- Brand design
- Packaging
- Merch
- Strategy
- Brand Identity
- Package Design
- Apparel Design
- Environmental Design
- Illustration
- Web Design
- Campaign
YETI invented the premium cooler, with the indestructible Tundras. Now, with over a dozen imitators, YETI's commitments to building the brand through innovation and inspiring stories make the brand unparalleled and aspirational.
Our work with YETI dates back to Canales' days at McGarrah Jessee, when YETI was first starting out. He helped to define their focus, develop the branding, packaging and messaging. We've continued to add value to this beast of a brand through apparel, packaging, ads and customized drinkware graphics.
Humble Beginnings
YETI grew a cult following among hunters and anglers quickly. That iconic YETI trucker hat was the hardest working swag of any brand, ever. However as YETI grew exponentially, support materials were made to sell features rather than build a brand. The result was muddled and busy with very little brand identity. As imitators began to rise up, YETI needed a brand that was consistent in its messaging and anchored in strong design to set itself apart as the original and best in the category.
One of the first things we did was interview the founders to learn the history and what motivated them, making better products. From there we started to define what the brand stood for. We created a manifesto to hang in the corporate office as a reminder to never settle.
An old army pup tent was cut up and re-sewn together (by Jose's mom) to serve as the giant canvas for the oversized screen printed message.
As we redesigned the packaging for YETI, we saw an opportunity to tighten up the logo. Originally it was just set in Arial Black, but a font meant for typesetting needed a bit of adjustment to work as an iconic word mark. The kerning and negative space was adjusted to be more equal. The shapes almost felt like a Tetris game, they needed to be equal widths to belong together. We ditched coolers, because they were becoming widely known as YETI.
Not just for hunting and fishing...
YETI saw the opportunity to grow their audience, and identified tangent groups that we could build bridges to. From hunters, to foodies, to soccer moms, they hosted concerts, made films and created ads, like this BBQ spread we did in Texas Monthly, to speak to these audiences more directly.
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