Monolith
Brand Design
Reach The Unknown
Monolith is an outdoor adventuring brand designed for multi-day hikes in extreme climates. They create a line of products that range from backpacks to jackets and apparel. The brand was established as an answer to the question: “What gear will I need to reach the unknown?” Born from a desire to go further and reach the mysterious unknown towers, the brand identity echoes this ideal with a vertically centric layout and international orange color pallet.
With a brand settled, the attention shifts to the thematic concept of the brand font. Adapting the principles of the brand into a font identifies the values and voice of the Monolith brand. Doing so also reveals the mystery buried deep within. In this world, adventuring becomes much more than a simple day hike…
Monolith Brand Font
Developing a new font family is a lot like developing a new brand. One must consider everything from the thematic tone to the precise setting of the lowercase g’s descender. Fonts, much like brands, can get overlooked and sloppy if not treated with appropriate reverence and care. With Monolith, I set out to create a narrow family that would be used often for both headlines and body copy. The Monolith font is designed to evoke confidence towering over a compositions with a bit of cinematic throwback referencing some classic sci-fi cinema.
As often is the case with many a creative project, the twists and turns of process reveal something much more layered and complex. Monolith is an example of this process and true specimen of storytelling through unique mediums. Sure, Monolith is a font, but it’s also a brand, a lifestyle, and a narrative mystery.
Brand Guide Book
The font guide book was created to articulate both the Monolith font and brand. The book comes complete with much of what we see here and more. A full character breakdown is included for each letter and details covering unique usage and measurements. Having a handy guide in physical format is always an important tool for any brand.
In addition to the font, the Monolith brand receives a graphics pass with tone posters, colors, marketing mockups, and new product-line designs. While not intended to be final product suggestions, these mockups provide guidance and inspiration showing how the brand style can proliferate across product categories as they grow.
