How do you revitalize an sacred national pastime for a new generation?

NFL

Brand Strategy

Branding

How do you revitalize an sacred national pastime for a new generation?

NFL

Brand Strategy

Branding

How do you revitalize an sacred national pastime for a new generation?

NFL

Brand Strategy

Branding

How do you revitalize an sacred national pastime for a new generation?

NFL

Brand Strategy

Branding

Overview

The National Football League (NFL) and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) partnered to challenge students to reimagine all of the NFL team identities, including artwork and graphics inspired by the teams’ logos and fan cultures. The new graphic elements and branding treatments were used on NFL merchandise.

Role

I was a team leader in charge of putting my team together from a roaster of selected students to participate. From there I acted as a creative lead for the team managing communications with FIT, NFL and my own team. While my team was always encouraged to work as a horizontal and equal group, I was looked at to make final decisions.

Research

Desktop | Interviews | Insights

Research

Desktop | Interviews | Insights

Research

Desktop | Interviews | Insights

Research

Desktop | Interviews | Insights

The NFL isn't as relevant with younger people as it once was. At the time the average viewer was 33 years old while for soccer and basketball it was 23. They came to us asking for help finding ways to make their team's branding appeal more to a younger generation.

The NFL isn't as relevant with younger people as it once was. At the time the average viewer was 33 years old while for soccer and basketball it was 23. They came to us asking for help finding ways to make their team's branding appeal more to a younger generation.

The NFL isn't as relevant with younger people as it once was. At the time the average viewer was 33 years old while for soccer and basketball it was 23. They came to us asking for help finding ways to make their team's branding appeal more to a younger generation.

The NFL isn't as relevant with younger people as it once was. At the time the average viewer was 33 years old while for soccer and basketball it was 23. They came to us asking for help finding ways to make their team's branding appeal more to a younger generation.

Funny enough, none of the people in the group knew anything about American football (Most of us were international. We only knew about real football.) We needed to get smart quickly so we talked to people at bars during game days, ran focus groups with fans or athletes and did our own desktop research to find out all we could.

Funny enough, none of the people in the group knew anything about American football (Most of us were international. We only knew about real football.) We needed to get smart quickly so we talked to people at bars during game days, ran focus groups with fans or athletes and did our own desktop research to find out all we could.

Funny enough, none of the people in the group knew anything about American football (Most of us were international. We only knew about real football.) We needed to get smart quickly so we talked to people at bars during game days, ran focus groups with fans or athletes and did our own desktop research to find out all we could.

Funny enough, none of the people in the group knew anything about American football (Most of us were international. We only knew about real football.) We needed to get smart quickly so we talked to people at bars during game days, ran focus groups with fans or athletes and did our own desktop research to find out all we could.

Concepting

Brainstorms | Explorations | North Star

Concepting

Brainstorms | Explorations | North Star

Concepting

Brainstorms | Explorations | North Star

Concepting

Brainstorms | Explorations | North Star

From here we took what we learned and explored directions. This led to our first check-in with the NFL team where we presented 3 directions for them to select one to push on.

From here we took what we learned and explored directions. This led to our first check-in with the NFL team where we presented 3 directions for them to select one to push on.

From here we took what we learned and explored directions. This led to our first check-in with the NFL team where we presented 3 directions for them to select one to push on.

From here we took what we learned and explored directions. This led to our first check-in with the NFL team where we presented 3 directions for them to select one to push on.

Concept 1: Coat of Arms

Rooted on home town pride, concept 1 took a historical approach in encapsulating teams through coats of arms filled with local imagery.

Concept 2: Voices

Inspired by the volume of fans at games, Voices aims to capture each individual's energy turning it into a graphic element as a proof of fandom.

Concept 3: Sparks

To many people football is the highlight of their week. Sparks expands on team logos to create patterns with sparks of interest throughout.

Concept 1: Coat of Arms

Rooted on home town pride, concept 1 took a historical approach in encapsulating teams through coats of arms filled with local imagery.

Concept 2: Voices

Inspired by the volume of fans at games, Voices aims to capture each individual's energy turning it into a graphic element as a proof of fandom.

Concept 3: Sparks

To many people football is the highlight of their week. Sparks expands on team logos to create patterns with sparks of interest throughout.

Concept 1: Coat of Arms

Rooted on home town pride, concept 1 took a historical approach in encapsulating teams through coats of arms filled with local imagery.

Concept 2: Voices

Inspired by the volume of fans at games, Voices aims to capture each individual's energy turning it into a graphic element as a proof of fandom.

Concept 3: Sparks

To many people football is the highlight of their week. Sparks expands on team logos to create patterns with sparks of interest throughout.

Concept 1: Coat of Arms

Rooted on home town pride, concept 1 took a historical approach in encapsulating teams through coats of arms filled with local imagery.

Concept 2: Voices

Inspired by the volume of fans at games, Voices aims to capture each individual's energy turning it into a graphic element as a proof of fandom.

Concept 3: Sparks

To many people football is the highlight of their week. Sparks expands on team logos to create patterns with sparks of interest throughout.

Design Exploration

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

Design Exploration

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

Design Exploration

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

Design Exploration

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

The NFL came back and selected Sparks as our direction. They loved the idea of breaking through the monotony of life with their football games. So off we went to make Sparks work for the first 16 teams.

The NFL came back and selected Sparks as our direction. They loved the idea of breaking through the monotony of life with their football games. So off we went to make Sparks work for the first 16 teams.

The NFL came back and selected Sparks as our direction. They loved the idea of breaking through the monotony of life with their football games. So off we went to make Sparks work for the first 16 teams.

The NFL came back and selected Sparks as our direction. They loved the idea of breaking through the monotony of life with their football games. So off we went to make Sparks work for the first 16 teams.

One quick hurdle we faces was that every team's logo was different... More so than we expected. It would be hard to build the missing 29 patterns without first setting some ground rules.

One quick hurdle we faces was that every team's logo was different... More so than we expected. It would be hard to build the missing 29 patterns without first setting some ground rules.

One quick hurdle we faces was that every team's logo was different... More so than we expected. It would be hard to build the missing 29 patterns without first setting some ground rules.

One quick hurdle we faces was that every team's logo was different... More so than we expected. It would be hard to build the missing 29 patterns without first setting some ground rules.

Patterns for the first 16 teams

Patterns for the first 16 teams

Patterns for the first 16 teams

Patterns for the first 16 teams

Design Expansion

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

Design Expansion

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

Design Expansion

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

Design Expansion

Expansion | Challenges | Cohesion

After another round of feedback and refinement all that was left was 16 more teams and to make sure it would all be consistent.

After another round of feedback and refinement all that was left was 16 more teams and to make sure it would all be consistent.

After another round of feedback and refinement all that was left was 16 more teams and to make sure it would all be consistent.

After another round of feedback and refinement all that was left was 16 more teams and to make sure it would all be consistent.

Reception & Life

Finals | Outcome

Reception & Life

Finals | Outcome

Reception & Life

Finals | Outcome

Reception & Life

Finals | Outcome

We managed to make it to the finals but didn't quite take home the win. There was a fantastic exhibition with NFL players and staff who came to close out the project with us.

We managed to make it to the finals but didn't quite take home the win. There was a fantastic exhibition with NFL players and staff who came to close out the project with us.

We managed to make it to the finals but didn't quite take home the win. There was a fantastic exhibition with NFL players and staff who came to close out the project with us.

We managed to make it to the finals but didn't quite take home the win. There was a fantastic exhibition with NFL players and staff who came to close out the project with us.

My reflections on what I learned with this project and areas I feel could be improved:

Learnings

  • This was my first shot at leading a creative team which felt like a huge deal at the start of my career. I learned a lot about having to lead a team, management styles, figuring out conflict between members and even making sure we stuck to timelines. It was a lot, but it worked out.

  • I had previously done presentations to clients as part of my freelance gigs or work presentations, but this was the first time I got to decide how the presentation would work. We had color corrected decks to make sure the art looked amazing, we had printouts with our names and the mockups, and we made sure to write bullet points and practice which really impressed everyone. It impressed other teams so much they copied us after the first presentation!

Areas of Opportunity

  • I wish I had pushed more on the uniqueness of each pattern and the mockups. While we did end up with at least half of them looking amazing, the others felt rushed. It was hard managing time while working, studying and doing this… not just for me but for all my teammates. Looking back, I wish we had set up better time management tools.

  • I really struggled with the competition itself. At first while it felt we were the clear leaders in the competition we had the wind pushing us forward, but once it was down to the last 2 teams, I feel we lost momentum. I would have liked to have found a way to keep us going strong till the end. Some of it may have been due to us having to make so many mockups, which in hindsight we didn’t need. Scope crept up and exhausted us all.

My reflections on what I learned with this project and areas I feel could be improved:

Learnings

  • This was my first shot at leading a creative team which felt like a huge deal at the start of my career. I learned a lot about having to lead a team, management styles, figuring out conflict between members and even making sure we stuck to timelines. It was a lot, but it worked out.

  • I had previously done presentations to clients as part of my freelance gigs or work presentations, but this was the first time I got to decide how the presentation would work. We had color corrected decks to make sure the art looked amazing, we had printouts with our names and the mockups, and we made sure to write bullet points and practice which really impressed everyone. It impressed other teams so much they copied us after the first presentation!

Areas of Opportunity

  • I wish I had pushed more on the uniqueness of each pattern and the mockups. While we did end up with at least half of them looking amazing, the others felt rushed. It was hard managing time while working, studying and doing this… not just for me but for all my teammates. Looking back, I wish we had set up better time management tools.

  • I really struggled with the competition itself. At first while it felt we were the clear leaders in the competition we had the wind pushing us forward, but once it was down to the last 2 teams, I feel we lost momentum. I would have liked to have found a way to keep us going strong till the end. Some of it may have been due to us having to make so many mockups, which in hindsight we didn’t need. Scope crept up and exhausted us all.

My reflections on what I learned with this project and areas I feel could be improved:

Learnings

  • This was my first shot at leading a creative team which felt like a huge deal at the start of my career. I learned a lot about having to lead a team, management styles, figuring out conflict between members and even making sure we stuck to timelines. It was a lot, but it worked out.

  • I had previously done presentations to clients as part of my freelance gigs or work presentations, but this was the first time I got to decide how the presentation would work. We had color corrected decks to make sure the art looked amazing, we had printouts with our names and the mockups, and we made sure to write bullet points and practice which really impressed everyone. It impressed other teams so much they copied us after the first presentation!

Areas of Opportunity

  • I wish I had pushed more on the uniqueness of each pattern and the mockups. While we did end up with at least half of them looking amazing, the others felt rushed. It was hard managing time while working, studying and doing this… not just for me but for all my teammates. Looking back, I wish we had set up better time management tools.

  • I really struggled with the competition itself. At first while it felt we were the clear leaders in the competition we had the wind pushing us forward, but once it was down to the last 2 teams, I feel we lost momentum. I would have liked to have found a way to keep us going strong till the end. Some of it may have been due to us having to make so many mockups, which in hindsight we didn’t need. Scope crept up and exhausted us all.

My reflections on what I learned with this project and areas I feel could be improved:

Learnings

  • This was my first shot at leading a creative team which felt like a huge deal at the start of my career. I learned a lot about having to lead a team, management styles, figuring out conflict between members and even making sure we stuck to timelines. It was a lot, but it worked out.

  • I had previously done presentations to clients as part of my freelance gigs or work presentations, but this was the first time I got to decide how the presentation would work. We had color corrected decks to make sure the art looked amazing, we had printouts with our names and the mockups, and we made sure to write bullet points and practice which really impressed everyone. It impressed other teams so much they copied us after the first presentation!

Areas of Opportunity

  • I wish I had pushed more on the uniqueness of each pattern and the mockups. While we did end up with at least half of them looking amazing, the others felt rushed. It was hard managing time while working, studying and doing this… not just for me but for all my teammates. Looking back, I wish we had set up better time management tools.

  • I really struggled with the competition itself. At first while it felt we were the clear leaders in the competition we had the wind pushing us forward, but once it was down to the last 2 teams, I feel we lost momentum. I would have liked to have found a way to keep us going strong till the end. Some of it may have been due to us having to make so many mockups, which in hindsight we didn’t need. Scope crept up and exhausted us all.

Special Shout-outs:

Designer

Angel Chong

Designer

Doh Lee

Designer

Luca Schmitz

Designer

Justine Giardina

Advisor

C.J. Yeh

Advisor

Christie Shin

There are obviously many more people who helped out. While I may not have the space here, thank you 👏

Special Shout-outs:

Designer

Angel Chong

Designer

Doh Lee

Designer

Luca Schmitz

Designer

Justine Giardina

Advisor

C.J. Yeh

Advisor

Christie Shin

There are obviously many more people who helped out. While I may not have the space here, thank you 👏

Special Shout-outs:

Designer

Angel Chong

Designer

Doh Lee

Designer

Luca Schmitz

Designer

Justine Giardina

Advisor

C.J. Yeh

Advisor

Christie Shin

There are obviously many more people who helped out. While I may not have the space here, thank you 👏

Special Shout-outs:

Designer

Angel Chong

Designer

Doh Lee

Designer

Luca Schmitz

Designer

Justine Giardina

Advisor

C.J. Yeh

Advisor

Christie Shin

There are obviously many more people who helped out. While I may not have the space here, thank you 👏

What interesting problems could we solve together?

Please don’t steal my shit. I’ll only be nice about it once ❤️ © 2013 - 2024

What interesting problems could we solve together?

Please don’t steal my shit. I’ll only be nice about it once ❤️ © 2013 - 2024

What interesting problems could we solve together?

Please don’t steal my shit. I’ll only be nice about it once ❤️ © 2013 - 2024

What interesting problems could we solve together?

Please don’t steal my shit.
I’ll only be nice about it once ❤️
© 2013 - 2024