Olo Alaia is a local surf & lifestyle shop based in Nosara, Costa Rica. It focuses on giving locals and tourists a complete surf & brew experience, they sell boards, beers, t-shirts, and more. They also organize amazing retreats and events.
The brand look and feel is an intersection between minimalism and classic oldschool. We drew from references such as Deus Ex Machina and Aviator Nation. Olo Alaia has become an icon in the classy surf world. Tees and hats with our graphics have been spotted far and wide, both in Costa Rica and throughout the US (and the world, I’m sure!).
Olo and Alaia are two traditional Hawaiian surfboards, and the first two surfboards ever built. ‘Olo’ surfboards were reserved for Hawaiian chiefs, and ‘alaia’ boards were for the commoners. Olo boards are long and narrow, and used to surf gently sloping waves (think Waikiki Beach). Alaia boards are short and thin, used to surf faster-breaking waves. The boards were typically made out of Koa, ulu and wili-wili (Hawaiian balsa) wood, and were prized possessions way back when.
— Robert Vickers, oloalaia.com
The concept
Olo boards are very long and slender, Alaia boards on the other hand are shorter, wider and have a pequliar shape. To reflect this in our designs, the L in Olo is taller than the L in Alaia.
The A in Alaia has one leg extended farther below the baseline, just like the fins on a board live below the surface of the water, this also visually balances out the extra height of the L in Olo.
Using this formula, we’ve been able to bring the same concept to a variety of brandmarks, all while keeping the signature Olo Alaia feel.
— Anatomy of the Olo Alaia brandmark.
I've worked with Robert Vickers, the owner of the store, on all the branding, graphic, and editorial design for Olo Alaia since the very beginning. Their motto is Spreading the stoke & keeping it alive and they are doing exactly that!
Olo Alaia was my first professional branding project and I feel so honored to have had the opportunity to bring this brand to life.
