Turning Athletes into Designers
The process began with one representative from the team meeting with a retailer armed with notes from players and management. This customer then explains what they are looking for, pointing to samples that are not quite right while flipping through a pile of catalogs the retailer offers. Hopefully, one of them is Nike.
Nike Team Football From a paper catalogue to an award-winning 3D Customer Experience
Regardless of their level, a football player's kit is about confidence as much as it's about performance. From junior to professional, it's your armor against self-doubt. A reminder that no matter where you are in the journey "from grassroots to greatness," you belong there. And yet, this critical step in preparing the team's next season has been surprisingly traditional.
Aligned kit expectations and results
These clients had a clear idea of what they wanted but had no accurate way to capture and communicate it. Additionally, there were numerous ways their design could be misinterpreted. Teams would verbally describe how they wanted their kits to look and would hope that every person in the assembly line would understand. Catalog photography struggled to capture how material genuinely looked, leading to misaligned expectations of the final product.
Therefore, the challenge ahead was to create a software solution powerful enough to enable players and coaches to become designers, yet light enough to run on niketeamfootball.com.
Create Your Kit configurator
3D modeling that drives full control
With a simplified, customer-facing kit experience, we skipped photography and its limitations in order to embrace 3D models. We required 3D models so precise that you could almost touch the material to avoid new wave returns.
In our search for the right partner, we met Smoke & Mirrors, specialists in scanning 3D fabrics. With a rig of 180 cameras capturing hi-res data where each final article of clothing, from shirts to socks, contained more than 2Gb. This method allowed us to create digital twins of Nike's materials, delivered in layers that enabled exceptionally flexible customization.
Endless customization in the detail
With 40 individual colors and 20 unique jersey designs, we have given clients the power to control every variable. Adding up model choice, color combination, and material selection, provides thousands of options before you even get to team and sponsor logos with player names. Client accounts allow the designated designer to share the results with every team member before approaching a retailer. Consequently, the true-to-life renders dramatically reduced returns. Likewise, it significantly reduced the workflow, removing the need to photograph every color.
Confidently representing the team
For retailers, players and teams, it provides them with the latest Nike sport innovations and information. The simplified experience secures trust that players will receive precisely the kits they design. The signature Nike style for visuals means the kit configurator generates striking design assets that are applied throughout the customer journey—in social, shop experience, order confirmation and even aftercare. The online kit experience largely contributed to the overall Nike Team football growth.
Read more about the Red Dot and Silver Spin we jointly won with Nike Team for the "Turning Athletes into Designers" experience.
180 cameras
capturing hi-res data where each final article of clothing contained more than 2Gb
100% realistic
Reduction of returns by optimizing the process and customer experience
1000's of variations
40 individual colors and 20 unique jersey designs, allowing for thousands of combinations
