Sustainability x Design: Why Specialize in Action Sports?
In short
ANCORD specializes in sustainable product design for action sports — an industry where performance hardware, environmental impact, and outdoor culture converge. Here's why that focus matters.
Every business needs a focus
At ANCORD, our focus is the sweet spot where sustainability and action sports meet. On the surface, the choice is obvious: action sports are fun, exciting, and dripping with character. Truth is, though, there's so much more to our niche than that.
Action sports and the great outdoors go hand in hand
With sustainability at the forefront of everything we do, we obviously love nature. This planet is absolutely magnificent and Mother Nature deserves all the love and care that our own mothers do (thanks, Mom!). Of course, then, we love spending our time enjoying all nature has to offer. We believe that those who play in nature will have a natural desire to protect their playground. Action sports can't exist without nature; the environment is an integral part. Narrowing our focus to these activities is our way of encouraging everyone to get out and play.
By the same token, the action sports industry is disproportionately affected by the ongoing climate issues we're facing. Ski seasons becoming shorter, wildfires running through mountain bike trails, algae blooms poisoning waterways, unprecedented droughts, and extreme weather events of all kinds have a direct, immediate impact on the planet and the industry. A University of British Columbia study of 154 ski resorts from Canada to California found that if emissions stay high, just 9% would still have seasons longer than 120 days by 2085. And warmer, drier conditions linked to climate change have already increased the area burned by wildfires in western North America by 16–62%. Our role as designers is to improve the lives of all those who interact with our products — that means we have a responsibility to reduce the harm done to the environment to ensure the industry still has a place in the future.
Physical product design for physical sports: digital has its limits
As industrial designers, we work on designing real, physical goods. Many industries are seeing a large shift towards digitization as physical goods are relegated to the sidelines in favour of apps and other tech. While all industries can see the benefits of digital solutions, action sports are still inherently physical activities, with physical goods that do physical things. It doesn't matter how advanced your shiny new app is, it'll never protect your noggin if you bail.
Boundaries are made for pushin'
Design is all about developing something; we work in the unknown. There are no straightforward answers, everything requires exploration and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Kind of like action sports themselves.
Whether careening head-first down a massive snowy mountain or nailing that extra degree of rotation in a flip or spin — action sports like snowboarding, freestyle skiing, and mountain biking all have one thing in common: athletes continuously look at the limits of what's been done before and bust right through 'em.
Innovating and testing the limits aren't marketing gimmicks in this industry — they're kind of the point of it. It's endlessly fun to work on projects where you have to push the envelope and where performance matters.
Our Burton / Anon work is one example: photorealistic renders of Anon's snow helmet and goggle lineup, rebuilt from production CAD.
See how this philosophy shows up in our project work, or read about our three guiding principles and the Nada toothbrush case study.
Have an action sports idea brewing? We'd love to connect and discuss how we could work together.
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Have a product in mind? We'd like to hear about it. A short note is plenty, and we'll suggest a time to talk.