Northbound is a design studio working exclusively with outdoor brands: gear companies, apparel labels, and guide services. Six years of identity and brand-system work had outgrown the site fronting it; the brief was to build the stage that body of work had earned.
Northbound explores the identity and digital presence of a design studio focused on outdoor gear, apparel, and guide brands. Its direction brings branding and digital work together around a clear industry focus.
We created the project from the ground up, including the logo, visual identity, copy, web design, interactions, and development. Designed in Figma and built with Next.js, the site was deployed on Vercel.
The central challenge was giving the studio a distinct identity while leaving room for the work to lead. The outdoor focus needed to come through in the imagery, language, and presentation across the site.
The experience also needed to connect several types of content. Projects, services, studio information, and journal entries each required their own structure while feeling part of the same visual system.
We built the visual direction around large typography, a restrained neutral palette, and prominent outdoor imagery. A simple wordmark and consistent page layouts give the studio a recognizable presence without competing with individual project visuals.
The homepage leads with selected work, while project pages pair large images with concise explanations of the design direction. Services and journal content extend the studio’s point of view, with clear contact routes connecting exploration to an inquiry.
