I'm not a professional fitness guru, nor am I a professional gamer. However, both of those avenues have always been a big part of my life growing up. So I figured, why not intersect the two worlds and create a sports apparel brand made for gamers.
Even though society wants us to believe that these two communities are polar opposites, I've always felt like they're more similar than they appear. The conceptual string that ties these two topics together is the idea of leveling up in-game and leveling up IRL.
I wanted to create a brand that brought video game aesthetics and thinking to the real world. A brand that represents the grind and work of getting stronger whether that is through muscle gain or through skill point gain.
Logo
For the logo, I wanted to utilize an item that you would find in a big majority of games: the sword. The sword is a symbol of vanquishing, adventure, glory and strength. If I were to dissect Heroic Apparel's logo above, it is two swords coming together to form a wing.
To me, the logo showcases themes of strength, ascension through flight and the idea of coming together as a team to create light or a path forward.
Color Palette
Naturally, for the color palette, I wanted to represent the real world coming together with the digital world. That is why I chose to mix more organic colors with an empowering digital blue.
Typography
For typography, I picked more digitally themed fonts with the idea that these would be printed on real world tangible pieces.
Graphics
I love the line of "The final boss will always be you." In video games, you're most certainly going up against opposition in the form of a boss or big objective. This is true in fitness as well, except the "boss" that you are constantly trying to 1-up is yourself.
Product
I wanted apparel that looked really cool while being functionally comfortable for indoors and aesthetically pleasing to wear when transitioning to the outdoor world.
Social Strategy
The social pillars I am proposing for this brand for social content are: 1- Community UGC, 2- Celebrity Gamer Spotlights, 3- Lifestyle and 4- Ad-Hoc.
Pillar 1: The Party/Community UGC
This pillar is focused on featuring our fellow gaming fitness enthusiasts. This post will be designed like an in-game character card. Typically these infographic cards in-game showcase your character, their skills and strengths, description and more. In our case, we'll feature what kind of physical activity our community members enjoy, their goals, where they are from, and what game they are currently playing.
Pillar 2: The Guild Leaders/Celebrity Gamer Spotlights
There are many gaming influencers who also lead a very fit life. This pillar will be more editorial as we'll interview these influencers and ask them how the gaming world and the fitness world intersect in their lives.
Pillar 3: The World/Lifestyle
This pillar is our way of world building. Posts under this pillar are lifestyle photography that encapsulate our ethos and brand.
Pillar 4: The Forums/Ad-Hoc Meme-style
The last pillar is all about speaking to relevant and trendy gaming news or memes and tying it in with the world of fitness.
