Portfolio Requirements

• When submitting original character drawings, include the surrounding environment you envision them working, playing and living in.
• Character development should incorporate your own unique style as opposed to copying a pre-existing style (i.e. anime or manga).
• You may combine one or more reference sources in combination when creating your own unique image. Copied images are not acceptable.
• If submitting your own original inventions or concept design (i.e. products, fashion, transportation or furniture) you may include sketches, background research and inspiration used to develop them. Show us your thinking process!

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can only be used for process and research and may not be used as a final image(s). You may not use artists’ names within your prompt(s) and you must cite the prompts and platforms used. There is a limit of 1 piece created using AI tools allowed in the application portfolio.

CONNECTIONS THROUGH SPORTS

Athletes, more connected than ever, are expecting brands not just to deliver quality, but to resonate with them on and off the field. Identifying with a brand is more about creating memorable experiences that engage people, and athletes, at every touchpoint. For companies that specialize in athletic gear and/or footwear, this means reconsidering the ways they interact with the athlete before, during, and after their product purchase. 

DESIGN BRIEF

Choose a sport-centric brand to work with and create a presentation that shares your new idea of how to connect athletes to the products they wear to win, and to the larger public through a memorable experience, engagement activity, or another method.

• For best results, choose a segment of the audience your company creates products for, i.e. kids, parents who influence kids, adults, professional athletes, coaches, college athletes, amateur athletes, etc. 
• Conduct research about how they connect sponsored athletes to their brand and the products those athletes choose to wear and promote. 
• Explore the associated experiences around and beyond the products an athlete chooses. 
• In the past year, some companies made the decision to sell directly through teams, instead of through distributors. This has allowed more connections between the company and athlete/end-user. How can your chosen company continue to bridge the gaps between digital and physical experiences? 
• Create a holistic concept that infuses an engaging and thoughtful story around the athlete and product that shows your new ideas about how to connect athletes to both the digital and physical experiences with their product and the public. 

PATHWAYS OF EXPLORATION (these are simply suggestions- you can choose anything; we suggest you focus on one Pathway):

• Product Purchase Experience – In-store, mobile/online store, rogue/grassroots events, digital integration; How to make retailers better advocates, etc.
• Product Launch Strategy – New and interesting ways to disrupt the industry and maximize impact for our product launches moving forward.
• Customization Journey – We think the future of athletic sporting goods may very well be centered around the performance benefits of the ‘perfect fit’. How and where is this achieved? At home? In a store? How quickly can we turn around a custom product through thoughtful innovations in manufacturing and distribution?
• Athlete Engagement – How the athlete interacts with the brand before, during and after product purchase.

GENERAL RESEARCH

Do some research into one or more of the categories below to discover your own ideas for making connections between athletes, the brand, and the public. We recommend doing thorough research in one or two different categories- but you can focus on all of them if you wish: 

• Social and Technology Trends Relevant to the Sport
• Primary Brands & Competing Companies
• Current Product Trends
• Current Sales Strategies

Keep in mind the various channels that are used to present a brand:

• eCommerce (Website)
• Brick & Mortar Retail
• Off-site Events (Local, Regional, National or Global Tournaments, exhibition games, etc.)
• Direct Team Sales

DELIVERABLES

Create an impactful, emotional story that outlines your idea. Your solution should be your original ideas presented in any, or all, of the following formats. Don’t forget that to complete our portfolio requirement you must submit a total of 8-12 pieces, so you can submit these along with other work if you need to.

Mission Statement – a brief 3-5 sentences about the solution you have developed

Inspiration Board – a visual representation of the images, video, etc. that have influenced your thinking, inspired your solutions, and that show a look/feel/existing solution that you would like to emulate in your own project.

Storyboard – a visual representation of your final solution; include ideation sketches, or representations of your idea, it’s parts, and how they connect in a narrative way

Additional 2-5 Items – choose your format and create 2 additional items to promote the solution i.e. an original song, a video, an event flyer, a presentation, a sketch of an app, etc.

• Idea bubble charts
• Written statements, tag lines
• Social Media posts or campaigns
• Video, sound or image-based commercials or promos
• Images; idea boards, stills, collage – use of found images is fine since this is essentially a proposal of your ideas 

2 Dimensional Design project: Use a camera to create the following:

• A portrait of how you see yourself.
• A portrait of how others (or “the world”) sees you.
• Documentation of your environment and how you interpret your environment.

Three Dimensional Design project:

• Create a 3D sculpture from a variety of found objects or materials that you are drawn to. Explore color, texture, form and message. Photograph it in its environment.
• Create a mask that transforms the wearer into a whole new character, creature or world.

Written project: Create a distress / “SOS” or “message in a bottle” letter.

Contact the Admissions Office for more suggestions.

Create a Mood Board

A Mood-Board is often used to convey a feeling using colors, themes, textures, shapes, patterns, etc. This exercise is a loose and easy guide to create one. Look around you for found images that appeal to you. Then, identify a common theme among those images – like colors, textures, etc. Arrange the images on an 18×24″ board or sheet of heavy cardstock. Consider placement, balance, and how the images relate to one another.  Add 4 -7 words that describe the feeling you are creating through these images on the board, or in the description you submit with your final board.

Document your world through the lens of color

Pick one color and document the color over a period of 1 week using a camera or smartphone. Shoot a minimum of 30 images, then organize the images by the order of hue and value. 

• Hue — describes the wavelength of the color. There are 12 basic hues.
  It serves as a basic material that can be transformed in three different ways — tinting, shading and toning.
  •  Tint — is created by mixing a hue with white
  • Shade — is a mix of a hue and black
  • Tone — is a color to which black and white (or grey) have been added.
• Value — is a property telling how light or dark a color is.

Visual Story-telling

Produce a 1-3 minute video on how you see Color around you. Use your smartphone or camera to create a video that describes the impact of color in your life and how light impacts color and feeling. Consider writing out your statement or narrative before your start filming. You may edit your video and sound in any way that contributes to your overall project, but keep it to 3 minutes maximum duration.

Space

Find an empty box (a shoe box is recommended). Use recycled/found objects and elements (cardboard, plastic, paper, textiles, leaves, etc.) to create tactile and visual representation of an experience or memory, in the box. Include a short description (25-100 words) of the experience or memory that inspired your work.

Inspiration

Create a series of compositions based on an artist you are interested in. 

Re-interpret (don’t copy) their work using color, form or material.

• Composition: Refers to the arrangement of elements within a work of art.

An artist arranges the different elements of an artwork to bring them into a relationship satisfactory to the intent of the artist, the project and, it is hoped, the viewer.