Surf Magazine

The Challenge

How might we raise brand awareness at the largest surfing event in the world?

The Insight

Exceeded authentic design expectations by focusing on local surfers from top surf locations to tell a deeper story of the culture and clothing.

The Solution

Designed and delivered a lifestyle issue magazine at the Vans US Surf Open that engaged with attendees of over 700,000 people via authentic storytelling of the brand.

Date

June - August 2016

Role : Design Lead

Design Strategy
Branding
Visual Design
Copywriting

UI design

The cover of the magazine is inspired by beach culture, incorporating surf and lifestyle wear. The multi-use of photos provides a modern design element that gives an insight into the contents. To incorporate the necessary branding, “Fas” is titled in the center. The reader can now safely assume the magazine will include beach and lifestyle clothing associated with the Fas Project brand.

When designing the magazine’s cover, there were a select amount of options available. This page shows the process of how we were able to decide on a design and photo. By visualizing each look via mock-ups (as pictured), the process can become more effective and efficient.

The Logo- what is it and how did it come about? This page explains the meaning of the three-fin logo (surf, skate, snowboard). The photo chosen clearly shows off the logo in the company’s black zip-up hoodie, for reference to the design.

What does a surf lifestyle look like? On this page, a sample description of a surfer’s life is given. The photos are in black and white to take the focus off of looks, focusing instead on personality and day-to-day interactions.

Lifestyle is greatly affected by the surrounding geography. This spread offers a peek into the peaceful landscape of Hawaii, also giving insight on why the culture is easy-going. The design stays true to the rest of the magazine by being simple, modern, and full of white space.

This is the chapter heading for clothing. Just like the previous chapter page, the design includes the title and photo. The purpose of this page is to not only segue into the topic of clothing but more specifically what a Fas Project Surfer wears.

What does surfing lifestyle mean? Chelsea (as pictured above), gives her inside scoop on what the lifestyle means to a born-and-raised North Shore local. Adding a real person’s story was important for the magazine to feel honest and raw.

Clothing trends and styles are often influenced by one another. This page shows how you can transform your beachwear into city wear. Some say you can take the girl from the beach, but not the beach from the girl. This rings true to a Fas Project Surfer. The “Forever A Surfer” Campaign inspired this multi-functional line.

The design purpose of this spread is to showcase the Fas Project slogan, “Forever A Surfer”. The phrase originates from the lifestyle associated with being a surfer dude or betty. It is a lifestyle that does not die but rather rings true throughout a lifespan. The simple design purposefully uses two pages to emphasize the slogan’s importance.

What about prints? How are prints influenced by the surf lifestyle? Photos on this page illustrate how an exclusive Fas Project shirt was made, from the lens of a camera capturing the image to the image being printed onto the shirt. This storytelling using photos is a common theme in the magazine and allows the lifestyle to speak for itself.

This page is the chapter heading for “Lifestyle”. The design often uses a bold title and large photo beside it to clearly signify a chapter page. The photo used depicts a man, with a board in hand, peering out into the ocean and looking to catch a wave. This embodies the lifestyle of a surfer and suggests the yearning, passion, and hunger for adventure experienced by a surfer.

The clothing and lifestyle of a surfer play hand-in-hand with each other, influencing each other. This page extends brand knowledge of the Fas Project while describing how the loose-fitting clothes allow for the active lifestyle of a surfer. Texture, fit, and materials are all included.

The Fas Project is a non-profit organization that helps support children in Africa. The owner was born in West Africa and chooses to give back in the best way he can: surfing and skating. This page has a photo of the Fas Project merchandise to follow along with the paragraph describing the company.

This is a chapter page for the Fourth of July Campaign. The chapter is a great transition from talking about clothing lines among the company and into “The Fourth on The North Shore”. The design on this spread follows the rest of the chapter headings and shows a girl in her Fas Project Fourth of July gear. The reader can assume correctly that the following page will have more information on the campaign.

Here we can see “The Fourth on the North Shore” campaign photoshoot alongside an explanation for why the "4th of July Collection" was an important line for the Fas Project. It offers a detailed description of the celebration of a free and vibrant lifestyle and how that rings true to the company.