Premium golf apparel built on the collision of wool and golf
“We are creating merino wool polo shirts and apparel. The brand is called WOOLF, a combination of Wool and Golf. I have played with a Wolf as an icon, but I haven't been able to do this in a way that isn't confusing when you read it.”
Carl van den Boom is a designer. He and his cofounder were building Woolf, a premium golf apparel brand named for the collision of wool and golf. The product was clear. Merino wool polos, casual to wear, premium enough to justify the price. The market was clear.
Every big golf brand looked the same. No one was doing merino. The white space was real. Only the logo would not land.
Golf brands like Callaway, Adidas, Puma, and Footjoy own the polo shirt category. Merino brands like Mons Royale, Woolly, and Icebreaker own ski and outdoor. Woolf sits at the intersection.
Carl had played with the logo himself. He had sketches. He had concepts. None of them landed. The wolf idea felt right. The marks he produced felt confusing. He could not tell if the wolf was wrong, or if he was the wrong person to draw it. He and his cofounder started doubting the wolf entirely. Maybe a fancy W. Maybe a wordmark. Maybe just the name done well.
Carl is a designer, and he could not design his own logo. The urgency of a product waiting to launch made him post a brief on Upwork. He asked for ten concepts. He no longer trusted his own taste.
Before I drew anything, I asked the questions Carl had not been asked.
The answers were already in him. He needed someone to pull them out and turn them into a direction.
The Strategic Diagnosis
10+ concepts explored
Identity system delivered
The Founder Clarity Kit gave Carl what DIY could not. Diagnosis before prescription. Once the strategy was clear, the wolf was the right answer.
Carl had been doubting the correct idea.
More than ten concepts explored. Ten finalists presented for review.
Carl had been right about the wolf. The strategic frame proved it.
“We have all independently come to the same conclusion. Option 2, No.2.”
The identity system. Built to feel as casual as the polo it sits on, and as premium as the merino it is made from.
The wolf, refined into a form as casual as the polo it would sit on and as premium as the merino it was made from. Carl no longer questioned the name. He no longer questioned the icon. He no longer questioned whether a brand built on the collision of wool and golf could earn its price. Woolf was ready to launch in Voss, Norway, with an identity Carl could carry into every meeting, every line sheet, every product photo. Without hesitation.
Peter was fantastic. Extremely fast communication and delivery. It was a pleasure to work with him, he is very creative and his concepts are great. We had a direction of what we wanted and Peter helped us refine the ideas and in the end, come to a solution that was much better than we had imagined. We will work with Peter again in the future and I highly recommend Peter to anyone looking for creative ideas and a professional work.