Extending the Visual Identity

for a German Startup in Outdoor Sports & Adventures

The Icons: Research

Considering we were working 1:1 and that Mark didn’t have, at the point we have started our collaboration, any other stakeholders to bring to the table (he was collaborating with 2-3 developers and a UX designer), I have adapted the Brand Sprint Workshop into a form. We then debriefed the form in a video call.

Mark found this step very relevant for him to ask himself several further questions about the brand he’s bringing into the world.

After this, I have done extensive research on competitors and on the domain. I have learned quite a lot about all sorts of outdoor sports.

Technicalities

The package was built following a few principles:

Function prevails form and an icon’s unequivocal meaning prevails the package consistency principle.

The user’s understanding and a common cultural approach prevails the uniqueness of style.

The human silhouettes used for sports activities have the same head size.

It is a line package that always uses a 1px stroke. It uses rounded corners and a flat perspective (2D, lateral view).

Active/focused states also use a filled accent color, displayed with an offset to left.

The Brand Book

Not often I get the chance to put in place the book of a brand I haven’t created from scratch. Working closely together with Mark and asking the right questions helped a lot.

Also the fact that I have built the big icons package - and the marketing visuals. Those were all adjacent visual elements that support the brand. Their creation helped me in not only understanding, but feeling the Activebreak brand.

I will again let the brand book excerpts speak.

The Next Steps

Activebreak is currently preparing its official launch. For this campaign, I have proposed to the client a creative concept. In my proposal, the teasing part of the campaign says: 

“Take a deep breath”

And then the revealing is: 

“Activebreak. Breathtaking.”

Playing with the notions of “break” and “breath” has a reasoning behind: Activebreak is a healthy break in your life - it is a breath of fresh air. Activebreak allows you to witness breathtaking landscapes in nature. Activebreak pushes your limits and brings you back to the joy of being. The slogan proposed is short and pinpoints a double meaning: effort (sports adventures) & nature’s beauty (outdoor landscapes).

All in all, this collaboration was a meaningful experience - gathering all sorts of collateral design results. It was a solid example of where an adjacent brand identity implementation can go. I wish the startup all the best with its upcoming business stages.

Case Study Summary

Client Location:
Germany
Business Type:
start-up, technology
Collaboration Type:
remote, freelancing (specialist & consultant)
Brand Values
• leave no trace
• live and let live
• community
Audience Segment
• off-time athletes
• bucket-listers
• young & free
What does the brand do?
platform for outdoor sports tours
Service Provided
• research
• iconography package 
+100icons
• creative strategy
• consultancy
• brand implementation:
• presentation decks
• brand book
• contribution to the Figma design system implementation

All the visual assets presented in this case study are the intellectual property of
Activebreak GmbH Ⓒ All Rights Reserved.

Thank you for allowing the use of the imagery to showcase my work.

Credits to mock-up creators and unsplash.com photographers for putting their work out there. Many thanks - my portfolio looks pretty also because of you.

Thanks for reading - I hope it was relevant.

On the website you can discover a few more case studies.

I consider all the results of my work a co-creation alongside my clients.

The selection of studies is just a glimpse of what my creative process can be.

Stay imaginative and open.
We can go places together.