NIKE BASKETBALL
There was a tight color palette and all the all-star athlete footwear followed that color direction, we were able to design a sock that matched all of the athlete footwear while going much deeper into the bigger brand level NBA All-Star weekend 5-borough narrative. This is a great example of being able to use adjacent products to tell a larger story together than you could alone. Sure, it is harder to execute, but if your teams are communicating well and passionate about storytelling it is EASY.
NIKE BASKETBALL
We also designed the bag line for NBA All-Star weekend. Bags are a different beast, they are worn over the top of your clothes, where as the socks are often hidden and only peek out on occasion. The choices you make on a bag need to strategically blend in or stand out. On our NBA All-Star weekend bags we grounded them in black because black bags outsell every other bag color by a huge margin. To get after a city vibe we used an NYC street map emboss pattern on the bag, high sheen black touch points and used reflective trims to create visual interest and energy. We used the rainbow gradient on the webbing where it was obscured by the body and when it did show was a quick flash of color. Working on multiple product types on the same brief can create vastly different results if you’re focused on doing what is right for the product.
NIKE SOCKS
The options are endless with socks. You can go loud and bold, you make it subtle, you can hide your graphics to make them visible for just the wearer as an affirmation. You can tell a story with knit in graphics, mesh, cushion, print, texture and yarn choice. Socks are a super rich narrative medium. This is a small sampling of the socks I worked on with Nike socks. I was lucky enough to have an amazing team of designers and developers, we worked with amazing factories that made sure the product was perfect.
NIKE BAGS
Hey, the options are also endless with bags, but the thought process is different. Bags are extra dimensional. There is whole exterior form and then there is the entire interior of the bag to consider. Material, color, pattern, Labels, trims, webbing, zippers and buckles can all be used tell and reinforce a story or enhance the function of a product. Keeping things in check and not just adding for the sake of adding is the secret to a great bag.
Dorenbecher freestyle NIKE BAGS
I was beyond fortunate to be involved in 3 editions of the Dorenbecher Freestyle event. Designers partnered with kids at the Dorenbecher Childrens Hospital to create bespoke product that told their story. The product was then raffled off at and all proceeds benefitted Dorenbecher. This was a time when all the designers would pull all the favors we could from factories and vendors to make sure we had the best product imaginable. To see the pure excitement and joy on all the kids faces as they stood told their product story to media and guests in the room brought me to tears each year.
NIKE BAGS - Kevin Durant
When KD was first drafted I noticed he kept showing up to press with a backpack on. It kept happening. We put together a hurry up offense and quickly made KD some bags - he was stoked. We then kept building on that line, creating bags that told his story and showed his style. Some of KD’s patterns and stories were crazy, some were simple we always pulled together a line that was grounded in commercial colors but would always have something wild as well. It was a fun project to kick off, inspiration comes from everywhere and you always have to have your eyes open to opportunity.