement, in the report people actually consult when deciding what to buy, and I used our space there to tease Saru v2 for months ahead of release. Alongside that, we seeded samples to content creators and community leaders, a common play in our space, so independent sound tests and build showcases were already circulating the day the switch went live. A switch is judged by sound and feel, things a product page can't convey and that buyers trust more from someone who isn't selling it. The result was months of standing visibility with high-intent buyers before launch, and third-party reviews live on day one.
A Story Before Launch
The pre-release page did double duty as our vendor and creator deck and a customer-facing story. I used prototype images to let people follow the journey of remaking the switch, and built the narrative around the one insight that started it: it was too early, once. I laid it out so you could read the full backstory or skim the key points.
The Result
Saru v2 became one of DIVINIKEY's strongest switch releases. It launched to #2 off a single day of availability, hit #1 the next month as the top switch in its category, and held near the top after. It drew enough attention that we began supplying it to nine regional vendors around the world, including China, Japan, the UK, Singapore, and Canada, as well as a competitor in the US.
A switch once considered too early for its time finally landed.
