Investigating

So it is week 8 and I still have a long way to go. I feel good about the interviews last week and the information gained from them. I mentioned last week my interview opened my mind to some more defined ideas and directions for refining my thesis statement. It have made me what to investigate deeper topics within sports design – case studies I am a little worried about pulling together all my resources and interview information. I have pulled pieces and notes from all over the place. I really need to sit down and organize my findings thus far. I know what I want to say and the topic I want to address – I just need to figure out the best way to format it. 

Connecting with Creatives

Busy week in the office, but I was able to connect with one of the designers on my list. I am interviewing Justin LaRosa – I wrote about him in last week’s post. We both went to NC State for undergrad – our studios were next to each other. During our initial conversation he told me about a few sites to check out of other designers specializing in athletic-based design:
Doubleday and Cartwright
Mickey Duzyj
I Love Dust

We are trying to schedule a time to go over interview questions now. I think he will really help me make connections between how the past and nostalgia influence design today in in the future. I still plan to interview the other designers on my list as resources. I have scheduled another one next week with Will Dannelly who is in the Marketing department at NASCAR. He also works AP to cover sporting events in Charlotte so he has a good grasp on sports culture and its appeal. Most of them are the creative directors and designers for professional and college sports programs. Despite their common area they each seem to bring a unique aspect and style to the design. Most have done some type of project that uses historical and vintage images I am doing write ups on 5 of them but below is my initial list. Some of them I have been able to connect with in the past on Behance and Twitter. They offered great feedback when I first began trying athletic based design. Just speaking with Justin and the other designers has really been an inspiring experience. Looking at their work is one thing, but have the chance to hear them talk about how their brought the idea together was great. Their insight and advice is something I definitely plan to use beyond the thesis research.

Justin LaRosa – http://cargocollective.com/justinlarosa
Matt Stevens – http://hellomattstevens.com/
Will L. Wyss https://www.behance.net/willwyss
Matt Lange – https://www.behance.net/langecreative
Raul Ferran  – https://www.behance.net/343Creative
Benjamin Mayberry – https://www.behance.net/bema10
Chris Modarelli – https://www.behance.net/ChrisModarelli
Buddy Overstreet – https://www.behance.net/buddyoverstreet
Tony Tucker – https://twitter.com/Tony2Designer
Kristopher Bazen – http://krisbazen.com
Josh Whiteside – https://www.behance.net/jdubbstudio
Aaron Dewey –  http://adeweydesign.com/about-2/
Will Dannelly

Source Hunt

As a mentioned last week I am stuck when it comes to finding sources. I know what I want and the terms to using to find them. Since I have been snowed in the past few days I have not been able to go back to the library. My first trip turned up a few books on sports marketing which I hope will give better insight to the audience but I am having trouble finding scholarly articles that support my thesis that nostalgia can be used to inspire design in the future of sports design. This idea of looking to the past reminds me of a Ghanaian proverb: “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten”. I may have use what I considered unconventional sources and ideas to help fuel my search. I feel the past has so much to teach and is not moving design backward. I also recognize the desire for designers to introduce the next big idea.  

I am planning to present several case studies to support the idea that nostalgia in a successful tool in design and marketing as well as address cases where nostalgia has been misused, contributing to the negative stigma it holds amongst some designers. I have been collecting points and ideas and working to use them to rework my concept map from part 1 of the research project. Hopefully as I rework it more will come to me to guide my search for sources.

Getting to the source

So…after working on the mind map and annotated bibliography I found I have a lot more to consider. My biggest struggle right now is finding reliable, up-to-date sources. My thesis topic focuses on how the past and nostalgia can be used to influence the future of sports design. I came to the realization that I will need to reach out to those in the sports design and creative fields to get a better look into this aspect of design and where it is going. I started making a list of designers and agencies that specialize in this area that I could reach out to for direction and information. Earlier this week I received my copy of NC State College of Design magazine. The theme for this quarter is “innovation”. As I skimmed through the pages I came across an article about an alum named Justin Larosa who is currently working at Nike designing uniforms. He discussed his process when designing the uniforms for the annual Army vs. Navy game. Larosa used the Army’s WWII victory at the Battle of the Bulge as inspiration for the graphics in the uniform.

Army’s striking black and gold uniforms pay tribute to a year when the Black Knights were unstoppable on all fields of battle: 1944, the year the Army troops won a key strategic victory in WWII’s Battle of the Bulge. The football team at home was on its way to a perfect season and the first of three consecutive national championships. In tribute to Army’s historic victory on the battlefield, a historical re-interpreted West Point battle atlas map of the region where the offensive took place can be seen throughout multiple elements of the uniform, from the jersey to base layer to gloves, all the way down to the inside the cleats.

Up until now, I had only thought about sports based references of nostalgia and the past design styles but Larosa’s work pushed me to consider how  past historical events can serves as inspiration. It could be a visual reference like the maps in the uniforms as well as a reminder of a great achievement and example of endurance – two important aspects of athletic performance. He said Nike strives to be authentic when designing uniforms and that school or team’s history serves as one of the best sources for inspiration.  One of the things I found inspiring in his story was the reaction from the WWII veterans at the game who saw the uniforms and what it meant to them.  I start to think about how the events in recent history will shape and influence future design. We live in a time where things become old so fast and not just technology. Our memories and experiences as well. It seems they are shape more by phases in our lives instead of by time itself.