Vangarde
Extending Product Into Experience
Rooted in Southern California surf and skate culture, Vans has remained generationally
relevant for more than five decades. The opportunity was to explore how that cultural equity could extend beyond product into a broader lifestyle experience.
Vangarde is a hypothetical hospitality extension built around nomadic surf travel—bringing guests closer to the best conditions, at the best times, while translating Vans’ heritage and energy into a physical brand experience designed around movement and use.
Role: Brand Strategy + Lead Designer
Scope: Brand Identity, Hospitality, Environmental
Focus: Extending Brand Equity Beyond Product
Deliverables: Brand strategy, identity system, environmental graphics, guest touchpoints, apparel, print
Built to Move
Surf culture is intrinsically nomadic. Conditions change. Swells move. The best place to be today may not be the best place tomorrow. Rather than designing a fixed destination, Vangarde is built around movement—creating an experience that follows the culture.
Familiar not Imitative
To guide the system and create a visual identity that felt connected to Vans without replicating its existing brand language 3 principles were identified.
Heritage
Draw from established cultural equity.
Dynamic
Reflect movement and changing conditions.
Functional
Build touchpoints around interaction and use.
Translating Heritage into a New Visual Language
Rather than directly applying Vans’ checkerboard, its alternating rhythm was translated typographically. The resulting wordmark shifts between contrasting letterforms, creating a sense of movement while retaining a subtle connection to familiar brand equity.
Building a Flexible Brand System
The identity was designed to shift between high-energy and reflective moments,
mirroring the rhythm of surf travel. Color, image treatment, and pattern density become flexible variables within the system, allowing the identity to shift from quiet editorial moments to expressive brand experiences.
Translating the Brand Into Guest Experience
Environment
The modular pattern scales into architectural surfaces and interiors, creating recognizable brand moments without overwhelming the space. Additionally by using vinyl we can transform prexisting spaces.
STAFF
Staff apparel creates a consistent brand touchpoint across changing locations, using the modular pattern for immediate recognition while prioritizing movement and function.
GUEST
Guest touchpoints were designed around the behaviors of surf travel rather than traditional hospitality conventions. A compact key tool combines room access with a fin key, screwdriver, and bottle opener—turning an operational necessity into a functional extension of the experience.
