THE MORE YOU RECOGNIZE THESE PATTERNS IN THE PRODUCTS, THE MORE YOU WILL LIKE THE BRAND.

This kind of thing can define an architecture for a brand. So when we were working for The North Face, we had this pre-existing architecture –color blocking, material contrast, rectangular design lines - from their heritage products, and we tried to evolve that into other concepts.

The more you recognize these patterns in the products, the more you will like the brand. This is almost the opposite of high fashion, where you come up with something totally new, totally different, every single season.

SPORTS DESIGN SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD HAVE MORE TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS TOO?

The first thing you need to learn when you start working in sport fashion is that your design has to function.

You need to understand pattern making, but you also need to know all aspects of the product’s end use. For example, if I design a hood for a climbing jacket, it has to be constructed so that, when you turn your head, the hood won’t block your view, that would be dangerous. So it has to follow your movement.

These are aspects of design that you don’t learn in any design school, you only learn by doing, or working with one of the big sports/outdoor brands.

And since I didn’t start out working in a big sports corporation, we had to learn those things through projects, and by working with skilled people. I was lucky that one of the first people I worked with had been a technical designer at Arc’teryx, which is probably still the highest level of technical product you can buy. She really taught us how to design and engineer technical sport products.

DO YOU DO A LOT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT?

It really depends on the type of project. But yes, the key to innovation is research. We constantly stay connected to what is happening in the sports industry, but more so we heavily focus on consumer mindsets, sport codes, material innovation, technology, design strategy and creative direction.

Sometimes all these are really connected. Red Bull, for example, they have 1000 athletes, covering more than 100 sports. We built a high level collection for all these athletes, but there was no real in-house team, so we did everything from concepts, to designing, to working with technical factories in Asia and Europe to engineer the product.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE NORTH FACE?

While I was working for an American ski brand, Spyder, I met their Creative Director and he became a friend. Then, one day, he called me and said, “Hey, why don’t we do something together?”

So we decided to open a N3twork office in the US, in Boulder, Colorado, where he was based.

Discussing our goals, the one thing we really wanted to do was creative direction, as an external design agency, for big companies.

WE JUST LISTEN AND THIS LISTENING BECOMES A CONFIRMATION OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO LATER.

So, cutting a long story short, we got introduced to one of the bosses at The North Face. He asked, “What do you want to do for us?” We said, “We want to do creative direction for The North Face.” He said, “Are you sure? An external design agency working for the biggest outdoor brand in the world? As creative directors?”

We were just this American guy who had worked at Nike, and a German guy, who’s been doing his own thing.

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A SCENE FROM A FUNNY MOVIE!

Well, they called us back and said, “Okay, we want you to build the Global Product DNA for The North Face. Tell us how every single product of The North Face has to be designed in future to allow the brand to grow from $1 billion to $5 billion.”

We came back with a proposal. And we said we needed three years. He said, “You have three months.”

NOW IT REALLY IS LIKE A MOVIE…

So we flew to California, and did a ‘Get To Know The Brand´ exercise for the first time. This later became one of our Creative Direction tools, which we today apply from one client to the next.

listening becomes a confirmation of what we need to do later.

It confirms ideas, but also presents the complexity within the company, so we know better how to navigate the internal structure. And it allows you to meet people and build trust.

YOUR CLIENT LIST READS LIKE A WHO’S WHO, BUT YOU MUST HAVE STARTED OFF SMALLER? HOW DID YOU BUILD UP TO THIS STELLAR LINE-UP?

At first it really was just approaching brands and asking for a job. At some point I guess I was lucky to be there at the right time.

But generally, I guess, people will meet you, and if they like you, they ask themselves if they trust you. Will you get the job done? Even if they don’t know what the actual job is. That trust is the number one thing. Then later, maybe reputation.

SO HOW DID IT GO THAT FIRST TIME, AT THE NORTH FACE?

We met all the people we thought were interesting at The North Face. Athletes, marketing bosses and so forth. And we asked to meet the person that had been working at The North Face the longest.

lady. She might have been in her 50s. She obviously had no interest to talk to us. She said, “What do you want?”

We asked her, “When was the last time The North Face built an iconic product?” She said: “We’ve built five iconic products. Any other questions?”

That interview became the future of The North Face.

HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT PUTTING THAT INTO ACTION?

We researched the 44 year history of The North Face. That became the main influence. Specifically, the “Never Stop Exploring” theme they had way back, but had totally lost along the way.

A lot of what we produced was a ‘Design Ethos’ and a ‘Product Design Tool’ that consisted of the defining brand elements.

We presented that concept after the three months, but then we also got to work on the launch of ‘Steep Series’, which was the first big mountain ski collection they did. That was a new project, so we could showcase more of what we had put into that formula.

Then the Olympics came along. So in the end, it was almost six years, working for The North Face.

In order to get an understanding of what the brand is about, their internal culture, we go in for a few days and we speak to people. We just listen and this

So, there we were, sitting in our conference room. The marketing director had already been in, and all these other people, then came in a Chinese

THAT WAS THE US FREESKIING TEAM, AT THE SOCHI OLYMPICS, RIGHT?

The most important aspect for us to understand about that project was that those guys at the Olympics were friends. A bunch of kids, from different teams, hanging out at the Olympics, having fun. Whoever got the best trick at the end of the day, won.

In one of the early meetings, one of the athletes said: “the Olympics need us more than we need the Olympics.” We used that quote and that counter culture attitude to develop a “Rebel Americana” theme that defined the design of the US team wear.

The athletes mindset, the mindset of a lot of these new sports, totally changed the perspective of competi - tion in sports. The community aspect is what is most important. It defines the sport but also the way they dress. Expression is most relevant. Function is given.

ON THE SUBJECT OF PROCESS, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT DESIGNING FOR YOUR SPORT BRANDS?

I don’t follow inspiration. I try to create strategy.

Usually, I’ll meet the client, and they present a problem. I have an immediate thought, but I will then do the research and ask enough questions to confirm the problem.

Is it an internal communication thing? Have the product teams worked on something that doesn’t make sense for the brand? Has there been great ideas, but they didn’t have the consumer for it? Or is it their positioning that doesn’t match their product expectation?

While I’m finishing the description of the problem, I’II have initial thoughts of what a possible solution could be. And from there, I know that within a given time frame, I will develop the Creative Direction.

Then there’s different elements that I use to visualise. Sketches, an architecture that’s relevant for the brand. Color, execution, a story line, and images that give the client an idea of what they could become.