Ride for the Cure
Jersey design for Novartis's annual charity cycling race, commissioned two years running.
Client:
Novartis
Category:
Brand Identity, Print & Production
My Role:
Apparel Design, Art Direction, Print
Every year, Novartis takes a team of cyclists to Germany for a charity race called Ride for the Cure. The brief is deceptively simple: design a jersey the team will be proud to wear on the day. The first time the brief came to me, I didn't know it would come back.
The first design was signed off first time, no amends, a small detail that meant a lot. The second followed a brand guideline update between the two years, which meant starting from a completely different visual direction. The two jerseys look nothing alike, and that contrast is probably the most honest demonstration of versatility this kind of project can offer.
The Story Behind This Project
Designing for apparel is a different discipline to designing for screens or print. The work has to feel bold and cohesive at speed, on a moving body, in a race environment. The constraints are physical as much as visual, and the feedback loop is immediate: you see the result on the day, in the real world, with no chance to iterate.
The best briefs are the ones that come back.
Asked back for a second consecutive year without having to pitch for it. Seeing the team wear the design during the race is one of those moments that makes the job genuinely worthwhile. A third year is something I am very much looking forward to.
