INDUSTRY
E-COMMERCE, OUTDOOR
CLIENT
Altitude Sports
YEAR
2016-2017
ROLE
UX/UI Designer, Front-End Developer
Altitude Sports
Altitude Sports
Altitude Sports, based in Montreal, is an online retailer specializing in technical outdoor gear, urban, and high-end clothing. They also operate an outlet and discount store called The Last Hunt (La Dernière Chasse).
My Contributions:
Designed layout patterns and established visual hierarchy across the sites, refreshing seasonal content with updated graphic elements.
Built new landing pages for premium brands (e.g., North Face, Icebreaker) using HTML5/CSS/JS templates.
Developed special features in PHP on the Magento back-end.
Created online banner ads and email newsletters, from design through to code.
The Last Hunt sale website design refresh(s) (EN/FR)
Note: My work was completed before Altitude Sports later migrated from Magento to Shopify and consolidated its multiple brands onto a single platform.
the challenge.
Content Freshness: Quickly identifying and updating top-selling items was critical to maintaining user engagement in the fast-paced fashion industry.
Relevance to Trends: Seasonal outdoor and sports gear needed constant updates to align with customer demand and fashion trends.
Audience Connection: Design needed to resonate with outdoor enthusiasts and athletes across Canada and the US.
Inconsistent Layouts: Each brand landing page had separate design layouts and CSS files, creating maintenance challenges and a disjointed user experience.
Page Load Speed: Analysis revealed that visitors who converted accessed pages that loaded twice as fast as non-converting pages, highlighting performance as a key driver of engagement and sales.
target users.
Outdoor enthusiasts, Eco-conscious shoppers, urban adventurers, athletes, fashion-concious consumers.
competitors.
Altitude Sports competes in a crowded outdoor and lifestyle retail space, with established players both in Canada and internationally:
Backcountry – US-based giant with a wide selection and strong e-commerce experience.
Kuma – Canadian outdoor gear and lifestyle brand targeting campers and adventurers.
Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) – Canada’s largest outdoor retailer, with deep community ties and member-driven brand loyalty.
Sport Chek – Mainstream Canadian retailer offering outdoor and athletic gear.
REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) – US outdoor cooperative with a strong eco-conscious identity and premium product range.
Altitude Sports differentiator: Positioned as a curated blend of technical outdoor gear, urban fashion, and high-end apparel, appealing to eco-conscious shoppers, urban adventurers, and performance-driven athletes — a hybrid niche not fully occupied by its competitors.
design solution.
My concept was to create a magazine spread–style layout that incorporated quick street-style snapshots, inspiring users while connecting them directly with the brands. This modular approach gave flexibility to brands with fewer products, while also maintaining a visually engaging experience for larger collections.
On the technical side, I saw an opportunity to optimize the code structure, ensuring a cleaner, more efficient framework that made it easy for internal teams to update pages. This not only supported seasonal updates across multiple brands but also established a cohesive and scalable system that could adapt as the business evolved.
design principles applied.
To bring this vision to life, I proposed and implemented a modular, magazine-inspired design system that delivered both visual impact and operational flexibility:
Magazine Spread Story Layout: Designed a modular layout inspired by magazine spreads, incorporating narratives that resonate with users and enhance brand connection.
Consistent and Maintainable Layouts: Developed standardized layout patterns across all brand pages to ensure visual coherence providing a seamless user experience that helps users understand and process information efficiently.
Scalable Modules: Created reusable templates to support quick seasonal updates and new product launches, balancing flexibility with consistency.
Fashion and Trend Alignment: Ensured continuous alignment with the latest fashion trends and seasonal gear through a “timeless magazine look,” keeping the brand fresh and relevant.
Optimized CSS & Codebase: Consolidated stylesheets and streamlined code for faster load times, significantly enhancing page speed and overall user satisfaction.
Streamlined Update Process: Implemented a clean, optimized code structure that facilitates easy content updates across all brands.
