Together by Design is a monthly collaboration where a small group of designers all create with products from the same featured brand. Each of us chooses a favorite product and puts our own creative spin on it, showing just how many different ways one brand can inspire. Follow along, explore every project, and discover new designers and new favorites along the way.

This month’s featured brand/product:  CZ Designs “Simple Ho”

Here is a list of designers participating this month:

• Jessica:  www.lovenotesbyjess.com/blog;  @jessica.vasher
• Jean:   www.studio-jd.com;  @jean.studiojd
• Maggie: @teacher11494
• Tracy:  https://redsas.co;  @redsas

One of my favorite parts of Together by Design is seeing how a group of designers can start with the exact same product and end up in completely different places.

This month, our collaboration centered around the CZ Design “Simple Ho” die by @czdesign.

While the die was originally designed as a Christmas greeting, our group leaned into the way “ho” has evolved into a playful, ironic term of endearment among close friends. It’s one of those words that’s been completely reclaimed in the right company, replacing its original meaning with affection, humor, and a little bit of sass.

From there, each of us took the idea in our own direction.

For me, that meant pairing the colorful die with a simple “Hey” and a clean black-and-white layout. I wanted the sentiment to feel like something you’d send to a friend just because it would make them laugh.

I love projects like this because they remind me that creativity doesn’t always come from using different products. Sometimes it comes from looking at the same product through a different lens.