Putting the Trail in Trailgate

The Challenge: Scaling a Vibe Across North America

evo's "Trailgate" was a massive idea: a multi-city event series celebrating mountain bike culture. But this created a huge business challenge.

How does a national retailer roll out one event series in six hyper-critical, independent markets (Seattle, Portland, Whistler B.C., Salt Lake City, Tahoe City, and Denver) and make it feel authentically local in every single one?

The risk was enormous. A "one-size-fits-all" corporate identity would be seen as "boring" and "inauthentic." The core community—who hate "poser" events—would stay home, killing the entire series.

The challenge wasn't to "make a logo." It was to build a flexible visual system that could scale internationally while feeling 100% "human-made."

The Solution: A "Human-Made" Toolkit

My solution was to create a "human-made" brand toolkit, not just a single identity. It was designed to feel like it belonged on a tailgate sticker or a patched-up flannel, not a boardroom presentation.

We went 100% human-made:

Core Identity: We built a custom, hand-drawn illustrative identity that set the rugged, fun, and weird "Trailgate" vibe.
Flexible System: We then created a toolkit of illustrations, type, and assets that could be remixed for each city. This allowed the "Denver" event to feel different from the "Whistler" event, while still being part of the same family.
Local Language: The system spoke the visual language of the community, not a corporate one.

The Result: A Community Built in Six Markets

The "human-made" toolkit worked. The identity was authentic, flexible, and real.

Because the branding felt like their culture, the community in every city embraced it. The "Trailgate" series was a massive success, riders showed up, and evo was cemented as a trusted, trail-loving partner.

We didn't just conquer boring; we built a national event brand that builds real community at a local level.