Brand identity for a new era in sport.
PlayAI is a tech start-up creating and managing authentic digital representations of athletes as augmented avatars. Their proprietary technology captures appearance, voice, and mannerisms, translating into multiple languages to extend sportspeople’s global reach while reducing the need for constant media appearances.
The brief was to develop a bold new brand identity in just two weeks, ahead of PlayAI’s high-stakes pitch to athletes, unions, and investors — including an NBA Players Association meeting in Chicago with LeBron James and Steph Curry. The identity needed to position PlayAI as a credible technology leader and help define this emerging category.
We created a confident, dynamic identity that balanced innovation with a human edge. After exploring three design territories across colour, typography, graphics, and photography, we refined the preferred direction into a concise brand system.
The final identity reimagines PlayAI’s triangular play button as an adaptive algorithmic symbol of connected shapes. Bold purple, neon green highlights, and responsive gradients give the brand a tech-native, future-focused energy.
I led the exploration and development, shaping concepts into the final system and steering day-to-day creative direction, with oversight from Design Director Mikaelee Miller.
Credits
Brand Identity
Agency: Apparent
Design Director: Mikaelee Miller
Designer: Liam Burn
Copywriter: Jessie Staszkiewicz
Senior Account Director: Suzie Cotterill