Near the end of 2020, brothers Bryan and Patrick Toh reached out to us to work on revamping their activewear brand, Future Relics.

Started in Manila, Philippines, Future Relics provides high-quality and sustainably-made activewear basics for individuals to wear throughout their day. As a new brand, the label had found some momentum during the early stages in Manila, but Bryan and Patrick ultimately wanted to bring Future Relics into the North American market and establish it as a global brand while representing their hometown Manila in the process.

While our involvement in the project began with a website redesign, our team provided research findings as well to bring clarity to the brand direction and messaging.

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Brand messaging page from our discovery document

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Reference photo from moodboard

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Betterfuture typeset

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Graphic system

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Brand typefaces

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Brand colours

Brand Realignment

When we first assessed the Future Relics brand, we found the messaging to be inspiring and edgy. However, as we continued to steep in the messaging, the words of inspiration, while aspiring, felt empty and not grounded. We recognized that the tone of voice was projected as a life coach to a trainee. Our desire was to position the brand voice more as a partner in ones journey, sharing in the ups and downs, existing as a real and tangible companion.

In reworking the brand direction, one of the key points of focus for us was revisiting the driving purpose of the brand. We took much inspiration from the unique name of the brand itself—this juxtaposed combination of “future” and “relic”, of future and past.

This play on the idea of time, as well as our research findings led us to build the brand messaging around the three tenses of past, present and future. On both an individual and a societal level, we recognized how each tense could apply to both the individual consumer and the Future Relics brand itself. The result of our work is a three part tagline: to grow from the past, live in the present and create a better future.

Taking these three phrases, we then summarized the brand message to the following:

“We strive to be future relics—people who are continuously growing from our past experiences; living fully in the present moment; and creating a better future. To be people who have stood the test of time and are living examples of what it means to be truly human.”

To accompany the new brand messaging, we selected two typefaces in Recife Text and Messina Sans. These contrasting typefaces allow us to give the brand visuals a bit more variety as the serif and sans can be used together or individually. Additionally, we’ve introduced a renewed colour palette as well as a graphic system that includes a number of graphic elements to accompany the main wordmark.

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Photography/Videography Direction

For the creative direction, we drew inspiration from 90s pop culture, drawing nostalgia from technology that was new at the time but considered retro today. For much of the millennial generation, these products, like the portable CD player and television have shaped the individuals who grew up in that era and formed who they are today. Bridging from this simple motif, our goal was to view the Future Relics apparel in the same way, as products that shape who we become in the future.

Product videos were also produced to be integrated into the website to showcase the fit, details and quality of the garments.

Website

Building from our work in realigning the brand identity, we looked to create the same visual consistency when approaching the design of the redesign of the website. Our goal was to offer visitors a simple shopping experience while creating a more unique visual experience. With Future Relics being an active wear brand, we also strived to implement more motion elements on the website through the use of product and lifestyle videos as well as simple parallax effects and moving objects on mouseover.

To see the website, visit:
futurerelics.co