Gobi cashmere

This was a unique opportunity for us to learn more about a country that we knew very little about. It was important that we discover the real culture, history and heritage of the country in order to create an authentic Mongolian brand. We needed to understand the people, climate and topography of Mongolia, as well as the process that goes into maufacturing cashmere. The only way to do this was to travel to Mongolia for a week of discovery and workshops. And the only time to do this was in the middle of Winter when it was -20ºC during the day and -30ºC during the night! 

Creative Director Rob Duncan purchased a very warm coat, travelled to Mongolia, and immediately fell in love with the people and the landscape. We visited Museums. We led strategic and creative workshops with the C-level executives and their teams to really understand how to position Gobi in the world of cashmere. We travelled to remote locations to meet with the herders, their families, and the goats, to understand how they live, while enjoying traditional delicacies. We visited the factory to learn about the manufacturing process. And we interviewed employees to understand why they chose to work at Gobi and why some of them had been there as long as 30 years.

There are several luxury cashmere companies in the world such as Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli who are very exclusive. Naadam are a big player in the industry but they feel more like a start-up. Through our discovery process we understood that all of these cashmere companies had one thing in common. They come to Mongolia to harvest the raw cashmere but then take it out of the country, back to the US and Europe to manufacture their products. 

Gobi, however, is working with herders in Mongolia to harvest raw material, it is processed in Mongolia, manufactured in Mongolia, by Mongolians and distributed from Mongolia. As a company Gobi are really giving back to the Mongolian people. This is what makes them unique, and it’s the story we needed to tell and build the Gobi brand around.

With this information we developed a mission statement, positioning statement, and established design principles. This resulted in a distinct direction for Gobi, while creating guardrails to work within during the design process.

New symbol and wordmark
The symbol represents the virtuous cycle, unique to Gobi, where everything from the raw product through to the manufacture of the garments is produced in Mongolia by Mongolians — It is created by interlocking 4 heart shapes containing a person (or goat), representing the 4 important connections that make Gobi distinct: goats, herders, employees and customers. The goat symbolizes the origin of cashmere, herders represent the traditional craftsmanship, employees embody the dedication to quality and innovation, and customers reflect the end-users who value and cherish the final product. Together, they form a continuous, harmonious cycle that represents the essence of Gobi cashmere.

The bespoke Gobi wordmark was drawn up to feel timeless and elegant. It alludes to the history and heritage of a country with 1000’s of years of knowledge and stories to tell. It also represents the luxurious, quality of Gobi products. 

Typography
Tomato Grotesk was chosen for being simple and geometric, while having a touch of quirk and flair. The contrast of weights within the typeface make it feel more humanist, friendly and organic.

Tagline
‘Truly Mongolian’ was created to be used across all collateral. This really distills what makes Gobi unique. No other global cashmere company collects the raw product, manufacturers and distributes in Mongolia, by Mongolians. — a tagline that only Gobi can own.

Go. Be. Campaign
For the launch of the new brand identity we created a campaign highlighting the qualities and benefits of the brand, playing on the sound of the name – Gobi and Go. Be.

Photography Art Direction
We recommended Gobi to use and promote their incredible landscapes, biodiversity and people in really authentic ways. Shooting outdoors and showing off the environment, climate and landscapes really accentuates what makes Mongolia and Mongolian cashmere special. 

Instead of hiring models use and pay the herders and their families as well as employees. A great way for the images to feel really authentic and give back to the community. Introducing yurts, wagons, animals and Mongolian artifacts within photoshoots helps emphasize Gobi as a truly authentic Mongolian brand, that cares about it’s land, animals, heritage and it’s people.

Iconography and climate
During our visit to the Chinggis Khaan National Museum in Ulaanbaatar, we noticed a lovely installation high above the doors. Featured was a collection of family brands that they used for branding their livestock, dating back 1000’s of years. There was something so uniquely Mongolian about how these were designed that we were inspired by them to create a set of icons, including 4 unique icons to represent the 4 seasons in Mongolia. 

One of the reasons why cashmere in Mongolian is regarded as the best cashmere in the world is due to their unique climate. It gets really cold during the winter and really hot during the summer and the goats naturally develop longer coats and shed more to be able to deal with such extremes. This creates a higher quality, noticeably softer product.

These symbols are used throughout the branding system, across packaging tissue paper, as well as representing the 2 fashion seasons: Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Seasonal look books, seasonal garment sleeves as well as seasonal in-store graphic displays feature these symbols in square and totem formats.

Copywriting: David Begler
Gobi Design Team: Anu Erdenebileg, Munkhjargal Chimeddorj
Photographers: Enkhmaral Tugsjargal, Gereltsetseg Davaajav, Enkhbold Ganbaatar

gobicashmere.com