Project Overview
Mountain River Life (MRL) sought assistance from my Professional Brand Studio course at MRU to establish a clear and consistent brand identity. This client project, completed as part of a group, involved creating a cohesive brand identity and guidelines to ensure consistency across all touchpoints. My group and I worked to shape MRL’s visual and narrative direction, aiming to make the brand authentic, instantly recognizable, and positioned for community growth.
The Client
Mountain River Life, founded in 2023, is a lifestyle brand that connects outdoor enthusiasts with nature-focused apparel and accessories. Originally starting as Mountain River Wood Co. in 2020, the brand was born from a passion for woodworking and the founders’ love for the outdoors.
The brand embodies exploration, connection, and the simple joys of mountain living. MRL seeks to fill a gap in the market by offering high-quality, affordable gear designed for everyday adventurers who appreciate authenticity and responsible outdoor enjoyment.
The Team
Courtney Arndt: Digital Marketing Director
Brooke Armstrong: Social Media & Content Strategist
Thomas Hollinger: Brand Strategy Lead
Eric Pryor: Experiential Marketing Strategist
Sarah Thomson: Brand Designer
My Role
As the Brand Designer, I created the Mountain River Life Brand Guide, which outlines the core components of the brand’s identity. I focused on several key elements to ensure brand consistency, including logo usage, colour palette, and brand voice.
As the Brand Designer, I created the Mountain River Life Brand Guide, which outlines the core components of the brand’s identity. I focused on several key elements to ensure brand consistency, including logo usage, colour palette, and brand voice. I also included a more polished version of their logo at the end of the brand guide.
Each section of this guide was designed to assist the MRL team in presenting a unified, professional brand that resonates with their adventurous audience.
Brand Foundation & Writing Guidelines
These sections lay the groundwork for Mountain River Life’s brand identity, defining its core values and voice. The Writing Guidelines ensure the brand’s tone remains consistent and authentic across all communications.
Section 1.2 – Diving into MRL's mission, vision, and values
Section 1.3 – A guide for writing that explains the language MRL wants to use
Logo Guidelines & Visual Language
The Logo Guidelines ensure the logo is used correctly, preserving brand integrity. The Visual Language section defines the typography, colour palette, and photography style, helping create a cohesive and accessible brand identity.
Section 2.2 – Spacing and sizing specifications of the logo for print and digital use
Section 2.4 – Logo nono's
Design & Layout
This section outlines layout best practices, ensuring all visuals are clean, balanced, and easy to navigate. It includes principles like the rule of thirds and negative space to maintain visual consistency across platforms.
Section 3.4 – A new iconography set for the brand
Section 3.5 – Basic instructions for proper layout design
Sample Creative
These mockups show the practical application of the brand guidelines in real-world designs. They provide templates for social media, product, and website visuals, ensuring consistent brand representation across touchpoints.
Section 4.1 – Social media template example for sharing user-generated content
Section 4.3 – Our reimagined website design for MRL
Outcomes
The MRL team selected our project as the winning pitch. Our practical social media ideas, audience profiles, and hands-on recommendations helped them feel confident in connecting with their audience in a genuine, budget-friendly way. And praised the brand guide's thorough detail and solid direction for moving forward.
Reflection
This project was incredibly rewarding—not just because of the cozy hoodies MRL awarded us, but also because of the fantastic team I had the opportunity to collaborate with. Our strong chemistry and effective communication were essential for staying aligned and overcoming challenges.
This experience enhanced my understanding of effective branding and the balance of creativity and clarity. It emphasized the importance of authentic storytelling and showcased how design can create meaningful connections with an audience.
Bonus: A quick-reference style sheet for more convenient, daily use.
My team with the founders of Mountain River Life (Erik Paul and Graham Kelba) after winning our pitch.
