Converse has partnered with Journeys for decades and together they have sold millions of Chucks. When Journeys executive, Jim Estepa announced his retirement, Converse tapped us to design something special for a retirement present. The gift needed to reflect his interests in travel, youth culture, Nascar, music and wine. This retirement trunk was created from scratch - hand crafted, laser etched, with all sorts of one of a kind items. Good work Jim. Here is to 32 years of hard work. Good luck on your next journey!

We have been doing a lot of digital design fulfillment for Converse North America. The trick is to understand the Converse design directives inside and out, then execute in every format you can imagine, all the while maintaining a consistent look and feel. Tall, super tall, wide, super wide, square, and everything in between. Sounds easy, but it can be tricky. We sweat the details and get it right because connecting with the consumer on the web is more important than ever. 

We have been doing a lot of retail design for Converse North America. Window graphics, footwear wall graphics, freestanding displays, retail take overs, large accounts, small accounts, pop ups, custom builds and art direction of in-store video content - a little bit of everything really. 

Converse and Tyler The Creator teamed up to create a limited edition line of One Star footwear. We got tapped to help develop a press release event space to celebrate Converse history and the collaboration with Tyler The Creator. Held in Converse' NYC Headquarters, the event was a sequential series of rooms and hallways that offered an immersive experience into the Converse brand and the TTC collaboration. We developed the space planning, display design, and graphic files for this event space. 

A few years ago, Nike released a redesigned version of their iconic Air Trainer One. We worked on the retail graphic communication design for this special release. We advanced a concept celebrating the heritage of the original AT-1's design development by showing original sketches and communication in a 'design archive' portfolio. All of the portfolios were hand rendered, curated and assembled to simulate the random collection of doodles, sketches and random thoughts that designers collect on the periphery of every design project. All in all, 30 original and unique portfolios were created and displayed at all Niketowns across the US. 

We got lucky on this project. Earlier in the product development cycle of the Vapor One Football, we got to design the Vapor logo system that is shown here on this product and others. Then, months later, we got called in to realize that communication on the packaging at retail.

Super Bowl XLVIII was the first game in a LONG TIME to be played in the potentially cold, open air stadium like MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. As the game is in February, it was predicted that it could be a frigid occasion. Based on this, we were asked to create a limited edition glove package to celebrate the frozen match up. We wanted the package to look as if the gloves were captured in a frozen block of ice. We used direct printing on clear acrylic for the frosty, translucent effect. For glove packaging, this is as cool as they come. 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where we did a lot of branded environments. Florida Football was one of the first and it created quite a splash in the ongoing arms race in collegiate sports to have the best facilities to attract the best student athletes. We worked closely with the athletic department to develop a visitor experience that would leave a lasting impression. We did the 3D & 2D display design as well as the development of the video and interactive content. 

Converse and Looney Tunes have partnered on product for a long time. We recently got tapped to create a seeding kit for their latest collab. This kit plays off the Looney Tunes Coyote and Road Runner rivalries that always involved a clever ACME device to move the story along. In our minds, the ubiquitous ACME crate was perfect delivery device for a pair of LT Chucks, a Looney Tunes DVD sampler and a Michigan J. Frog vinyl figure. 

Rocket Powered Sneakers...what could go wrong? 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where we did a lot of branded environments. Florida Football one of the first in our portfolio and was followed up soon after by Florida Basketball. This project also created quite a splash in the ongoing arms race in collegiate sports to have the best facilities to attract the best student athletes. We worked closely with the athletic department to develop a visitor experience that would leave a lasting impression. We did the 3D & 2D display design as well as the development of the video and interactive content. 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where we did a lot of branded environments. Michael Waltrip Racing wanted to integrate a fan experience into their massive race shop. We scripted an immersive visitor experience to showcase each team driver followed by a complete breakdown of race car design and assembly. From start to finish, we provided 2D and 3D design along with video content, motion graphics and interactive content for this immersive fan experience.

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where we did a lot of branded environments. We worked closely with the athletic department to develop a visitor experience that would leave a lasting impression and celebrated the highlights of Vanderbilt Baseball. We did the 3D & 2D display design and worked closely with the fabrication team to be ensure a tidy installation. 

Converse was a bit late to the internet game in Canada launching Converse.ca in 2017. Instead of hanging their head, they took a more self-effacing approach and asked us to come up with a tongue and cheek promotion for their new web presence. We took the concept and ran with it, celebrating all things retro-digital with this seeding kit that was sent to key influencers in the Canadian market. This kit featured "floppy disk" cards that offered introductions to each major product offering. Four redeemable cards were also included for influencers to select just the right product for further "research". Welcome to internetting Canada!

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where we did a lot of branded environments. We worked closely with the athletic department to develop a Hall of Fame visitor experience that would leave a lasting impression and celebrated the highlights of Vanderbilt Athletics. We did the 3D & 2D concept design as well as consulted on the visitor path. 

We designed a series of large wall graphics for Nike's Innovation group. These graphics helped to bring energy and life to some really dark, dimly lit basement working spaces with little natural light. Using key sport moments for these Nike spaces was a natural fit, but we were sensitive to the fact that a 15 foot tall athlete may be a bit distracting if you have to sit next to it. So, we designed a process to 'pixelate' the images into circles, squares, hexagons or triangles so that the image would read from a distance, but close up, the visual would transform into abstract pattern that was easy to be close to. Overall, it was a very effective way to bring some much needed life to these spaces. 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where we did a lot of branded environments. We worked closely with the Eaton Electrical to develop a visitor experience that would leave a lasting impression for visitors.  We did the 3D & 2D display design and interactive content. We also worked closely with the fabrication team to be ensure a tidy installation. 

This was a collaborative project with Nemo design that supplied Microsoft with a fresh take on a retail experience for young cel phone consumers. Inspired by the classic Eames House of Cards, we designed a series of interlocking panels that would serve as the retail presentation structure. The concept was carried into material selection with a mix of plywood and corrugated cardboard layers. 

This project was developed in collaboration with Etzel Agency to create an immersive visitor experience of Safeway's brand while at the US Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Large, human powered tread wheels generated electricity to raise awareness of sustainability issues, while healthy snacks and drinks in the Safeway lounge helped people relax after running the wheels. 

We partnered with the Brian Grant Foundation to create the brand identity and communication for an annual Parkinsons fundraiser. We crafted the title, written communications, invitations, press releases, event graphics, posters, and a website for the event which featured Brian Grant, Pat Riley, Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali and Raphael Saadiq. It turned out to be a big deal for little ole Portland Oregon and brought in all kinds of celebrities for the event and raised a big chunk of money to advance Parkinsons research. 

Nike Equipment tapped us to create a premium package for their innovative V360 Baseball Glove. The glove was designed to disrupt the game and the packaging could not fall short. We thought a lot about how the product would be revealed when opened and we went the distance to create a special consumer experience. Matte varnish, gloss varnish, special coatings - we threw multiple printing techniques at this project to maximize the premium perception of the product. In the end, we think it worked like a champ. 

Working within Nike's standard receiver glove packaging form, we used design cues from the NFL's Salute to Soldiers special make up glove to create the unique graphics for this package. 

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We were asked to create a simple communication piece touting the benefits of the CT70. In a crowded and noisy retail environment, sometimes you have to go the other direction and speak softly and get out of the way of an iconic product. We used simple forms, layout, typography and presentation combined with beautiful paper selection and shifts in finish to deliver a premium collateral piece and a premium product impression. 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream.

Nike Equipment called us asking for some design direction on this collection of 4 of their iconic, best selling basketball socks. We treated the socks as special volumes of a larger library - like those leather bound reference books you might find in a wood paneled library, except there was nothing dusty and stoic about these products or their presentation. We used silver foils and matte and gloss varnish along with premium papers that would stand proud on any ballers shelf. 

Working within Nike's standard receiver glove packaging form, we used design cues from the NFL's Seattle Seahawk receiver glove to create the graphics for this package. Gloss and matte varnish were used to create some distinctive finishing details and bring a premium perception to this product. 

We got lucky on this project. Earlier in the product development cycle of the Vapor One Football, we got to design the Vapor logo system that is shown here on this product and others. Then, months later, we got called in to realize that communication on the packaging at retail. We created custom patterns that were expressed in gloss varnish against a matte aqueous coating. Then, we popped the primary branding with a brilliant gold foil. 

We were brought in to design unique graphics for these NCAA Football gloves. Working with an established packaging form, we dove into the product designs and the school branding for graphic inspiration to set these products apart from one another and yet stand above all the competitor products. 

Nike wanted to change the game at the retail shelf and spent a great deal of effort developing this unusual form factor. We were brought in to develop a graphic system that could communicate individual product benefits as well as differentiate tiered products. We used color and designated print techniques to reinforce a good, better, best product offering. 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream where they developed a separate business unit to design and build sports environments. 

Working within Nike's standard receiver glove packaging form, we used design cues from the Oregon's massive tool kit of uniform design to to create the graphics for this special event receiver glove package. Gloss and matte varnish were used to create some distinctive finishing details. 

Nike Innovation pulled us in to work on exploring the boundaries of product graphics and heat welded patterns that would connect with consumers and also affect the flight patterns of the ball. We generated hundreds of graphic studies and collaborated with Nike engineers as they created samples which were tested extensively in the field. 

This project was done while working as a Design Director at Downstream. The Pluto identity was loads of fun to develop. We crafted an extensive backstory that told the story of Pluto, the mischievous Roman god of the underworld.  That irreverent spirit permeated every piece of communication and branding - from the PeeChee inspired folio, to the devil horns on the logo mark, to the Riviera Turquoise Metallic '63 Lincoln Continental that delivered a little presidential style to the whole equation.

Nike wanted to raise the bar for their Timing retail presentation. We created a kit of parts that was modular and premium to raise their timing game at retail.