"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition."
Freeman Thomas
ASTRA
lOS ANGELES WOMXN'S PRO ULTIMATE
In 2019 Astra formed the first professional womxn's ultimate frisbee team in Los Angeles. They are part of the growing community that is invested in taking this sport to the next level and opening up opportunities for talented players to play on an elevated stage. My role was to develop the brand story of Astra; designing their logo, social media artwork, merchandise and uniforms!
Simplified rocket represents the
Los Angeles aerospace industry.
The circular shape doubles as a reference to the frisbee disc and a figurative atmosphere, being disrupted by the Astra rocket.
Negative space forms 'A' from logo font and represents the rocket's blast.
The font stands tall, sharp & minimal. The aggressive stance is appropriate for a sports team. The simplified 'A' gives it a strong signature and association with aerospace brands like NASA & SpaceX.
The rocket blast also serves as a Hollywood stage spotlight, shining a yellow halo down on the team name below.
5-pointed stars are a reference to Hollywood and iconic star walk.
LOGO AND BRANDING
The first step to developing the Astra brand was to design a logo.
The name Astra was a blend of all things L.A. ; a playful reference to the Hollywood starlets that Los Angeles is famous for, and a clever call back to the aerospace industry that dominates the region. These references felt like an appropriate way to represent the people of Los Angeles and offer a beautiful and inspiring subject matter to build the brand aesthetic.
The Astra brand is meant to celebrate the players as the stars they are and inspire our community to reach for new heights on a professional and personal level.
Creating graphics to support Astra's social media presence was important to the development of brand recognition. On these platforms with powerful and engaging visuals I introduce the team to our audience.
Designing uniforms is a big process. There's a lot of requirements by the league and sponsors that have to be navigated, as well as considerations for form and function. Since this is a new professional team the most important thing is brand readability.
UNIFORMS
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The team name and city is the focal point, clean and legible on the center of the chest.
To accentuate the athletic forms of the players and incorporate a fun detail there are spangled stripes along the sides of the body.
On the back, a solo star underscores the player's number. This signifies their place on the team and as a part of a larger entity.
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The player numbers are required to be large on both the front and back, taking up a lot of design real estate.
So to add some depth I decided to incorporate the starry sky print into the numbers, adding some visual interest without compromising legibility.
The shorts were an opportunity to add some more fun branding and character to the uniform.
WARM-UPS
In addition to the jerseys and shorts, I designed a long-sleeve shirt for warming up. These were meant to be bold pieces for players to enjoy and promote the team.
Hidden in the starry pattern are constellations of ultimate frisbee players made of 5-pointed stars. Each one is performing a classic feat typical of ultimate; laying out, breaking the mark, skying an opponent. This fun detail adds an element of discovery to the brand experience.
MERCHANDISE
I designed a range of merch to help promote the team and raise money through fan memberships; woven patches, enamel pins stickers and commemorative posters.
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This poster was designed as an abstraction of the logo, as a work of art to celebrate the season. The rocket shoots into the atmosphere, breaking barriers and reaching new heights against a starry background. A subtle silhouette of a player laying out for a catch dons the night sky.
This enamel pin is a simple badge to honor the team. Team supporters can show their pride in a trendy, fashionable way!
Psst..! Rollover ^
These iron-on patches are another way to rep the team! And they have a fun little secret, check out the image at left.
Finally, these lovely stickers are a sweet and economical way to support Los Angeles Astra.
Designing for this team has been a delight! I love being a part of Astra and the Southern California ultimate frisbee community. Niche markets like this offer unique design opportunities that I truly enjoy.