OSPREY BACKPACKS
BRANDING + DISPLAYS
BRIEF
(in a modern tweet)
Help Osprey modernize their brand and stand out in a category of earth tones and dated aesthetics.
APPROACH
For over 40 years Osprey has been pushing the boundaries of what makes a great backpack and everything used to pack ‘em. They came to us looking for long-lasting and well-built displays, but found out quickly that they needed to backtrack the trail and put their brand values, voice, and design down on paper. We helped them with that too, starting with the core of their brand: the Osprey.
ROLE
Creative Direction. Logo Design. Concepts. Branding.
Additional Direction: Leslie Weaver
Additional Design: Brian McCue + Jack Schuler
Copywriter: Michael Tully
We started where it mattered most with the core of the brand and identified our core values and voice. Ever seen The Martian with Matt Damon? Well, then you can grasp the new personality of the brand very well. Super smarts with quick wit.
THE BOOK
THE HAWK
The new Osprey logo needed to pack the precision and aerial grace of the real bird of prey. After many pages of sketches, we chose the position of that of an osprey floating in the wind, looking ahead, ready to strike. To match the precision and craft of the company themselves, we designed the final logo using a geometric style snapped to a grid. The end result is clean and iconic, lending itself to bold colorization and an ability to frame out aerial photography for other unique variations.
THE ADS
To prove out the overall branding direction we concepted up some magazine ads. Showing how the journey was more important than the destination. The ad is a 3-Page spread utilizing a fold. When folded, the journey is unclear. When unfolded, the discoveries are revealed and the product is unveiled. Again, using the osprey as inspiration we used an “osprey’s-eye view” photo for the journey shot and a closer angle for the product (as if the hawk landed on a branch).
THE DISPLAYS
Modular in function. Modern in design. We combined the new branding with our modern design approach to create clean, bright, and disruptive displays. As new packs and accessories were imagined and created, we made sure that the new pieces fit the existing displays to make it easy to update for the outdoors retailers.
