Creation of the first stand alone Jordan vertical retail door for the brand.  The store, Flight 23 is a reflection of the man and the brand.  

His legacy of unmatched performance with distinctive style has always commanded premium position.  Striking the balance of its rich heritage while communicating the promise of the future with performance, is the basis of the brand foundation and the store concept.

With the challenge of scalability, profitability and repeatability in mind, we've designed everything from the ground up including the iconic sculptural element "chandelier 23" which spells out the number upon entering from the front entry, but becomes an abstract expression of jump man logo in space from different vantage point.  

Concept and creative direction.

Combining the brand position of Jordan "Flight" with the design concept of the shoe itself "stealth", the creative direction of the campaign was created with carbon fiber wings, mysterious and futuristic wings powering the shoes for flight. Bright green light seeping through the dark shroud was also taken from the shoe design itself.

This visual center had very prominently and consistently been displayed throughout the campaign from product imagery, athlete imagery, collateral, PR event, brand experience space all the way to the retail design.

Concept and creative direction.

Taking the thematic cue from the original creative direction, we've taken an empty space and turned it into the brand experience zone, where consumers can experience the brand, the athletes, the products, the history, the customization.  One's journey through the space culminated with the recording studio where the social campaign we launched earlier came to life on more personal level.

Concept and creative direction

Three months prior to the launch of the shoe, Jordan brand held a PR event in New York City. Adhering to the theme of stealth and a sense of reveal, we've turned a large photography studio into the visual and aural spectacle that's all things Air Jordan. Two opposing walls had animation projected while a stage in the middle of the room was concealed with mirrored walls when the media were lead into the space. With a cue, the AJ XX8 animation video was projected everywhere and the stage was revealed when done. Appearing on the stage were Spike Lee and Russell Westbrook to discuss the shoes.

Concept, Creative direction

The 10th signature shoe of Carmelo Anthony by Jordan brand had launched with Jordan's proprietary technology "Flight Plate" which makes the shoe more responsive and helps his game. As the shoe launched in January where the season kicks into a high gear with Playoff in everyone's mind, the expectation of his performance was squarely set on his shoulders after a couple of seasons in New York.  Carmelo had told the brand that he wants the ball when the game was on the line. He wants to stand out and he wants everyone to look at him, hence the iconic chrome heel cup. The tag line was a play on words with the benefit supplied by the technology and the moment in time for the season.

Creative direction

For the campaign of Carmelo Anthony's lifestyle apparel collection, we wanted to capture him in an environment that was more personal to him. His being from Brooklyn and now playing for and leading the New York team provided a perfect opportunity for a bookend concept. We actually went to some of the public courts where he played as a young aspiring boy with the view of Manhattan in the background, the same view but worlds apart. 

Concept and creative direction

As the brand had expanded so rapidly, it became necessary to stop and re-examine its own brand perception and see if the essence of the brand, the look and feel and what it meant to consumers were accurately represented and still relevant. We've visited everything from the very definition of the brand, photographic style, typography, color palette etc.  The manifestation of this work, much simpler, bolder and soulful identity, was prevalent in everything that the brand produced, including a newly designed web site.

Concept and creative direction.

To image the athleticism and elegance of Dwyane Wade's high flying performance, I've asks the photographer Carlos Serrao to capture it in the iconic and theatrical manner.  Against a white background with lights flashing from all angles in varying degree of strength, he captured its dynamic moments. The result is a beautiful dichotomy of pure strength and sophisticated elegance. 

Concept and creative direction

In this campaign, we've put the athlete in the context of comic book environment. The superstar athlete as a super hero with a larger than life message was a natural connection and it created an opportunity to diversify the look of the brand.

Creative direction

Jordan Brand Classic is an annual basketball tournament involving top high school prospects from all over the world.  We've created an inspiring message and a venue in which the young aspiring athletes look to the past participants who have gone on to become the stars of today who were on the same paths as they are now. Concept of "Next vs. Next" celebrates the strong promise of these talented young athletes.

Creative direction

In order to establish a strong sense of Training category by Jordan brand, we focused on few key elements: honesty, personal, elegance and beauty. I wanted to go beyond gritty reality of unsung sweat. In the end, the images had to be beautiful while being authentic.  

Concept and creative direction

The space was created in Washington DC as a culmination of the digital campaign we have started earlier in the year.  Consumers were able to see their own "Rise Above" moments on the large LED screen which was continuously updated. Product trial carried the same uplifting message of the social campaign "Rise Above" which was also the send off message to our athletes traveling to London.

Concept and creative direction

Jordan brand was launching the Chris Paul footwear and apparel collection for both performance and lifestyle at the same time. The concept for the lifestyle image was to capture a glimpse of his personal life but do so in an iconic manner. As a transplanted basketball superstar in Los Angeles, he finds time to hang with his son at home. In this image, with the pose and the setting, we have successfully captured the attitude, warmth and comfort he finds in his new environment done in a premium manner.

Concept and creative direction

Chris Paul as a premium point guard in the league depends on his ability to move, pivot and change direction at will. His new signature shoe was equipped with an outsole that offered a higher level of traction control.  The concept was with the superior traction, he can move freely at any angle. With him looking so comfortable and confident in the room where the basketball court floor goes up in all directions, the shoe had enabled him to elevate his craft.

Concept and creative direction

Nike's flagship store in Japan was co-designed with an agency in Tokyo and an internal retail design team within Nike. It's a three story space with ample amount of brand expressions for both seasonal and "permanent" brand messages.  It was designed and built from the ground up, and a lot of design cues coming out of this store had become the genesis of the current Nike retail door that rolled out globally.

Art direction and design

Santa Monica store is the first of the chain of new Nike retail concept to roll out globally, It has defined and established many programs as example to follow including: fundamental consumer journey, branded and seasonal based campaigns and its cadence, fixtures, materials, graphic programs and art installation program. 

The new Nike retail concept put the brand first and categories within the brand far below it in terms of its presence. The philosophy of establishing what the brand looks, feels and represents at physical retail space with consistency was put on a premium. As a part of brand communication eco-system (along with social, digital and on-products), giving the brand a "face" that consumers could associate with was an integral element to the system.

Concept, art direction and design

The basic original concept of Nike store being already established with the Santa Monica store, other stores to follow had regional or category specific focus. For example, Scottsdale focused on Tennis and Golf, Stanford focused on Running. I've focused on the main displays for the launch as well as the next generation of branded services within the store especially the consumer journey of Nike iD and Nike Plus experiences within the physical store.

Art direction and design

To commemorate Michael Jordan's 50th birthday we wanted to tell stories about his life in a different ways than how it's been known by fans and industry people alike. We curated a series of artists where they were given certain stories about him, 50 in total. Many people were interviewed.  Some stories are publicly well know, while others are more in personal nature. The artists were free to artistically interpret them in their own way.  The result was a remarkably diverse and fresh expression of the otherwise well documented life of the man.

We've exhibited the show at a museum where we had a gathering and later turned it into a cloth bound book.  We've presented the book to him at a later date which was very well received.

Concept and creative direction

For the launch of the special edition "Year of the Snake" footwear double pack, we expressed the concept of snake in less than obvious fashion. Instead of focusing on more obvious graphic approach of scales, we took the idea of snakes' heat sensing ability and expressed it on the packaging with holographic treatment. This well received concept had ultimately affected the color and pattern onto the product. 

Creative direction

The AJ2012 was the first performance basketball shoe to offer three various inner sole options, offering different airbags to fit the style and comfort of your game.

We carried the concept of "three shoes in one" through its images and to the brand experience space all the way to the retail door we took over. In the brand experience space, we took two old containers, attached them sideways and created a mobile unit. Consumers were able to try the shoes on, watch the concept video, work with a trainer for specific moves and had an opportunity to purchase the limited edition color way product with customization opportunities on top of it.  

Concept and creative direction

Conglomeration of various technologies had made his signature shoe CP3.Vll the most versatile shoe to date, which is fitting that his game is all about versatility.

The basic concept is to showcase his ability to be unpredictable as an offensive threat.  We've put him front and center, looking directly in the viewers' eyes with a full set of multiple ghosts expressing the possibilities of his next move.  By seamlessly and fluidly combining the images, we've created an image that illustrates the thought, mysterious and artistic. 

Concept and creative direction

As a part of "Modern 12 zodiac animals" project. 

Design

Series of arresting branded images were created for various uses for Jordan. These images needed to carry the mood and essence of the brand: elegant, mysterious, strong and premium.

Concept and creative direction

Jordan brand signs athletes that exudes the essence of the "Brand of Flight". We've created the series of athlete logos with the consistent thought in mind while respecting personalities, styles and characters of each athletes for both on and off the court.

Concept and creative direction