Client

Better Trail

Year

2024

Role

Brand, Strategy, Development, UX, UI, Design

PLATFORM

Builder.io, Cloudflare and Next.js/React

INDUSTRY

Outdoor Resources and Gear Reviews

OPPORTUNITY

Outdoor company Better Trail sought to create a digital experience establishing their new brand as a comprehensive destination for all things outdoors. They wanted to modernize how people research outdoor gear by emphasizing authentic, engaging, data-driven content while incorporating a sustainability message. Better Trail aimed to drive engagement and inform and educate outdoor enthusiasts, from gearheads to weekend hikers.

SOLUTION

Working closely with the Better Trail team, Elva crafted a solution to support a custom build leveraging Builder.io as a headless CMS supporting custom data and component-based architecture. We used Cloudflare for hosting, performance, application services and security, and Next.js/React web app for the front-end application. The flexible component design system enables content discovery and provides helpful resources for customers to easily purchase the gear they want. Better Trail’s new digital experience makes them the comprehensive destination for everything outdoors.

Elva worked with Better Trail to create their brand from the ground up. We built a simple, bold, modern design inspired by natural environments: The “B” mark logo reflects winding trails and the color palette is inspired by nature. “Leading the Way” became the north star of the new brand. The distinctive imagery, typography, and iconography emphasize Better Trail’s goal of modernizing how people research outdoor gear while incorporating a sustainability message.

Using UX best practices, Elva designed a solution integrating content discovery and e-commerce. The site establishes Better Trail as a leader in insightful and genuine product research for outdoor gear while educating customers about sustainability and public lands.

Elva designed and developed a scalable and flexible modular framework for an engaging and informative digital experience to support a variety of content.

Authentic, data-informed content educates and engages customers on product reviews, sustainability, public lands and responsible consumerism.

Effortless navigation and refinement capabilities simplify the researching experience from desktop to mobile, enabling customers to find the best products and content with ease.

Sustainability is a central issue for Better Trail. Elva crafted a clear and informative product badging system, allowing customers to easily see the sustainability rating of each product, along with comparison tools.