Selected work
Four honest pieces.
I don't have 50 case studies. I have four things worth showing you: one real product I built and retired, two small-business concepts in deliberately different design styles, and the site you're reading right now.
Case study · Built & retired
Groove
A golf improvement-tracking iOS app I designed and built as a freshman at Carthage. Not just stats, but a real framework for how golfers actually get better.
Built
Spring 2025
Status
Retired
Stack
React Native · iOS
What it was
A golf-improvement app built around a simple idea most tracking apps miss: practice doesn't mean anything if it doesn't transfer to your scores. So Groove tracked the whole loop, Practice → Transfer → Scores, and showed you where the gap actually was. Designed for collegiate and serious amateur golfers who wanted a framework, not just numbers.
What I built
A full iOS app with round and session logging, seasonal stat views (This Week / Month / Spring), the improvement-cycle framework as the centerpiece, score trend analysis, and a clean dark-mode UI. Designed the brand, wrote the copy, shipped the build. The mockup to the right is rendered live from the same design system I shipped in the app.
What I learned
Shipping a working app is the easy part. Getting golfers to log every practice session and every round in the moment, instead of in their head later. That was the hard part. Habit loops > features, and I built the features.
I retired Groove because I'd rather put what I learned to work for clients with clear ROI. Fast shipping, modern stacks, a real sense of the product. Chasing a consumer app would have needed years of distribution work I wasn't ready for.
Knowing when to quit is the skill. I'd rather you hire someone who's already learned that lesson on their own dime than on yours.
Stats
BUILDING
Keep logging
rounds
2
Rounds
8
Sessions
8.0
Hours
YOUR IMPROVEMENT
CYCLE
Tap to see full breakdown
Practice
-13% ↘
Transfer
91% ↗
Scores
Your scores are dropping! Keep doing what you're doing.
Lake County, IL
The contractor
other contractors call.
Paver patios, retaining walls, drainage that works. Family-owned, fully insured.
Click to open the full page →
Concept · Local trades
Cornerstone Outdoor
A fictional hardscape contractor, built in a deliberately different style than the tattoo concept below. Earthy, stone-toned, photo-led, with the craft front and center. This is how I'd position a local trades business: lead with the work.
Same approach works for any local trades business: roofer, HVAC, electrician, sealcoater. Lead with the work.
Concept · Personal care
Ironwood Tattoo Co.
A fictional tattoo studio, and the deliberate opposite of the Cornerstone design above. Dark, moody, gallery-led: a near-black palette with a crimson accent, a full-bleed hero, an artist bio, and a consult form. Two industries, two completely different looks. It's a working page, so click around.
Could be a barbershop, tanning salon, or any appointment-based business. Same approach. Tattoo is just the example.
Ironwood Tattoo Co. · Lake County, IL
Ink that lasts. Art that fits.
Custom tattoos and piercings in Lake County. Sterile studio, original artwork, artists who take the time.
Service
Custom
Service
Fine line
Service
Cover-ups
Click to open the full page →
Meta · You're looking at it
conorfayard.com
This site was built in a weekend with the same tools and approach I'd use for your project. Next.js, Tailwind, TypeScript, Vercel. No CMS, no plugins, no theme, just handwritten code I can change in seconds.
Build time
One weekend
Pages
5 + concept
Stack
Next + Tailwind
If the site you're reading feels clean, fast, and trustworthy, that's the bar. Yours would clear it too.