Fabletics FIT Branding
I was the first creative hire for Fabletics FIT, and took the lead on everything from market research, creative direction, strategy and positioning, and execution of all design assets.
Below has a variety of creative assets, followed by an in-depth branding case study.
Landing Page
Emails
Social Posts
Case Study
Summary
Fabletics FIT is a subsidiary to the global fashion brand, Fabletics. Fabletics FIT is a mobile fitness application that hosts workouts, classes, and meditations led by top leaders in the industry while promoting all body types, genders, and nationalities.
Fabletics FIT launched in the US in January 2020. Within the first 90 days there were over 300,000 classes taken, 200,000 users enrolled in programs, and over 30,000 meditations completed. Since then we’ve launched in Canada and will be rolling out to the EU in 2022.
The Goal
We set out to create a brand that would be gender neutral and equitable for all, striking the balance of originality and harmony with the existing Fabletics brand.
The Challenge
When starting at Fabletics FIT, there was nothing in place for marketing initiatives. No color palettes or existing creative direction. The fact this new brand was essentially a new company within a company also brought a unique set of challenges.
Gender neutral branding was new territory for Fabletics, and was quite different from their existing summery bright colors and fonts.
Getting acceptance and buy-in for a new approach can be challenging at any company, but far more so with a company as large and established as Fabletics.
My Role
I was the first creative hire for Fabletics FIT, and took the lead on everything from market research, creative direction, strategy and positioning, and execution of all design artifacts.
Collecting Information
The foundational information needed to start tackling the new branding was to fully understand what our overarching goals were for this new brand. How would this coexist within the Fabletics brand?
I started with market research to see what other successful apps were doing that came before us. Understanding deeply who our competitors were, and figuring out what our competitive advantage was. What makes us special?
During this process I downloaded nearly every fitness app under the sun. I connected with the art directors and marketing managers across the Fabletics brand to hear what they felt had worked well and what didn’t produce positive results in the past.
Personas
Fabletics FIT, like our parent brand, is targeted to men and women ranging from ages 20-45. Healthy, happy lifestyled individuals that workout 3-5 times per week. Catering less to the bodybuilding and extreme sports communities.
Mood Board
Fabletics' main brand is highly saturated with color, feminine fonts, and delicate details. We needed to see what elements we could take from the main brand and incorporate or compliment with our new brand.
I looked at who our competitors were in the fitness industry, while keeping in mind our clothing competitors.
First Concepts
First concepts were drafted rather quick. I assembled a deck with two directions - copy, tone, and visuals of how each could look applied in marketing and social. I worked one-on-one with Fabletics’ Sr. Art Director to have collaboration between our team and theirs.
I had two approaches:
The first was an almost all white approach with use of black and minor pops of the Fabletics orange to add some dynamics. Really leaning into our main brand and looking at two of our top competitors, who also have fitness apps: Alo Yoga Moves and Lululemon’s Mirror.
The second approach was to go dark and moody. There was a part of us in our team that wanted to approach the brand in a more serious tone. Thinking we could lean into a dark and moody brand, similar to the Nike Training Club and Peloton.
Revisions
Initial designs were well received from the CEO of Fabletics and the upper management of Fabletics FIT.
Delving deeper into the look and feel of both designs, it was quickly established that we needed to stay closer to the Fabletics parent brand, and go with a lighter and brighter version. The dark and moody version was seeming less versatile when applying to all assets, and veering away from our personas and closer to the bodybuilding and action sports industry.
From there I explored three directions with the feedback applied:
Design 1
Design 1: Drip Emails
Design 1: Social Concepts
Design 1: Color Palette and Fonts
Design 2
Design 2: Drip Emails
Design 2: Social Concepts
Design 2: Color Palette and Fonts
Design 3
Design 3: Drip Emails
Design 3: Social Concepts
Design 2: Color Palette and Fonts
From presenting the three branding directions and showing them applied in social and email, upper management was able to easily see the branding in use.
We found Design 3 to be the most versatile and gender neutral while complementary to Fabletics.
We found Design 3 to be the most versatile and gender neutral while complementary to Fabletics.
Photography
A large portion of marketing and design in the fitness industry is the photography. We weren’t wanting to go too dark and moody or completely light and low intensity.
We wanted to go down the middle, as our app has a large selection of categories and stay more true to our personas.
An important part of the vision when creating the photography direction and tone was to prioritize the energy, dynamic angles, and showing lots of power and movement.
Working with the photographer and assembling mood boards and stylistic preferences, we landed at a beautiful spot which captures the essence of Fabletics FIT.
Copy
Fabletics prides themselves on their celebration of including everyone and all body types. We wanted to hold true to the brand and be sensitive in how we spoke to our members.
Veering away from popular fitness sayings and overall attitude. Such as: "No Days Off", "Stop, you are on a diet", and "No excuses".
We knew the copy should be relatable and approachable for not only the experienced workout enthusiast, but also the beginner who is looking for some motivation to get started.
Drip Emails
Social Concepts
In-Store Easel and Table Top
Color Palette and Fonts
Final Brand Standards
While moving forward with the Fabletics FIT branding, there were some changes in the main Fabletics brand that we were unaware of were happening. The primary font family changed as well as some of their color swatches. We saw this as an opportunity to delve even deeper into what gender neutral branding could look like, and where we could elevate the brand even more.
Combining where we were and aligning with the main Fabletics brand on other aspects they were moving forward with, we came to finalize on the below colors, fonts, and image aesthetic.
Final Branding
Website Landing Page
Email
Email Banner
Final Thoughts
To be at a large company but working from the ground up on a subsidiary, was a very rewarding experience.
I have been excited to see the branding applied to all channels, and the work to bring both teams together has started to direct the trajectory of the parent brand as a whole.
