Wize Instagram mockup: the profile page on a phone between two story ads, on deep teal

Wize

Problem
Outdoor brands each excel at a few things, so shoppers piece their gear together from several stores, and buying everything new is expensive and wasteful.
My part
The whole brand from scratch: competitor audit, strategy, personas, naming, logo, visual identity, and the brand in context.
Result
Wize, a curated new-and-resale outdoor store.
Course
Brand Experience
Semester
Spring 2025
Team
Solo project
Tools
Figma Slides
01

Overview

Most outdoor brands specialize: you don’t go to The North Face for shoes. Wize brings the best of each under one roof, a curated store of top outdoor brands, sold new and second-hand side by side. That makes it more sustainable and more affordable.

Competitor Audit

The North Face

Before building Wize, I audited The North Face, the brand that sets the standard in outdoor gear. Its Half Dome logo and “Never Stop Exploring” slogan are memorable, and customers trust its quality and service. But its prices are high, personalization is limited, and few customers hear about its sustainability efforts.

Those gaps became Wize’s direction:

  • High prices → second-hand gear sold next to new
  • Little personalization → expert advice and a community of explorers
  • Quiet sustainability → resale makes it part of every purchase
The North Face logo, white on black
The North Face logo, black wordmark
The North Face logo, white on red
03

Brand Strategy

Wize’s mission is to equip modern adventurers with stylish, high-quality gear through a curated, sustainable resale experience. Its values are accessibility, community, and exploration. Three archetypes shape its personality (the Explorer, the Outlaw, and the Caregiver), in a voice that’s bold, friendly, and down-to-earth.

04

Personas & Storyboards

Two personas guided the brand: Jake Morrison, 23, a Portland graphic designer who wants stylish second-hand gear for the city and weekend hikes, and Robert Callahan, 56, a retired teacher in Denver who wants durable, fairly priced gear and honest advice.

Persona: Jake Morrison, 23, graphic designer from Portland, OregonPersona: Robert Callahan, 56, retired science teacher from Denver, Colorado

Experience Storyboards

I sketched the customer journey in three storyboards: discovering Wize, making a first purchase, and using the gear on an adventure.

Hand-drawn storyboard: product discoveryHand-drawn storyboard: first purchaseHand-drawn storyboard: product use
05

Naming

The name came out of a series of naming exercises: a brand summary, a word bank, name categories, and a scored evaluation of the top candidates. Wize won: short, easy to say, and a play on “wise,” for shoppers who buy smart. The mockups use wize.com as the brand’s web address.

Naming workbook: brand summaryNaming workbook: word bank mind mapNaming workbook: name categoriesNaming workbook: scoring the top five names
06

Logo

After analyzing the logos of REI, The North Face, Patagonia, Arc’teryx, and Osprey, I sketched a mark that combines a W with owl ears, a nod to the wise owl behind the name. It appears in white on the brand colors, or in black and white.

REI logoThe North Face logoPatagonia logoArc’teryx logoOsprey logo
Logo sketch: the W with owl ears, colored in greenLogo sketches: W marks, owl ears, and mountain shapes

Clear Space & Usage

The logo keeps clear space around it, and a few simple rules keep it consistent.

1.5XXX1.5X
Do use only black and white logos
Do use the white logo on brand colors
Don’t apply any effects to the logo
Don’t place the logo on off-brand colors
Don’t use two logos in one
07

Color & Type

I compared the colors of well-known brands and of outdoor competitors, then built a 60/30/10 palette.

Well-known brands

  • Zara
  • BMW
  • LEGO
  • Lay’s
  • Paramount

Outdoor competitors

  • REI
  • The North Face
  • Patagonia
  • Arc’teryx
  • Osprey
60%
30%
10%
  • Deep Earthy Teal#1B4D3E

    Exploration and adventure: deep forests and vast landscapes. Grounded yet daring.

  • Rust Orange#D45A2C

    Boldness and fiery energy: the spirit of rebellion that keeps the brand lively.

  • Solar Yellow#F4A900

    Vitality and optimism, with a sense of warmth and approachability.

Typography

Oswald Regular sets the headlines: strong and structured without being too heavy. Source Sans Pro sets the body text: highly readable, clean, and balanced.

Primary · Headlines

Oswald

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789

Secondary · Body text

Source Sans Pro

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789

08

Moodboard & Photography

Product photos go on white for new clothing and on gray for used pieces, a subtle signal of pre-owned status that still looks polished. Lifestyle photography is adventurous, raw, and authentic: forests, mountains, and lakes in golden-hour light, with earthy tones that complement the brand colors.

Wize brand moodboard: outdoor apparel, mountain landscapes, and brand colors
New clothing on white: a charcoal zip hoodieUsed clothing on gray: a tan work jacketNew clothing on white: a gray and black fleece jacketUsed clothing on gray: a blue overshirtNew clothing on white: gray hiking pantsUsed clothing on gray: dark denim jeans
A hiker in a blue rain jacket in the mountainsTwo climbers on a snowy ridge at sunsetA backpacker on a rocky mountain trailTwo hikers on a forest trailA man in a dark jacket by a glacial river
09

Brand in Context

Finally, I applied the identity across touchpoints: staff badges and lanyards, tote bags (“It’s not cheap. It’s Wize.”), a T-shirt, a billboard (“Go where the Wi-Fi can’t find you”), an Instagram page, and a set of social ads for brand awareness, traffic, and leads.

Wize staff badges and lanyardsWize tote bag: “Smart. Simple. Wize.”Wize tote bag: “It’s not cheap. It’s Wize.”Back of a white Wize T-shirt
Wize billboard in a station: “Go where the Wi-Fi can’t find you”Wize billboard in a station with a forest photograph
Wize Instagram story on a phone: “Shop now, pay later”
Wize Instagram profile page on a phone
Wize Instagram story on a phone: sale on men’s backpacks
Brand awareness ad on a phone: “Shop now, pay later,” with friends on a city street
Brand awareness ad on a phone: “Shop now, pay later,” with a hiker’s legs on a trail
Driving traffic ad on a phone: sale on men’s backpacks
Driving traffic ad on a phone: sale, with a figure in a blue jacket
Lead generation ad on a phone: “Sign up for text & get 10% off”
10

What I Learned

The project taught me to start by studying the competition, and it gave me the basics of brand building and brand guidelines. Most of all, I learned how one idea has to run through everything: the name, the logo, the colors, and every ad.

This project was created as part of the Brand Experience course at Montreat College in spring 2025. Competitor logos and imagery belong to their respective brands and are shown for analysis. Moodboard and photography references were collected from Instagram and Pinterest and belong to their creators; the billboard and phone ads use mockup templates.