Trestle Bike Park
Brand Refresh & Supporting Imagery
TRESTLE Bike Park logo
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Elevating and simplifying touchpoints for one of USAs Largest Bike Parks.

In the heart of Colorado sits one of the top downhill bike parks in North America. Built on top of decades of mountain bike culture in the area, Trestle has boasted the title of fastest growing bike park for years. An identity update called for a step towards simplicity, and a bold use of type, color, imagery & copy.
Services Provided
Branding
Website Design
Website Developement
Digital Ad Design & Strategy
Illustration
Adventure & Lifestyle Photography
Copywriting

The Trestle Legacy Mark, re-energized

Before
Trestle was noticing an issue of their brand mark being difficult to read in smaller settings, like digital ads. In particular, it was tough to understand that this was a bike park logo to begin with, especially given the likeness to food chain Chipotle. Constructed with shades of brown, it was clear there was a huge upside potential if we could bring immediate inspiration, understanding, and legibility to the Trestle brand mark.
After
We removed the text from its container and used bold, chunky type reflect the mountain bike experience. With the Trestle T still leading as the legacy brand mark, we harnessed the existing brand green to bring energy levels in line with the brand experience. The new mark spoke clearly to the fact that this was indeed a bike park.

Solving brand engagement challenges with experience-focused design.

challenge
Trestle wasn’t seeing great results on their digital ad campaign. The ad creative from their agency was filled with promotional copy detailing pass dates, benefits, and rates, all while trying to co-advertise the location at Winter Park Resort, and their major freeride event happening that summer.
solution
We replaced all that promotional copy with beautiful photography, and wrote short taglines to hold a call to action. We customized each ad to the anticipated skill level of the target market (Ex. ad shown on pinkbike vs generic google ad). Through A-B testing, we found that the new ads (and the new logo mark) more than doubled engagement.
A screenshot of previous Trestle bike park advertisements
A screenshot showing the updated advertisement campaign

Simplifying on-hill navigation.

challenge
The trail map design had stagnated for years and we wanted to build a better navigation and decision making experience for guests.

Downhill mountain biking can be a daunting sport to get into. Trails within the same rating can provide a wide variety of experiences. Knowing how to pick trails that progress in difficulty according to your ability level could be tough for some riders.
Solution
Collaborating with the trail team at Trestle, we broke trail ratings into two categories; technical or freeride, in addition to their Green/Blue/Black/Pro line ratings. This allowed users to knowingly stick to the style of trail they wanted to, and not just the rating. We then built a trail progression chart which organized the difficulty of trails in an ascending list, allowing for small steps of progression.

Taking from our digital ad experience, we boiled the text-filled side of the map down to image driven targeted CTAs that would be helpful for those visiting the resort. This brought life, legibility and targeted business goals to an entire section that was previously glanced over by readers.
A image of a mountain biker hitting a berm as the image on the front of a trail map
A updated trail map
A bike park pass voucher showing the outline of a mountain biker holding their hands in a "rock on" gesture
A collection of different printed material designed and photographed by Charles Stemen Studio
An up close shot of the trail map showing color coordinated tabs with increasing levels of trail difficulty
An up close shot of printed material created by Charles Stemen Studio

#Rideyadamnbike

The best way to celebrate 10 years of breaking the rules is to ride ya damn bike! (and drink ya damn beer). We introduced this new copy alongside some fresh illustrations, which were used on swag items like koozies, stickers, and more.
Trestle Bike Park logo
digital image saying "Ride Ya Damn Bike, Drink Beer"
An up close digital screenshot showing the updated T in Trestle. It has a bright, earthy green background with stone-like texture on the 'T'
A digital ad for printed material or apparel showing " Trestle: ten years of dirt"

A quick refresh of the image library for 2023.

challenge
The Trestle image library was becoming outdated and lacked photos from some of the newer trails. The Trestle Bike Park School was also lacking in imagery to promote their clinics and lessons.
solution
We snuck in 3 days shoot of shooting in 2022 & 2023, where we delivered over 100 images of downhill riding, coaching, scenics and hanging out with Trestle athletes and the Trestle Bike Park School to support their image library heading into the summer season of 2023/2024.
2 mountain bikers enjoying a trail with some mountain overlooks
2 mountain bikers hitting a berm on a twisty section of trail
A mountain biker mid air on a wooden jump
Mountain biker hitting a wooden berm
The gondola with Trestle's base in the background
Mountain bikers on Trestle Bike Park
Mountain biker hits wooden drop at trestle bike park
3 mountain bikers reflecting on the trail they just rode with a great mountain scene in the background
A mountain biker getting some sick air just below the gondola
3 mountain bikers walking their bikes off the gondola
2 mountain bikers getting some sick air in front of one of the Trestle lodges
"Your imagery can make or break you as a brand. When we work with Charles, we know we will walk away with brand-building, differentiated assets that will make an impact in our marketing. Working together is always a pleasure. His professionalism, ability to work with models, and run a shoot independently are only matched by his creativity! It’s hard to find trusted creative partners, and we have one in Charles."
Headshot of Carl Frey
Carl Frey
Creative and Content Senior Manager
Mountain biker scoping their line before dropping in
mountain biker playing with a small optional berm on the side of a trail
A mountain biker mid air surrounded by a lovely forest
2 mountain bikers scoping out a wooden berm before dropping in
A mountain biker beginning to drop into a technical rocky section of trail
2 mountain bikers coming off a berm and navigating through a technical rocky section of trail
2 mountain bikers dropping into a berm
2 mountain bikers navigating a technical rocky section of trail
A crow eye view of 3 mountain bikers hitting a wooden jump
Mountain bikers ride through berms at downhill bike park, arial drone perspective

Wrapping it all into a new website.

Leaning on our new photography assets, we opted for simple, image driven layouts that focused on usability.
A screenshot of multiple web pages showing the changes implemented by Charles Stemen Studio

Results

Trestle Bike Park has been able to confidently implement their new branding across all touchpoints, while knowing the changes are backed by proven results. The new, image and experience focused design style has provided a more engaging brand voice alongside a more clear and thoughtful design style. This new guest experience speaks directly to the values of the bike park and provides a more seamless experience from booking through biking. The team has also been able to significantly reduce employee hours spent updating the website with the new, streamlined backend.

Our celebration of breaking the rules through copywriting and illustration has allowed for great brand flexibility. The photography completed has jumpstarted the process of refreshing the library and taken some weight off the internal production team.
4 mountain bikers hitting a jump in the trail