Activate
A logo and brand for a pickup sports app, plus the pitch deck that brought gyms and event facilities on board.
- ForClient
- Gamify Sports Austin
- Role
- Brand Designer
- Year
- 2020 to 2022
- Result
- A pitch deck that brought facilities on board and a brand used at live events
- Scope
The brief
Activate was a startup app from Gamify Sports Austin for finding and running pickup games, leagues, and tournaments as sports came back after Covid. It needed a logo that felt like game day and a pitch that would get gyms, parks, and event facilities to sign on.
The approach
The wordmark started in my sketchbook, then went through dozens of digital versions to land on a fast, slanted word with the letters locked together like a jersey. The symbol builds an A out of three blocks, so it holds up alone as an app icon. Gold, red, and a deep teal keep it warm and athletic, and a set of coach's whiteboard marks I worked into the system carries it across everything else.
From the sketchbook
The idea started on paper. From there I tested weight, slant, color, and outline before locking the final mark.
The final logo
A symbol that works alone as an app icon and a wordmark built for jerseys, banners, and screens.
Coach's marks
To give the brand a voice past the logo, I picked a set of brushed marks that look straight off a coach's whiteboard (a crown, circles, plays, arrows, and brackets) and worked them into the system. They circle the big word, frame the details, and make every piece feel drawn up on the sideline.
The pitch deck
The startup used this deck to bring gyms, parks, universities, and event facilities on board with the new app. It sells the idea in a few slides: why now, how it works, and what a partner gets.
In real life
Then it went live: the logo on the backdrop, the banners, and the trophies at Activate's kickball events.
The outcome
A brand a startup could launch with: a logo that works as an app icon, a guide to keep it consistent, and a pitch deck that brought facilities on board. Then it showed up on real fields, with trophies in players' hands. It is the same zero-to-launch package I build for new businesses.