PUMA x First Mile — Stan Sanon

PUMA x First Mile
Category: Track & Field
Brand: PUMA Performance
Application: Athlete Heritage Collection

2020

Project Information

The First Mile is a people-focused network that strengthens micro-economies in Taiwan, Honduras, and Haiti by collecting plastic bottles to create sustainable jobs and reduce pollution. The bottles are then sorted, cleaned, shredded, and turned into yarn, which is later used to create products with purpose that truly empower from the first mile forward.
The Brief:Create a commercial print for track and field athletes that connects personal stories to performance apparel. Make it meaningful for athletes, marketable for retail.

The Approach:Country shapes became camouflage. Instead of traditional organic camo forms, I used geographical outlines of the athletes' home countries. Bahamas, Botswana, Brazil, Cuba, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Switzerland, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Dominican Republic. Each outline flows into the next, building a global pattern from individual stories. Athletes literally wear their heritage. The design leverages camo's instant recognition while injecting personal meaning. Easy to understand as camo at distance. Hard to ignore once you see the countries. That discovery moment is everything. Taking something military and making it human.

The Impact:What started for teams ran straight to retail. Athletes loved wearing their roots in the pattern. Consumers loved the story behind it. The print's success led to releases across PUMA stores and online. This proved that commercial success doesn't require generic design. Sometimes the most personal ideas have the broadest appeal. When you make the story the thing, everyone wants in.

Key Deliverables:All-over print design • Country outline integration • Colorway variations • Retail adaptation

Project Information

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