A new identity and guidelines for men’s adventure retailer Huckberry
Brand Identity & Guidelines
Huckberry’s existing mark had gone unchanged since the company's founding, outliving its original intent. The men’s adventure retailer wanted to modernize their brand identity and create guidelines to bring continuity to their aesthetic and voice, ultimately to drive growth for the next chapter of the brand.
The Blue Hour and finding inspiration in the golden era of outdoor recreation
No matter how you define it, adventure usually begins and ends in the quiet periods of twilight known as the Blue Hour. It became the guiding mantra for the new identity and brand voice. Visually, outdoor ephemera from the 1950s through 1970s was the inspiration. Classic and familiar without feeling faux-heritage.
References spanning typography and iconography
The New Huckberry
The decision to refresh Huckberry’s original tree icon rather than a totally new approach was a strategic one — leveraging the equity built over the brand’s first decade in business.
The re-designed icon, paired with a delightfully clunky wordmark, results in an elevated identity that works as well on a boot sole as sewn into a wool blazer.
Extensive brand guidelines
Storytelling is the core of Huckberry’s business, and the brand guidelines document is in service of building Huckberry's world. Franklin Gothic Condensed became the brand’s primary typeface due to its editorial history and legibility — its subtle irregularities make it complementary to the new hand-drawn wordmark. Each swatch in the color palette connects to outdooor culture, and e-commerce photography conveys authenticity.
The Huckberry color palette
Franklin Gothic Condensed is used for headlines and CTA copy, while Freight Text by Darden is used for body and longform
A new e-commerce experience by Bondifire, Inc takes advantage of the new typography and color rules, as well as a library of additional marks — like navigation arrows created from the Huckberry icon
Product photography is lit with natural-style light, keeping all shadows preserved
Driving continued growth
The new Huckberry mark comes to life from digital to print, as well as physically with the brand’s first popup in New York City. A revamped e-commerce experience and Huckberry’s own line of branded goods have followed the identity refresh, driving a 20% sales increase company-wide.
The guidelines supplied by Strange Practice have remained at the heart of the brand’s visual language, even amidst changes within the company — a corporate move from San Francisco to Austin, new creative leadership, etc — providing a crucial set of tools for Huckberry’s continued growth year after year.
“Working with Strange Practice on the Huckberry rebrand was a dream. In addition to being wildly creative, Jordan has no ego, is a great listener and highly strategic, and works his ass off... It’s why Strange Practice has become my go-to creative agency.”
Andy Forch
Co-founder, Huckberry
Collaborators
E-commerce website by Bondfire, Inc.