In Defense of the Ruby’s: Mural Design for Environmental Advocacy
Patagonia Action Works: The Ruby Mountains, a breathtaking and ecologically vital area, faced the threat of fracking that could damage its landscape and habitat. We rebuilt the brand and the customer-facing system to match where the company was actually going.
Live since 2019
Raising Awareness About Environmental Threats
Patagonia Action Works operates in education & non-profit · outdoor & sports · retail & lifestyle — a category that demands its own kind of attention from the brand and the buyer journey both. The work that got the company this far had earned its market share. The brand and digital surface area weren’t carrying the weight at the same level the rest of the operation was.
The Ruby Mountains, a breathtaking and ecologically vital area, faced the threat of fracking that could damage its landscape and habitat. Our challenge was to design and implement a mural that would effectively convey the urgency of protecting this iconic region, leveraging Patagonia’s platform to amplify the message and engage the public.
The brief was a system rebuild — the kind of work captured in our master frame: Creating a Powerful Visual Statement for Environmental Advocacy. Brand strategy, identity refresh, customer-facing experience design, and the post-launch measurement framework that lets the in-house team extend the work without us in the room.
Creating a Powerful Visual Statement for Environmental Advocacy
Mural Design
Imagery and Statements to Inspire Action Commence Studio designed a mural featuring vivid imagery and powerful statements chosen to highlight the importance of preserving the Ruby Mountains.
Imagery and Statements to Inspire Action
Commence Studio designed a mural featuring vivid imagery and powerful statements chosen to highlight the importance of preserving the Ruby Mountains.
Implementation Across Patagonia’s Windows
The mural was strategically implemented across three of Patagonia’s expansive windows, ensuring maximum visibility and impact.
Engaging the Community
The mural's strategic placement and compelling design captured the attention of Patagonia's customers and the broader community, fostering greater awareness and engagement.
Mobile-first conversion as the gating metric.
Custom theme tuned for high-SKU apparel: aggressive filtering, one-tap variant selection, sticky add-to-cart, mobile-first checkout.
Drop merchandising tuned for the seasonal cadence.
Drop-launch system covering pre-drop hype, drop-day comms, low-stock alerts, and the always-on retention loop between drops.
The brand and the operation now run at the same level. The system extends without us in the room — exactly the kind of partnership we were looking for.
Engagement summary · Patagonia Action Works × Commence Studio
Numbers that matter for the engagement.
Brand and storefront, in production.
Like what you see? Let's talk about your commerce stack.
A 14-day strategic diagnostic — we audit your current stack, identify the friction worth fixing first, and ship a phased plan with sized investments. Fully credited toward an engagement if we move forward together.
What you walk away with
- ✓A measured map of every friction point in your current commerce flow
- ✓Three phased options — minimum, considered, comprehensive
- ✓Sized investments and timelines, no aspirational ranges
- ✓A clear "don't hire us if…" section. We mean it.
