Hyperbolically Seattle
PUBLICATION DESIGN, CONTENT DESIGN, MOBILE LAYOUT DESIGN
An interview with Drew Hamlet, Art Director for the NHL's Seattle Kraken, conducted, edited, and designed into a four page broadsheet and standalone mobile scroll-through.
TOOLS
InDesign
Illustrator
Figma
After Effects
COURSE
Advanced Typography
CLIENT
UW Design
DURATION
Five Weeks, Solo
PROMPT
As a part of a publication series on design professionals, conduct an interview with a professional designer and design a unique broadsheet representative of their work.
IDEATION
I decided to reach out to Drew Hamlet, the Art Director of the Seattle Kraken, because I am fascinated by the world of sports design. Specifically, I was interested in how the Kraken brand was developed, because it had been instated as an expansion team in 2021. Throughout this project, I began developing my own passion for sports design and branding, and aimed to infuse the trademark energy and rhythm of the sports sector of design into my final piece.
ITERATION
Through collaging together the Kraken's brand assets, I learned how integral image layering and dimension is to creating the look and feel of a sports team. Ice hockey in general is a very textural sport—ice, blades, speed—and so I learned to lean into the feeling and infuse that texture and energy into the spreads.
Editing my interview content down significantly and making cuts to which assets and designs of Drew's team I wanted to show made my design process a lot more efficient. This editing was challenging because sports teams have such wide ranging applications of their brands—from practice facilities, to merch, to billboards, to social media posts. I found working within the Kraken brand guidelines allowed me more flexibility in showcasing their work, and helped me highlight how smoothly they had put together their brand.
Before beginning this project, I had zero experience designing publications. Initially, I found it challenging to create a "sporty" vibe without going overboard on texture and big type. Early on, I began experimenting with collaging my assets together, which was an idea that made it to my final iteration.
The earliest version of my final broadsheet—I was beginning to bring energy and contrast into my image choices and collaging.
Early drafts of an inside spread. I did not display the images in a dynamic way, and sought to fix that in future versions.
Early drafts of a front and back cover. I realized quickly that this boxed organization did not reflect the Kraken.
MOBILE
In addition to our physical broadsheets, we created companion mobile articles. I maintained the type and color systems of my original broadsheet, but appreciated the ability to integrate GIFs and videos into my mobile article, in order to show more of the Kraken's in-game experience. Notably, my article features a lot of fish flying around the sections—a nod to the Kraken's post-game tradition of throwing stuffed salmon into the crowd (which honors Pike Place, a Seattle staple).
Outside spread
Inside spread
REFLECTION
I had so much fun working on this project and developing my passion for sports design! Many thanks to Drew Hamlet for speaking with me and imparting his wisdom, as well as my Professor Karen Cheng for her wonderful advice and critique.
My friends and I with our broadsheets!