KÜHL
Pandemic-Proof e-Commerce
Founded in 1990 by outdoor enthusiasts in Utah's Wasatch Mountains, KUHL is an independent outdoor clothing brand with a 30-year legacy of creating high-quality gear for serious adventurers.
Specialized in hiking pants, performance shirts, and outerwear, KUHL emphasizes its independence from shareholders and investors, relying on product strength and customer relationships.
As the outdoor apparel market becomes more competitive, KUHL recognizes the need to enhance its digital presence to reflect the quality of its products, particularly as online retail becomes a crucial sales channel.
When Capicua started working with KUHL, the brand's digital presence was inconsistent and outdated, which limited its growth potential. The situation worsened with COVID-19, as online sales became critical and exposed the website's shortcomings.
The challenge was to modernize the brand's visual identity and upgrade the tech stack to improve performance, all while maintaining long-term customer loyalty during a turbulent period in retail.
Capicua's initial work with KUHL focused on graphic design, including labels and digital marketing assets. As the partnership grew, we expanded our involvement to include project management and full front-end development, addressing the website architecture without overlooking e commerce design.
For the brand refresh, we worked within KUHL's style guidelines to create clean, contemporary interfaces while avoiding disorientation caused by radical changes. We developed a design system that offers templates for various creative options, facilitating dynamic iteration across different audiences.
Technologically, we shifted from Python and Django to React and Next.js, since Next.js's server-side rendering provided greater flexibility on the back end while maintaining the existing structure and paving the way for a more modern architecture.
- Identity: Brand identity refresh aligned with KUHL's heritage and style guidelines.
- System: Comprehensive design system with templates for dynamic targeting.
- Migration: Front-end migration from Python/Django to React and Next.js.
- Assets: Marketing asset design (physical and digital).
- Experience: Unified cross-platform experience design.
During the pandemic, KUHL achieved an impressive 80% online sales rate, thanks to Capicua's efforts, reflecting strong customer relationships and a quality digital experience.
The new design system equipped their team to create consistent, campaign-specific designs quickly using templates and reusable components. With a React and Next.js front end, the platform offered a faster, cleaner user experience aligned with the brand's premium positioning, while Next.js allowed for easy evolution without extensive backend changes.
- Iteration: Design system enabling rapid, consistent brand iteration.
- Performance: Front-end modernization (React + Next.js) to improve performance.
- Materials: Unified brand experience across platforms and marketing materials.
- Rebranding: End-to-end rebranding from physical labels to digital storefront.
- Growth: An 80% online sales rate was maintained during COVID-19.
Digital experiences should stand up to whatever the market throws at them. With Shaped Clarity™, Capicua brings brand thinking and engineering expertise ready to grow. Let's talk.
