CRUX
Adventuring made easy
DURATION
11 weeks
ROLES
Branding
Copywriting
Illustration
Production
TOOLS
Illustrator
DURATION
11 weeks
ROLES
Branding
Copywriting
Illustration
Production
TOOLS
Illustrator
DURATION
11 weeks
ROLES
Branding
Copywriting
Illustration
Production
TOOLS
Illustrator
PROBLEM
The world of outdoor adventure, and the gear it requires, is intimidating to the unfamiliar and inexperienced. (Like I was when I moved to Seattle from the Midwest 7 years ago!) Existing brands feel “sporty” and “extreme" and I noticed a niche in the market for a line of friendly, approachable gear that helps ease a user “into the wild” as well as provide support for maximizing its utility.
GOAL
Create an approachable brand and packaging system that makes adventuring easy. Gear packaging will come complete with illustrated guides to support maximizing its utility.
SOLUTION
Crux is a brand of multipurpose outdoor pieces that comes with illustrated assurance regarding how to best utilize them in the wild. Tonally, the brand fits into the market (with recycled materials and textured, hand-touched elements), but stands out from competitors in its approachability and friendly nature.
PROBLEM
The world of outdoor adventure, and the gear it requires, is intimidating to the unfamiliar and inexperienced. (Like I was when I moved to Seattle from the Midwest 7 years ago!) Existing brands feel “sporty” and “extreme" and I noticed a niche in the market for a line of friendly, approachable gear that helps ease a user “into the wild” as well as provide support for maximizing its utility.
GOAL
Create an approachable brand and packaging system that makes adventuring easy. Gear packaging will come complete with illustrated guides to support maximizing its utility.
SOLUTION
Crux is a brand of multipurpose outdoor pieces that comes with illustrated assurance regarding how to best utilize them in the wild. Tonally, the brand fits into the market (with recycled materials and textured, hand-touched elements), but stands out from competitors in its approachability and friendly nature.
PROBLEM
The world of outdoor adventure, and the gear it requires, is intimidating to the unfamiliar and inexperienced. Existing brands feel “sporty” and “extreme.” Thus, a need in the market exists for a line of friendly, approachable gear that helps ease a user “into the wild” as well as provide support for maximizing its utility.
GOAL
Create a likeable brand and packaging system that makes adventuring easy. Gear packaging will come complete with illustrated guides to support maximizing its utility.
SOLUTION
Crux is a brand of multipurpose outdoor pieces that comes with illustrated support regarding how to best utilize them in the wild. Tonally, the brand fits into the market (with recycled materials and textured, hand-touched elements), but stands out from competitors in its approachability and friendly nature.
PROCESS
CREATING THE MARK
Inspired by the sturdy weight and mountain like peaks in its forms, I decided on a typeface early in the process. From there, I aimed to subtley incorporate those elements of the type into the mark. For the final solution, I used the X in Crux to create a mark that alludes to mountains as well as the mechanical aspect of gear, such as a carabiner clip. I also used the peak shape when creating the packaging die-lines, another subtle extension of the brand.
CREATING THE MARK
Inspired by the sturdy weight and mountain like peaks in its forms, I decided on a typeface early in the process. From there, I aimed to subtley incorporate those elements of the type into the mark. For the final solution, I used the X in Crux to create a mark that alludes to mountains as well as the mechanical aspect of gear, such as a carabiner clip. I also used the peak shape when creating the packaging die-lines, another subtle extension of the brand.
EXPLORING ILLUSTRATION
As the goal of Crux is to facilitate outdoor exploration for the inexperienced, I wanted to create easy-to-digest visual guides for making the most of the gear pieces. I created these hand-rendered illustrations to serve that purpose. This example for the Drybag shows how to secure it as well as its various uses.
EXPLORING ILLUSTRATION
As the goal of Crux is to facilitate outdoor exploration for the inexperienced, I wanted to create easy-to-digest visual guides for making the most of the gear pieces. I created these hand-rendered illustrations to serve that purpose.
WORKING WITH DIELINES
As the drybag dieline was the most complex, I explored different options, especially with regard to incorporating the peak shape from the logomark.
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