Fourteener: built where the air runs out.

Running shoes tested above 14,000 ft. Premium running is the sportswear category's fastest-growing fight. Hoka passed $2.6B in 2026 by owning cushioning above $140. Fourteener wins on proof: every model is wear-tested above 14,000 ft, where thin air finds every flaw.

Project: Self-initiated
Sector: Running footwear
Market: Boulder, US and online
Brand book: 81 pages

Fourteener is a fictional brand we created to show our complete process. The market research is real; no client, results or testimonials are implied. Scenes like the one above are concept applications of the final logo files, not photographs of real placements.

The brief

Positioning before pixels.

For runners who buy on performance, Fourteener is the Boulder running brand that wear-tests every model above 14,000 ft, because thin air finds every flaw.

Tagline: Built where the air runs out.

The idea

Contour lines measure a mountain ring by ring. Fourteener measures the run the same way.

Fourteener graphic language page — Graphic language, from the brand book

Creative directions

12 directions, one choice.

After research and strategy, we explored 12 distinct directions as concept boards. The chosen direction was then redrawn by hand as a precise vector system. Shown: the chosen direction and three alternatives.