Under Armour Taps Three Art Students to Design Snapchat Filters for the Golden State Warriors
A rare opportunity to show their creative skills to the sports world.
In a collision of sports and the arts, three students from the California College of the Arts were chosen by Under Armour to design Snapchat Geofilters for the Golden State Warriors. Over the past six months, their designs were unveiled to fans at Oracle Arena who were able to use the location exclusive filters to give their snaps a taste of the Bay Area.
On June 1, Golden State will hit the court for game one of the NBA Finals, and the requisite discussion of Curry versus James: 2017 edition will surely dominate the news. But, before you overload on performance stats, read below to learn about the young creatives who helped to build Golden State’s social media look over the past months.
Isaiah Jones
Age: 22
Field of Study: Industrial Design
Tell us about the graphic elements of your filters and the inspiration behind them.
In each of my filters I tried to make a distinct focal point. The place where the eyes of the users and viewers would go once they’ve tapped or swiped to see it. This was used though drop shadows, line weights and color. I tried to keep each filter either all one color or greys with a highlight color to keep it from looking too busy because the last thing you want during a snap experience is to spend 30 seconds trying to figure out what’s covering your photo.
How did it feel to get your work on a platform where it could be seen worldwide?
It didn’t seem as big of a deal until I woke up one morning and saw the filter that I created being posted on the Warriors snap of Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala shooting before a game. I was filled with excitement for I knew someone appreciated my work. We spend thousands of hours at computers clicking away but when we see something we created being used by a complete stranger, all those hours seem worth it.
What would your dream job be once you graduate?
Being a car-enthusiast, Hot Wheels is my dream job. I love their want to make dreams a reality and to take what is small and bring it to full scale. Hopefully one day soon I will be lucky enough to walk the doors of the Hot Wheels design studio to a desk with my name written on it.
Jared Kitade
Age: 22
Field of Study: Graphic Design
Tell us about the graphic elements of your filters and the inspiration behind them.
The filters were inspired by Oakland and Bay Area landmarks: Oracle Arena, the Tribune Tower, BART, etc. Some people associate the warriors with San Francisco, so I wanted to make sure that Oakland was represented too.
How did it feel to get your work on a platform where it could be seen worldwide?
It’s cool seeing people use the filters at games and knowing that our work was being seen and experienced by so many people.
What would your dream job be once you graduate?
I want to work in the NBA on court apparel division.
Justin Truong
Age: 24
Field of Study: Graphic Design
Tell us about the graphic elements of your filters and the inspiration behind them.
As a bay area native I’ve watched Stephen Curry play since he was a rook. He’s always been an inspiration for athletes who can compete with the best by being quick, cunning, and sharp. When designing my snapchat filters I wanted to make sure that my designs also share those same attributes but in a visual way.
How did it feel to get your work on a platform where it could be seen worldwide?
It felt great to be able to represent the Warriors and the bay area since I’m from here.
What would your dream job be once you graduate?
My dream job would allow me to just apply design thinking in a way that will progress the cultures that have had a direct influence on me and my peers.
