Performance Tape
Category: Men's Performance
Brand: PUMA Training
Collection: Multi-Sport Performance
2019Project Information
The Brief:Design playful men's performance graphics that avoid the typical aggressive, abstract approach. Work within one-color printing constraints and navigate printing over seams.
The Approach:Look at any athlete mid-training. They're wrapped in tape. Kinesiology tape, athletic tape, random tape holding things together. That's real athletic aesthetic. So I made tape the hero. Not literal tape, but graphics inspired by those strips athletes actually wear. The halftone technique wasn't just style, it solved our printing problem. Less ink means easier printing over seams. The placement mimics how tape actually wraps around muscles and joints. One color forced us to be smart instead of flashy. Every limitation pushed the design forward. The human touch shows in how the tape feels hand-applied, not perfect.
The Impact:Athletes got it immediately because it looked like their actual training gear. Weekend warriors felt like insiders for once. The graphics worked whether you're stretching or sprinting because they were designed around movement, not against it. Proved that making something familiar but different beats trying to reinvent the wheel. Fun without losing credibility.
Key Deliverables:Multi-placement graphics • Halftone treatments • Seam-crossing specifications • One-color optimization