Second Wind
I build an outdoor identity around the invitation to return, with room to move at your own pace.
Independent creative direction, identity & campaign study
Original static design specimens · illustrative content · not a shipped product
01 / Idea, problem & leadership
What needed to change.
- My role
- Independent creative direction, identity & campaign study
- Disciplines
- Brand · Product
The central idea
My self-written footwear brief makes “Find your next step” an energetic invitation rather than a performance promise.
- Designed for
- I imagine recreational runners and walkers seeking outdoor experiences without an elite-athlete identity. This audience is unvalidated.
- Scope of this study
- Independent brand direction · Identity and voice · Retail hierarchy · Campaign art direction
- What is shown
- I present one footwear image and original SVG identity and campaign boards. The shoe is a visual concept; its materials, fit, grip and durability are not engineered or tested.
Start with the next outing
I frame this concept around the moment someone decides to get outside again. My challenge is to express momentum without making achievement the price of admission. I avoid heroic distance language and unsupported technical claims. Instead, I combine an encouraging voice with a clear visual rhythm. The commercial intention is to make the proposition understandable while leaving room for practical product information.
02 / Thinking, evidence & concepts
Making the thinking visible.
These visual studies explore a design hypothesis. No interviews, usability tests or commercial outcomes are claimed.
A grounded kind of energy
I connect the identity to the image through moss green, acid yellow and rough orange terrain. A split-line wordmark and offset marker create movement without requiring every layout to tilt. In quieter formats, the structure becomes a clear stack: brand, proposed model, intended use and details. The campaign and information layers share a voice, but each has a different job.
03 / Solidified direction
Welcoming outdoor utility
I frame movement as an invitation to the next outing rather than a test of elite performance. Condensed display language and an offset marker provide energy; level information rails preserve clarity. Keeping campaign motion separate from functional information lets the identity feel active without making every composition tilt.
Current art-direction rationale · developed for this portfolio revision, October 2026.
Creative direction / Decisions
The choices behind the work.
Invite a return
I choose “Find your next step” to accommodate different ambitions. It is less specific than a technical performance message, so future product descriptions would need to make the intended use clear.
Give colour a precise job
I ground the identity in moss green and reserve acid yellow for a signal. This limits yellow, but avoids small, low-contrast lettering or communicating information through colour alone.
Keep information steady
I use diagonal framing to suggest movement while keeping product information on a straight grid. Some applications become quieter, but the hierarchy is easier to scan and repeat across retail and digital formats.
04 / Final result & next test
A coherent concept. An honest next step.
One footwear concept image and original identity and campaign boards demonstrate the proposed visual system. The shoe is not engineered or tested, and the work makes no claim about fit, grip, materials or durability.
Check the invitation and the claims
I would test recognition across a mobile tile, printed tag and poster, then ask people with different outdoor experience whether the language feels inviting or vague. Product storytelling would need to follow footwear development and testing. The current work demonstrates an identity direction; audience response, technical performance and commercial impact remain unknown.
Motion treatments and further production remain planned. The static work above is the current deliverable.
Credits & context
Self-initiated spec work. Original identity and campaign compositions developed for this portfolio. The concept imagery does not document a real product launch, client commission, event or property.
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