Was happy to be involved with such a great organization and a great cause.

More about Right To Play (from their website)

Formerly Olympic Aid, Right To Play is one of the largest children and youth focused charities in the world. At Right To Play we believe that sport and play can offer children and youths better physical, social and emotional health.
Sport and play allow for young people to express themselves in a safe and supportive environment where they can develop to their full potential.

Furthermore, the natural convening power of sport serves to unite communities and reduce social tensions.

Here’s a link to the article:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/american-teams-auction-spring-classics-team-car-seats

And their respective websistes for placing a bid.

Team HTC-Colmbia:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290401030378&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Garmin-Trasitions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290401034920&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

Part I: May-June

May and June were very busy. Mostly dedicated to a total rebranding of Team Columbia Highroad to Team Columbia-HTC, along wrapping up the new 2010 Spring/Summer collection for Capo.

New Sponsor = very busy designer

Funny thing about sponsorship… in my experience, it doesn’t seem to make a difference whether or not you’re a local club or one of the best teams in the world, sponsorship always seems to come down to the 11th hour. Not sure why, but I’ve always seen it work out this way – for my own team as well as for others. This poses a huge challenge for the designer, since sponsorship in large part is what you see in person, on TV, etc. The image of a team is an essential component to making this all work.

With Columbia-HTC we had about 3 weeks to nail everything. It’s not like there was any time to test anything out, the rebrand had to be ready for the biggest race in the world: the Tour de France. No pressure.

We started with what we knew worked and tossed out everything else. The previous Columbia-Highroad design had quite a reception: both good and bad, but all of it was attention for the team. It made a big impact – people were talking about it – and that was our goal. So, we took that design and evolved it into something that would compliment the new sponsor – HTC. Being a mobile phone company and having a very tech savvy brand, we needed to take something that was more edgy and raw and refine it, streamline it, sand the corners off and give it a more modern and integrated feel.

In the end, a lot of the same general concepts were still there, they were just executed in a way that would compliment both the existing partners, as well as the new one. This idea carried through the new clothing, vehicles, and marketing materials.

Take a look at some of the cycling news and photo websites for some great shots of the new kit:

http://www.tdwsport.com

http://www.grahamwatson.com

http://www.cyclingnews.com

http://www.velonews.com

Thinking about 2010 in 2009

One of the challenges of working with a company that produces a collection each season is trying to stay ahead of the curve of what people like and create something new and different from the previous (or current) collection. With Capo, they’re always trying to push forward and do something different with design. They’re always looking for new technology they can incorporate as well as new trends in fashion/design that they might be able to incorporate into their collection.

For 2010, Capo has a lot of new technology, new cuts and new fabric. We wanted to be able to showcase that in the design, as well as continue to push the envelope with the design to keep that trademark Capo flair. With seven kits in the line up, there’s something for everyone and we’re hoping for another great reception from the public when these hit the shops in the late winter/early spring.

Check out Capo’s website for more info:

http://www.uplandsg.com

In addition, there are several new projects in the works. The Inland Inferno Tri Club will be getting a new logo refresh and a new website in the coming months and we’re working on a non-cycling website and logo design for Retail Control Systems (although Dave is an avid cycling/outdoor enthusiast).

It’s been a very busy spring and signs point to it continuing… through the Tour? Stay Tuned.

Capo 2010

Wrapping up the spring/summer 2010 collection with Capo. There are six new designs as well as some returning favorites. Totally new look, new fabrics and technology – all-around an awesome collection that should suit a wide range of Capo fans. Looking forward to hearing some of the feedback. We’ll post some sketches here soon.

Giro 100

It’s the 100th year of the Giro d’Italia this year and we’ve been working with High Road Sports on creating something special for the event. Take a close look at the new jersey on Stage 2, which will be used throughout the three week tour of Italy.

We’ve also done several invites to media events for Columbia-Highroad focused around the Giro.

Boston Performance Coaching

A new kit design for Boston Performance Coaching is now in production. Expected arrival is mid-June.

Team GoGreen

The Sinapore-based Team GoGreen finalized their kit recently and will be moving on to production with Capo in the coming weeks. Here’s the design (below) Look familiar? Tom at GoGreen contacted us a while back now about doing a design for the team. He liked the Sheehan Graphic Design Kit so much, that he wanted me to come up with an adaptation that would work with GoGreen and the team colors (red, black, white). It came out really nice and should match their Pinarellos really nicely… looking forward to seeing this one post-production.

Drummond Custom Cycles

We’ve finally wrapped up the new Drummond Custom Cycles website. The launch is imminent. This is a really nice refresh of their current site, giving the small, yet personal and sophisticated shop the attention it deserves. Dick Drummond is a great guy. If you’re ever in the Enfield, NH area, stop in and check it out…