NIKE Commission #2 // Design brief and final artwork

*** Please note - I don't want this to drag so you'll need to pause the slides if you want to read the full brief at the beginning. Sorry that there aren't many process shots - I was working to a super tight deadline and didn't have time to make a record of all the layers and steps I went through!***
I was commissioned by Nike to produce two mono T-Shirt designs for Summer ‘18. This is the first of two designs.
Here's the brief I was given and my approach to it, in basic stages.
Concept 2 was Nike’s iconic 'swoosh' composed of buildings within a city - the city representing a huge obstacle/training course.
For the summer season Nike wanted to communicate the idea that athletes don’t necessarily need to work out at the gym....they could also do it outdoors. The cityscape could be inspired by NYC but needed to be universal enough to sell in NYC, LA, Brazil or London. It should feature no major landmarks.
I first worked on some footprint designs for the swoosh, which broke the form up into blocks and shapes that could work well for buildings and other built structures in the piece. Next I created the 3D landscape by extending each footprint, varying heights to give a cityscape feel.
This piece placed some considerable constraints on my normal working style. Usually I like to really push perspective to give an impactful scene - making buildings very tall and setting a viewing angle that gives punchy geometry and strong angular shadows. However, because i needed to retain the integrity of the 'swoosh' device, I needed to reign in the heights of the buildings and set an angle that was more overhead than offset.
Once I had a footprint I liked, I gradually incorporated training elements into the scape - basketball courts, football pitches, obstacles, battle ropes, pull-up bars, parkour platforms, barbells, skate ramps, weight-plates, kettlebells etc. I used a rope motif in place of a river that threads through the cityscape.

[@Sofiane_Asir]

Very nice 😍

[@LexWilson]

Thanks 🙏 ☺️

[@lianablacknanos]

Amazing work! I would like to ask you after I have done some research if Nike accepts at all artwork ideas from artists. I made a project that I am planning to propose in some brands including Nike but there is no email just phone numbers for headquarters and job opportunities

[@LexWilson]

Thanks Liana! Sorry to take so long to reply. Nike approached me for this project so I’m not sure if there’s a way to show them your work. For me it was a case of getting my work in lots of places online - they found me through my Behance profile where I’d been featured there. Good luck! ☺️

[@squashvector]

Cool

[@LexWilson]

Cheers Ethan!

[@patriciaheke2589]

Pipeline x zserzzsss