Prior the start of the 2023-2024 Notre Dame women's basketball season, I was challenged to design a look and feel that communicated the team's mission to rise from the ashes of injury and let the nation know the team was ready to win. I was also challenged to incorporate fire and diamond elements into the look while maintaining consistency with Notre Dame athletics' All Fight campaign.
The result was the "Rise Up" graphic theme. It channels the elements of Notre Dame athletics' design toolkit with a flame border and text burns to make the theme unique to women's basketball. The goal was to create a visually complex look while maintaining ease of customization. Accomplishing this required consistent placement of the flame border and background elements while paying special attention to subject color grading and the way the light from the flames interacts with the subjects. The basketball court footer is also present in men's basketball graphics and represents unity between the programs.
The result was the "Rise Up" graphic theme. It channels the elements of Notre Dame athletics' design toolkit with a flame border and text burns to make the theme unique to women's basketball. The goal was to create a visually complex look while maintaining ease of customization. Accomplishing this required consistent placement of the flame border and background elements while paying special attention to subject color grading and the way the light from the flames interacts with the subjects. The basketball court footer is also present in men's basketball graphics and represents unity between the programs.
Prior to the launch of the Rise Up in-game package, the team opened the season in Paris, France against South Carolina. For this game, it was important to meet the moment and create a look that accurately tells the story of the team in Paris, while creating something uniquely All Fight and uniquely women's basketball.
To maintain consistency with the Rise Up look and tell a unique Paris story, I employed an editorial look resembling a fashion/art publication and featuring Paris landmarks like The Louvre. The Rise Up, as well as All Fight, features editorial elements such as burnt paper, matchup label, and a logo sticker, so these elements lended well to the Paris look and feel.
To maintain consistency with the Rise Up look and tell a unique Paris story, I employed an editorial look resembling a fashion/art publication and featuring Paris landmarks like The Louvre. The Rise Up, as well as All Fight, features editorial elements such as burnt paper, matchup label, and a logo sticker, so these elements lended well to the Paris look and feel.
It was important to ensure Rise Up translated into the arena and did not solely exist on social media, so the season ticket holder shirt was designed to invoke the same feeling as the social assets and serve as a rallying cry within the fanbase. Green was chosen to promote the fan culture of wearing green to games.
As the season progressed, it became clear that Hannah Hidalgo emerged as a candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year, and regularly won ACC Rookie of the Week. The goal of the Rookie of the Week assets was to utilize consistent Rise Up assets but create photo-forward designs that highlight specific games and moments that contributed to her winning the award.
As the season progressed, it became clear Hannah Hidalgo was a candidate for National Rookie of the Year, Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year, and other prominent awards. In collaboration with Ashton Pollard, Ben Dismuke, and Caroline Sullivan, we created a sub-look for Hannah Hidalgo assets that stand out in the feed and specifically highlight her accomplishments. The look utilizes a white background to differentiate from the blue base of the Rise Up assets, and highlights gold to create a championship feeling around her record-breaking performance.
In collaboration with Ashton Pollard, we created Hannah's Hoops as part of her awards campaign. My role involved designing a campaign logo and earring packaging in the style of a premium jewelry brand, which were distributed to draw attention to her signature hoop earrings and off-court personality. The design was featured on ESPN, ACC Network, and prominent social media channels such as ESPNW.
At the end of the season, Hannah Hidalgo won ACC Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-ACC. Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld were named second team All-ACC.
To highlight Hidalgo's accomplishments, I created a motion graphic using her unique look. I employed motion using the Rise Up toolkit to highlight Citron and Westbeld's accomplishments.
To highlight Hidalgo's accomplishments, I created a motion graphic using her unique look. I employed motion using the Rise Up toolkit to highlight Citron and Westbeld's accomplishments.
For the postseason, we expanded the look to incorporate a reflective diamond-inspired look utilizing reflection and gold light flares. The look is intended to tell the story that diamonds are created under the weight and pressure of fire and extreme heat, signifying a natural next step from the fire elements to diamond. This story especially paid off when the team won the 2024 ACC Tournament Championship.
Special thanks to:
Emma Schneider, Creative Director, Notre Dame Athletics
Ashton Pollard, Associate Athletics Communications Director, Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Caroline Sullivan, Associate Director of Student Athlete Advancement & Branding, Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Ben Dismuke, Producer - Creative Production, Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Emma Schneider, Creative Director, Notre Dame Athletics
Ashton Pollard, Associate Athletics Communications Director, Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Caroline Sullivan, Associate Director of Student Athlete Advancement & Branding, Notre Dame Women's Basketball
Ben Dismuke, Producer - Creative Production, Notre Dame Women's Basketball
