Ekaterina Kachavina 
Product Designer / Brand Designer

Epic Equip 


Branding and E-Commerce Strategy
OverviewEpic Equip Outdoor is a brand specializing in high-quality outdoor gear and accessories, aiming to establish a strong presence in the outdoor market through a cohesive and distinctive visual identity. This case study explores the development of Epic Equip's brand identity, competitor research, and the basic solution for an e-commerce platform, along with detailed notes on the custom font, style tiles, social media strategy, and product integration.

Competitor ResearchTo create a standout identity for Epic Equip, it was essential to analyze key competitors in the outdoor gear industry, focusing particularly on their visual identities. Competitors like Patagonia, The North Face, and Arc'teryx have established strong, recognizable brands through consistent use of logos, color schemes, and typography.
  • Patagonia: Known for its bold use of colors and a clean, sans-serif logo, Patagonia focuses on sustainability in its branding. The visual identity often features natural landscapes, emphasizing its environmental commitment.
  • The North Face: The brand uses a stark, minimalistic logo with a monochrome color scheme, underlining durability and performance. Its use of high-contrast visuals enhances the brand's appeal to adventure seekers.
  • Arc'teryx: This brand employs a unique combination of geometrical and organic shapes in its logo, reflecting innovation and high performance. The muted color palette and sharp typography convey a sense of precision and technical expertise.

Key Insights for Epic Equip:
  • Differentiation: Epic Equip's visual identity needs to balance ruggedness with modern aesthetics, ensuring it stands out in a crowded market.
  • Consistency: Like its competitors, maintaining a consistent visual language across all touchpoints is crucial.
  • Emphasis on Quality: Visual elements should communicate the durability and premium quality of the products.

Visual Identity & Custom Font
The visual identity for Epic Equip was built around the concept of strength and adaptability, suitable for outdoor adventures. The logo design involved variations of a triangle, symbolizing stability and versatility, combined with a robust, yet modern font.

Custom Font: The brand uses "Epic Bro Shyroki" and "Epic Bro" fonts, developed to maintain legibility and brand recognition across both English and Cyrillic languages. This choice ensures global reach and brand consistency.
  • Epic Bro Shyroki (Bold & Regular): This font is the primary typeface, offering a bold, confident look while remaining readable across various mediums.
  • Secondary Fonts: A complementary font was chosen for secondary text, supporting the primary font while maintaining the brand's rugged yet refined aesthetic.

Notes:
  • The fonts were tested in multiple languages, ensuring they perform well in both Latin and Cyrillic scripts, which is crucial for a brand with an international market.

E-Commerce Website Solution
Epic Equip's e-commerce platform must reflect its brand identity while offering a seamless shopping experience. The website will include:
  • Homepage: Featuring high-impact visuals that showcase products in rugged outdoor settings, echoing the brand's ethos.
  • Product Pages: Detailed pages with zoomable images, product descriptions, and material information. Emphasis on the durability and functionality of products is key.
  • Custom Fonts: Integration of the custom "Epic Bro Shyroki" and "Epic Bro" fonts across the site for consistency.
  • Navigation: Intuitive and responsive design, ensuring accessibility on all devices.
  • Checkout: A streamlined, secure checkout process to reduce cart abandonment.

Social Media Strategy
A consistent and engaging social media presence was developed for platforms like Instagram, focusing on product campaigns and sales:
  • Style Tiles: Created to maintain a consistent visual identity across posts, stories, and promotional materials.
  • Layouts: Developed specifically for product campaigns, sales promotions, and collaborations, ensuring a cohesive look.
  • Voice of Tone: The brand’s voice is adventurous, confident, and relatable, resonating with outdoor enthusiasts. Posts are designed to encourage interaction and foster a community of like-minded individuals.

Campaign Examples:
  • Product Launch: High-quality visuals paired with engaging captions that highlight the unique features of new products.
  • Sales Campaign: Bold, attention-grabbing graphics to announce storewide discounts, with a focus on urgency and exclusivity.
  • Collaborations: Posts that emphasize partnerships with other brands or influencers, enhancing credibility and reach.

Brand Integration on Products
The Epic Equip logo and visual elements were seamlessly integrated into clothing, bags, and other outdoor accessories, ensuring brand visibility and consistency. This included:
  • Clothing: The logo is subtly placed on sleeves, chest, and neck tags, maintaining brand presence without overpowering the garment design.
  • Bags and Accessories: The logo and brand colors are used in a way that complements the overall design, ensuring the products remain functional while promoting the brand.

Illustration Placement and Visualization Notes
  1. Logo Placement:
    • Website Header & Footer: The logo should be prominently displayed in the header and footer of the e-commerce website for consistent brand recall.
    • Product Tags: Utilize a smaller, simplified version of the logo on product tags, ensuring it is visible yet subtle.
    • Packaging: The logo should be included on all product packaging, from boxes to tags, to reinforce brand identity.
  2. Style Tile Visualization:
    • Color Palette Integration: Include swatches of the primary and secondary colors on the style tiles. These colors should also be used consistently across all digital and physical materials.
    • Font Pairing Examples: Showcase how the primary and secondary fonts work together in headings, body text, and product labels.
    • Iconography: Display any icons or graphical elements derived from the logo or associated with the brand’s identity.
  3. Social Media Layouts:
    • Instagram Grids & Stories: Incorporate the logo subtly in corners of images, watermarked on photographs, or as part of a frame in Instagram stories. This reinforces the brand while keeping the content visually engaging.
    • Campaign Visuals: Use the logo in the bottom right corner of product launch visuals and sale announcements to maintain brand presence without distracting from the message.
    • Illustrations: Integrate illustrations in social media posts to add a dynamic and engaging element, using them to highlight product features or depict outdoor scenarios that resonate with the target audience.
  4. Product Visualizations:
    • Clothing: Place the logo on the chest or sleeve, ensuring it is visible but does not dominate the design. For more casual or lifestyle pieces, consider a larger, more central logo placement.
    • Bags & Accessories: The logo can be embossed or printed on a corner of the bag or accessory. For more premium items, consider a metallic or embroidered version of the logo for a luxurious touch.
    • Interactive Elements: Use the logo as part of interactive features on the website, such as loading icons, buttons, or hover states, to keep the brand presence strong throughout the user experience.

Conclusion
The comprehensive branding strategy for Epic Equip Outdoor is designed to create a cohesive, recognizable identity across all touchpoints—from the custom font and logo to the e-commerce platform and social media presence. By carefully considering the placement of illustrations, logos, and other visual elements, Epic Equip is well-positioned to establish itself as a leader in the outdoor gear market.

©2025 Ekaterina Kachavina, Berlin