The North Face
Client:
The North Face
Type:
Internal Interactive Brand Guideline.
Objective:
Create a company-wide brand guideline resource for internal use.
Solution:
A brand built on exploration deserves guidelines worth exploring.
The North Face has been outfitting adventurers since its founding in San Francisco in 1966. Over the decades, its imagery, logo, and visual voice have become some of the most recognizable in the outdoor industry. As the company grew, it needed a single, accessible resource to help employees across every department understand the brand and use it correctly.
We designed and built an interactive brand guideline site on the Standards platform to be that resource for the whole company.
Telling the story behind the brand
Strong guidelines start with understanding, so we opened with where The North Face came from. The site walks users through the company’s history, featuring photographs from its founding years alongside the iconic photography that helped shape the brand’s identity. Before anyone opens a color palette or a logo file, they understand the heritage and spirit those assets represent.
A complete, practical brand system
The core of the site is a full brand guideline covering every part of The North Face’s visual identity:
- Typography: font families, hierarchy, and usage rules
- Color: primary and secondary palettes with clear application guidance
- Spacing: layout principles that keep designs consistent across formats
- Imagery: direction for selecting and using photography that feels authentically The North Face
- Logo use: correct applications, clear space, and common mistakes to avoid
Built for the whole company
The site was designed for everyone at The North Face, not just designers. Marketing, retail, product, and partner teams can find what they need quickly, explore the brand at their own pace, and apply it confidently. Because it’s built on Standards, the guidelines can be updated as the brand evolves, so every team is always working from the current version.
The result is more than a rulebook. It’s a living home for The North Face brand, one that teaches its history, protects its identity, and helps people across the company carry it forward.
Technology:
Standards Platform