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Ritupriya BasuThe Collected Works’ campaign for The North Face rings in the 50th birthday of its iconic parka
When The North Face reached out to The Collected Works to create a design system to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of its most celebrated products – the parka – it set off a long journey that resulted in a series of motion pieces and a limited edition zine. The project called for a unifying visual voice, one that would pull together the various strands of the campaign, from the zine to the assets for social media, digital marketing and in-store communication. When The Collected Works took on the project, a chunk of the photography and films were already in place, so the team began orchestrating a choreography that would stylistically align the overall campaign.
Straddling both digital and printed outputs, the project found moments of conversation between the two. “As the campaign developed, there was a real back and forth between the printed and motion pieces, as some of the smaller print elements felt appropriate to carry over into animation. For the final motion assets – from short teasers to a longer video – we established typographic motion guidelines, as well as a set of transitions and stylistic elements that would refer to the printed aspects of the campaign.”
The zine, however, quickly emerged as the pièce de résistance. Digging into the cultural significance of the parka from various angles, it features interviews with mountaineer and adventurer Conrad Anker, professional athlete and filmmaker Jimmy Chin – both of whom are very familiar to The North Face community, or even the odd mountaineering nerd – along with NYC stylist and street icon Danie Sierra and Quannah Chasinghorse, an activist and fourth-generation land protector of the Alaskan Arctic.
To really sink their teeth into the process, The Collected Works’ team sifted through a trove of vintage The North Face catalogues that largely influenced the look of the zine. “Everything from the selection of the typefaces, the image treatments, and layouts had to feel reverential to the history of the brand, yet rooted in modern design,” says Co-founder Justin Colt. “As we worked with Senior Art Director David Clemente at The North Face, we also identified some specific images from those catalogues that we wanted to feature, including the original sketch of the current The North Face logo, as well as the company’s original logo, which we featured on the zine’s cover.”
The interviews themselves offered ideas for stylistic strands for the layout. Each of the interviewees had a very personal story to tell – Anker and Chin speak about having trusted the parka across worldwide exploration. Sierra explains the history of The North Face apparel being in her family closets for decades, while Chasinghorse talks about meeting The North Face team while in Washington DC, on behalf of her people. “Each of them helps us tell the story of the parka, and how it can be both a highly functional garment, as well as a fashion statement,” notes Colt. This diversity of personalities is reflected in the design system of the campaign – and the zine – through different typographic treatments. “This also gives us a sense of their role in the overall story of The North Face parka,” Colt adds.
Such an adventurous take on typography called for a family of robust but adaptable typefaces that could work together. Along with Helvetica – The North Face’s default brand typeface – the team chose Roboto Mono for smaller details and callouts, along with Druk Wide by Commercial Type, Futura Passata by Alfatype, and Windsor, which was originally released by Stephenson Blake, but the team chose the release by Elsner+Flake. “Each one of these typefaces was linked to one of the campaign’s featured people. Druk has a more aggressive and technical feeling, perfect for the athletes and adventurers Conrad and Jimmy. Windsor is featured for Quannah’s sections, inspired by its use in the Whole Earth Catalogue. Futura Passata was used for Danie in the street style section, as her work involves putting a new spin on a classic,” explains Colt.
In addition to straddling the different styles, the zine also balances an aesthetic swing between the old and the new. “The overall campaign has one foot in The North Face’s history from 50 years ago, and another firmly planted in the present,” adds Colt. “Being able to balance these time periods, the personalities profiled throughout the campaign, and tying it up into a flexible design system is something we feel proud of.”