Being tied deeply to the cycling scene affords us the chance to do some pretty cool things. Take for example, our recent work on behalf of Jerry Chabot, longtime cyclist and Vermont-based engineer. After building Jerry’s website and designing his logo, he called us up with some work to promote that business. It was a promotion we could get fired up about. Jerry put some resources into supporting internationally successful US cyclocross racer Jonathan Page, who was without a domestic sponsor for the national championships. We designed a custom kit for Jonathan that highlighted Jerry’s support. What happened next made Jerry, Jonathan and us very happy. Jonathan won the national title. Read more at cyclingnews.com and check out the design in action.

Grenier des Alpes collaborated with SGD to foster a brand identity that reflected the valley’s outdoor culture and the historic hotel’s place within that culture. Designing a sense of place into an identity and web presence meant paying attention to the little details of GDA and La Grave. Using the iconic dormers of village buildings, SGD crafted an identity that bore the open-air freedom and mountain imagery that’s inescapable in La Grave. The identity blended modern presentation with a simple type to highlight GDA’s updated feel and valuable history.

Like the identity, the website had to feel like the Grenier Des Alpes. Online, carefully selected photography displays panoramic views, the elegant architecture of the hotel and signature events from throughout four La Grave seasons.

The effect is a compelling rendering of the valley as seen from a potential guest of GDA. Other details of the site include resources for would-be travelers, a 360-degree street-side view accompanying an online booking page for streamlined customer interaction and bi-lingual pages.

With a new digital home and reflective visual branding, Grenier des Alps has already captured the eye of travelers searching for beautiful lodging, which is good because there is no better place to relax after a day riding, skiing, hiking, parasailing, shopping or merely looking up in awe at the valley.

SGD returns to visit La Grave in August this year. Photos and sore legs to follow.

We kicked off this work with the digital home of Ted King, one of pro cycling’s most recognizable figures and a particularly fun collaborator due to his inclination towards a clean aesthetic. Ted has written online and in print media as the “King of Style,” opining on the do’s and don’ts of sartorial cycling, so we knew the bar for his personal site would be set very high. Today, iamtedking.com is Ted’s online journal, easily updated from his mobile devices while he travels through Europe. The layout, look and feel of iamtedking.com reflect Ted’s personality, his current team, his way of thinking and his stylish presentation. iamtedking.com builds structural unity to the way Ted connects with his fans. The site feels like Ted.

Likewise, our work with the strongest women’s cycling team in the world had to reflect their own unique team culture. Velocio Sports was formed in large part from the women’s program at High Road Sports. When High Road closed its doors, many of the women there wanted to remain together and continue to build upon the success and momentum they’d build over the previous years. Today, Velocio Sports is the holding company for the Specialized-lululemon cycling team. Thirteen women from around the globe comprise this highly elite program and their website acts as a showcase, journal and reference for all their racing, team news and business. Velociosports.com covers their race reports, corporate partnerships, social media and real-world ambassadorship. The site was built to tightly integrate with the team’s brand and highlight the many aspects of the program with intuitive navigation and clear search engine optimization so that the first-time visitor and the repeat viewer would easily find the latest updates on team Specialized-lululemon.

Out of the work with Velocio Sports came SGD’s collaboration with Clara Hughes. Clara is a six-time Olympic medalist in cycling and speed skating; she’s the only athlete in history to win multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Games. Clara came to us looking for a new, fresh website design to replace the on-line journal she’d been writing since 2006. The goal was to develop a site that showcased her athletic abilities and her philanthropy, but also gave her a place to post regular journal and news entries from her travels around the globe.

With each of these athletes deep into the 2012 cycling season, it’s empowering to watch their web sites unfold and evolve with the narrative of their respective seasons. Each site acts as a vehicle through which individual personalities come forward.

We’ve worked with Capo again on this one with the goal of raising the bar on comfort, fit, and fabrics. We can definitely say this is the best kit we’ve produced to date.

Please take a look at the attached PDF and email Brad if you’re interested in ordering. The final order will go in on 4/20.

SGD 10th Cycling Order (PDF)