Refined Wilderness is a conceptual premium hiking gear brand built around intentional exploration.
The goal was to design a landing experience that felt calm, curated, and emotionally grounded avoiding the aggressive, adrenaline-driven tone commonly seen in outdoor commerce.
The brand chooses to sell reflection instead of intensity.
The Problem
Most outdoor gear brands rely on:
High-energy photography
Heavy contrast color palettes
Aggressive CTAs
Performance-first messaging
While effective for extreme sports, this approach alienates a growing audience of mindful explorers, people who hike for clarity, not conquest.
The Challenge
Design a gear, community focused landing page that:
Felt premium and restrained
Communicated durability without shouting
Balanced storytelling with commerce
Maintained strong visual consistency
Strategic Direction
I positioned the idea around one idea "The journey is the product"
This decision heavily influenced:
My typography pairing
Illustration choices
Color Palette
Layout rhythm
Copy tone
These made the design feel intentional and not promotional
Visual System
Typography
Instrument Serif; For emotional depth, luxury feel and editorial tone
SN Pro (Rounded); For approachability and accessibility
Color Palette
Muted Earth tones
Deep forest green
Sage backgrounds
Warm Light gradients
Spacing and Layout
Sectional padding (web) 140px to maintain generous whitespace and rhythm
I intentionally avoided harsh dividers heavy card borders or loud drop shadows
Product Strategy
Rather than overwhelm users with specs, the product section emphasizes:
Emotional positioning
Essential benefit statements
Clean product framing
The featured products, backpack, boots, and field kit represent foundational trail equipment, reinforcing the brand’s “essentials-first” philosophy.
Each product card uses:
Minimal copy
Strong object focus
Subtle hierarchy
Outcome
The final result is a landing experience that:
Feels cohesive and restrained
Balances storytelling and commerce
Establishes a premium outdoor identity
Demonstrates typographic discipline and system thinking
This project showcases my ability to:
Translate positioning into visual systems
Maintain tonal consistency across sections
Design for brand depth, not just UI aesthetics
Create hierarchy through restraint rather than noise
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Posted Feb 26, 2026
Designed a calm, cohesive landing page for Refined Wilderness, without leaning into intensity, adrenaline or extreme performance messaging