Each project is unique. PK80 began as a simple seeding kit shoe box and quickly evolved. In no time, it had become a full blown event surrounding an evening of festivities for some of the top basketball college prospects in the nation. In celebration of Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight's 80th Birthday, 20 elite NCAA basketball teams assembled in Portland over Thanksgiving weekend to compete in the PK80 Invitational. In true Nike fashion, teams received a warm World Headquarters welcome with a LeBron 15 sneaker seeding experience. Each team arrived at the Tiger Woods Center, where they weaved through IDL-crafted DNA cases boasting pivotal shoes and campaigns. We constructed this special seeding moment, preceded by an exclusive walk through three decades of swoosh innovation. Eight sneakers, beginning with the AJ1 down through the LeBron 12, were featured on one side of a clear plex backboard display case with college history on the opposing side.

The excitement built as teams moved into a dimly lit reveal room, met with a video message from King James himself. As the screen faded to black, a lightbox featuring their school’s logo and color lit up. The backside of the lightbox housed sleek black boxes, custom with each athlete’s number and a fresh pair of LeBron 15s.

Squeals, oohs, aahs, and selfies erupted upon the sneaker reveal. Athletes whipped out their smart phones to memorialize the moment and send LeBron “thank you” videos. Seeing the players’ faces light up created a shareable and memorable experience for all. IDL went above and beyond to create this incredible end experience and kick off Knight’s weekend-long birthday tournament.

Here's a little project process, from a conceptual journey to the final team experience. We started sketching and ended up building out full 3D renders of the Tiger Woods Center.