lululemon Manifesto
lululemon athletica is one of the world’s leading activewear brands, defining the athleisure category with its high-performance, yoga-inspired technical athletic apparel for women and men. The company goes beyond retail to function as a holistic lifestyle brand for a devoted following of consumers who apply its vision of wellness to their everyday practice of yoga, running, working out, self-care and mindfulness.
The red and black bags featuring the original manifesto had become highly recognizable over the years, on a par with the iconic bags of retailers like Bloomingdale’s and Saks. The bags sporting the new design have quickly joined their ranks, with highly visible typography that stands out on the street and shares lululemon’s culture with a wider audience.
The pattern presents the motivational statements in a typographic patchwork that evokes different voices and the active, social and mindful nature of the lululemon community. The designers developed a modular structure that tiles the type in blocks to make it more readable and uses hierarchy and scale to spotlight different maxims.
The manifesto utilizes a group of contemporary typefaces: SangBleu Empire (designed by Swiss Typefaces), Druk (Commercial Type), Messina Modern (Luzi Type), and Cut (MuirMcNeil). These are joined by the lululemon brand font Calibre (Klim Type Foundry), which appears at the smallest scale and acts as a foundation running between the bigger blocks.
The redesigned manifesto goes beyond the bags to function as a visual language across the brand. The typographic pattern is used for graphic murals at the corporate headquarters in Vancouver and window displays in lululemon stores around the world. Individual statements are pulled out and repurposed as motivational slogans in videos and brand animations for social media. Mail order shipping boxes open to reveal the pattern on their interiors. And for the brand’s most passionate fans, the manifesto is featured on a line of limited-edition apparel—which quickly sold out—that allows them to wear it as they embrace their practice of well-being.
