Super Bowl LII Theme Art Video
The Big Idea
Charged Up. When the lights go on at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota will be changed forever. The energy of the Super Bowl will supercharge the Twin Cities and every point along the path that leads north to victory.
Problem
Create theme art capable of launching Super Bowl LII in two distinct moments, once at the start of the season when the two competing teams are still unknown, and again once they're confirmed. Both versions needed to establish the same visual and emotional world while flexing to fit each moment in the season's timeline.
Project Goal
Ground the entire piece in a single idea, that the Super Bowl itself is powerful enough to generate an energy strong enough to rival the aurora borealis. Rather than opening on football imagery, the video needed to build anticipation through pure sensation, light, sound and scale, letting that energy escape the stadium, sweep through the streets of the Twin Cities and ultimately become visible from outer space.
Work
The video opens on the reflection of the setting sun across the glass panels of U.S. Bank Stadium, a quiet moment before the buildup begins. That calm breaks as the stadium lights power on, an electric charge rippling through the frame while generators hum to life underneath.
Quick cuts follow the energy as it emits from the team names in each endzone, the sound of the endzones themselves powering up. The charge builds directionally, surging from every side of the stadium at once, a sonic wave of energy passing through the structure itself.
That energy pushes outward, escaping the stadium entirely and sweeping through the surrounding streets. The buildings shift color as the charge moves through the Twin Cities, a swooshing current running block to block, visible from miles away as roaring beams of light climb into the sky.
The camera pulls back until the entire city becomes a single point of light, pulling further still into Earth's orbit, where LII glows visibly from the planet's surface, an energy strong enough to rival the aurora borealis itself, a hum of radiance in the silence of outer space. The words Super Bowl fade in as the final beat, the culmination of everything that built to get there.
Responsibilities
Concept development, narrative and script development, storyboarding, visual effects direction, sound design direction, production oversight.
Super Bowl LII Staff Outwear
The Big Idea
Create a fully functional, understated outerwear collection that quietly highlights the best of Super Bowl LII.
Problem
Super Bowl Staff Outerwear is a collection of garments and accessories made by the NFL specifically for staff working each event. For each calendar event like the Super Bowl, Draft, and Pro Bowl, the NFL outfits its staff in its own branded gear. Refined over the past few years, staff input was considered during the design of this line. The Super Bowl in Minnesota presented an interesting challenge this year. Being one of the northernmost locations, we needed to design a system of outerwear that staff could wear either alone or layered for more extreme outdoor conditions.
Project Goal
The primary goal of the outerwear was to keep employees warm and dry during their visit to Minnesota for the Super Bowl. We drew inspiration from Canada Goose jackets when designing the men’s and women’s pieces. The unisex inner track jacket was made to be understated, mainly intended for business meetings, with minimal graphics. The graphics and trims added were inspired by the iridescent glow of Minnesota’s own Aurora Borealis. Research indicates that NFL staff working events prefer branding and graphics to be subtle and unobtrusive. Charcoal gray was chosen for the men’s parka, while the women’s 3/4 coat was made in white.
Project Role
Creative Director
SB LII Staff Outerwear Process
Super Bowl LII Friday Night Party Invite
The Big Idea
Bold moves.You have to dare to challenge the status quo and go where no others have gone before. The Super Bowl LII invite is the 1st year that the NFL treated the Lombardi Trophy in a color other than silver.
The Invite for the Super Bowl Friday night party is one of the most prestigious projects of the in-house creative department. Because this invite is for Roger Goodell’s exclusive party days before the Super Bowl, it has two jobs. One is the wow factor, this invite has to appeal to owners of million-dollar NFL teams. The second is to communicate the overall celebratory aspect of Super Bowl by strategically revealing some aspect of Super Bowl History. The event is high-end, so the budget is to spare no expense, making it the most expensive printed project per piece. Over the years, the invite has influenced the look and feel of the event décor so that it’s all cohesive. So lead time is farther out, so we can share design progress with the vendor producing the event.
The Super Bowl LII invite is the 1st year that we treated the Lombardi Trophy in a color other than silver. The purple cast on the Lombardi trophy came to symbolize the reflection of the Aurora borealis of Minnesota on the Super Bowl. The type was treated and either black or silver foil. The edge of the thick cardboard stock has a gloss-varnished edge. The back of the invite was treated with a purple foil Super Bowl logo. The sleeve of the Super Bowl LII invite is laser cut with individual holes made to mask the glow of the vanished invite. Making it feel more ethereal like the Aurora borealis..
Design Role
Creative Lead
SB LII Friday Night Party Invite Process
Super Bowl LII Friday Night Party Decor
The Big Idea
“The Path To Victory Leads North” Super Bowl’s HOMAGE TO Minnesota’S Aurora Borealis.
Problem
How do we make this NFL event bigger and better every year understanding that we are entertaining multi-million dollar clientele.
Project Goal
The Super Bowl Friday night party is an annual event held on the Friday before the Super Bowl in the host city. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hosts this upscale event for the owners of each NFL team and their close associates. The party celebrates the two teams competing in the Super Bowl, offering a fantastic experience for all attendees. Food and drinks are top-shelf, and there is always a surprise musical act. . The theme of Super Bowl LII, “The Path to Victory Leads North,” influences the decor, giving guests a sense of direction as they celebrate into the night. Elements of Minneapolis are incorporated into the decor to make the event feel more authentic. Bathed in purple light, the Friday night party reflects the Super Bowl's color palette and design aesthetic. Minnesota’s own Aurora Borealis inspired this year’s unique color scheme, with the shimmering, electric sky casting hues from magenta to purple across the state.
Project Role
Creative Lead
Appolllo Bey
