Merrell Tech Icons
The Brief
Merrell approached IPOS to explore the creative direction behind a new set of icons that would highlight the technologies in selected garments. The iconography need to work in varying outputs as the final executions would be realised in print as a POS kit and as digital assets that would live online at Blacks.co.uk and Merrell.co.uk.
As Merrell are well established in the outdoor footwear industry, they wanted assistance to help transition the same credibility into their apparel range.
What We Did
What We Did
What We Did
What We Did
What We Did
What We Did
What We Did
For this project, we called upon the following IPOS pillars



Who delivered the complete project, including …
Creative direction | Design | 3D visualisation | Project management | Art-working | Installation
The key tech benefits that needed to be explained were pulled from the below three products:
The Whisper Rain jacket
An award winning, fully waterproof jacket, constructed from a soft shell-like fabric that is quiet when a person moves in it.
Iconography to communicate the jacket’s waterproof properties as well as the quiet nature of the fabric as it flexes with movement.
The Ridgevent Thermo Jacket
An insulated down jacket using DownPlus+ insulation, made up of 65% responsibly sourced waterproof goose down and 35% ultra-fine PrimaLoft. Aside from an Eco story, the jacket is also designed, to map heat, adding bulk to the jacket only where it is needed.
Iconography to communicate the jacket’s heat-mapping properties which targets specific areas.
Timber Fleece ‘Tencel’ Eco call out
These products contain Tencel fibers, which are made from plants and woven to create the material, this means any products containing ‘Tencel’ fibres are sustainable.
Iconography to communicate the eco or sustainability properties of a garment in the range.

The Process
After an initial discovery call with the client and gaining a key understanding of the target market, IPOS constructed competitor analysis and research based around the 4 tech benefits:
- waterproof outer layer
- heat-mapping technology
- eco-friendly properties
- minimal sound output.
This allowed the design team to explore multiple directions and bring pencil to paper with rough sketches and mood-boards, ultimately helping to explain the pros and cons to each route. By keeping the client involved in the process IPOS were able to move swiftly on to the design refinement phase which involved transforming the sketched ideas into digital versions that could be easily manipulated and tested.


The final icon designs were created in vector form as this allowed scaling to any size without loss of quality.
A monotone colour scheme was settled upon which utilised “Merrell orange” a specific colour breakdown taken from their brand guidelines.



Further Development
After the success of the icon designs, Merrell continued to work with IPOS to help realise the in-store and printed POS executions to support the brand. This additional work consisted of a selection of ideas that would help elevate the brand in particularly busy retail environments. The IPOS team produced a variety of 3D models that were rendered in high felidity and reviewed with the client. One key element from the POS kit that delivered significant results was a disruptive swing-tag that promoted interaction and welcomed the viewer to find out more about each garment.


The Outcome
From the final production of the POS kit and a successful delivery of in-store assets the following results have been recorded:
increased digital conversions through the introduction of QR codes on swing tags
increase in brand and product awareness in a competitive retail environment
data collection that helps the brand understand their target market.
Since the close of the project, Merrell have continued to expand the use of the visual aids in-store and online to visually explain the key benefits of their range.
Explore the products by viewing the video below or by visiting the Merrell website.
