Making Graphics For a Massive Sports Crowd

I had to rethink how my graphic design communicates when it’s meant for thousands of people.

Being my biggest project at the time, Collaborating with the Indianapolis Colts marketing team on the official 2023 Training Camp T-shirt required me to rethink how illustration functions within an established brand system. Translating a locally inspired concept into production-ready merchandise pushed me to prioritize clarity, recognition, and audience while still preserving a sense of place.

The question became how to celebrate Westfield without losing the Colts’ identity.

The design needed to feel rooted in Westfield and the atmosphere of Training Camp while remaining unmistakably Colts-branded. This required careful attention to color, contrast, and composition to ensure the final piece would read clearly across apparel and at a distance.

My first drafts leaned heavily into place.

In early drafts, I focused on establishing a strong sense of place by highlighting Westfield landmarks, including the Monon Trail. While the concept resonated with the Colts marketing team, feedback emphasized stricter alignment with official Colts colors to avoid visual confusion with rival teams at a distance.

Brand clarity began to drive the design decisions.

Through multiple iterations, I refined the palette, contrast, and visual hierarchy to meet brand standards while preserving the original concept. These adjustments brought the design closer to production requirements and resulted in a draft that closely resembles the final produced piece.

The product? A design that holds up from across the field and up close.

Nearly three years later, seeing Colts fans continue to wear this design has been a reminder of what large-scale work can do beyond its original moment.

This project came at a turning point for me. I moved from school-based design into professional collaboration, where I learned how illustration, feedback, and brand systems intersect in real-world production. Creating work that connects with people at scale, while still feeling grounded in place, has since become a guiding principle in the projects that followed.