I’ve been fortunate enough to stay connected with my high school friends in spite of many of them moving out of Indiana for school and careers. The primary thing that keeps us together is a basketball tournament that we started in middle school. What started as a small gathering of friends on the last day of school has evolved into an annual 3 on 3 all-day basketball tournament feature 12 teams.

As early as 2016 I personally started incorporating small branding elements into the tournament, but in 2020 I created an expansive brand identity. In addition to the tournament logo, I have created custom basketball cards, promotional graphics, coaching intel booklets, a letterhead, and podcast branding elements.

Since 2020 we have also implemented a live draft over video conferencing where participants are encouraged to dress up and myself and several other key tournament members interview each player as they are drafted.

Unfortunately the tournament was canceled in 2020 due to Covid-19, but in 2021 we worked around the theme of the Tokyo Olympics, and in 2022 we worked around the theme of Breakfast Cereal.