redefining brand expression for social
PROBLEM :
Strava needed to refresh its approach to organic social content. The brand’s existing assets lacked flexibility and visual diversity, making it difficult to support a wide range of content types from performance stats and quotes to product UI and partnership announcements without feeling repetitive.
SOLUTION :
I collaborated closely with a Creative Strategist to concept and develop a comprehensive toolkit for Strava’s static social content. Our objective was to build a flexible design system that could support a wide range of content formats and messages, without sacrificing brand consistency or creative depth.
Through research and social analysis, we identified a key shift: overt branding was becoming less effective in organic content. To address this, we moved away from using the Strava wordmark and instead introduced more subtle brand cues such as the echelon and the trademarked Polyline, which evoke the brand’s identity while enhancing visual storytelling. Together, we defined the core content types Strava needed to accommodate and established a modular structure to support them.
I then designed and built the entire design system in Figma, ensuring it was intuitive, adaptable, and scalable empowering designers and content teams to create on-brand work with both consistency and creative freedom.
KEY FEATURES OF THE TOOLKIT
Subtle Branding
We replaced the overt use of the Strava wordmark with more nuanced brand elements, like the echelon and the trademarked Polyline, which represents the routes Strava users take and the product’s in-app data visualisation.
Content Variations
- Bold and subtle type over imagery
- Type combined with Polyline overlays
- Strava app and device UI frames
- Stats and performance data visuals
- Plain backgrounds with expressive type and Polyline
- Editorial quotes, athlete features, and partnership announcements
- Carousel templates for multi-image storytelling
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Cohesive Visual Language
Built using a consistent 8 point grid system, colour palette, and typographic system, the toolkit ensures all content feels part of the same ecosystem while supporting creative diversity.
Ease of Use
The Figma file was structured to be intuitive, modular, and ready for handoff enabling designers, copywriters, and external teams to quickly create on-brand content.
RESULT
The design system has become a foundational part of Strava’s social content production. It strikes a balance between structure and flexibility, enabling the brand to deliver consistent, high-quality organic content across campaigns and community touchpoints. By evolving and systemising Strava’s visual identity, the toolkit transforms it into a scalable framework that enhances brand coherence while empowering creative expression across teams.
As a result, it has increased creative efficiency, reduced reliance on repetitive templates, and elevated Strava’s visual presence across organic social platforms.
ROLE : Art Director
AGENCY: Wpromote
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