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L

otto NYC

Bridging an Italian sport heritage brand with contemporary street style.

ROLE:

Design Director, Brand Creative, Graphic Design

TEAM:

GMI USA Corp Leadership, Product Development, Marketing, Sales

TIMELINE:

18 months

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PROJECT

Creating multiple brand and visual identites for Lotto Sport Italia's USA Streetwear launch.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

How can we quickly provide our customers with compelling and exclusive clothing & merch from their favorite esports influencer?

OBJECTIVE

GMI USA Corp, a leading licensing partner, works with major retailers like Bloomingdale's and Macy's in B2B and B2C markets. The company developed a new streetwear brand under the Lotto Sport Italia license, blending athletic heritage with modern street style to create a unique market position.

OVERVIEW

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RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Lead development of brand identity

  • Spearheaded the creation of seasonal stories and concepts

  • Orchestrated art projects

  • Drove partnerships with sales and marketing teams

  • Guided cross-functional efforts with business and marketing teams

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Led the branding and apparel licensee development for Lotto Sport Italia’s collections. 

  • Launched three (3) successful mass produced collections

  • Developed and launched a collab capsule collection with renowned streetwear retailer Atmos.

  • Leveraged sourcing contacts to accelerate development and manufacturing processes

PROJECT PROCESS

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1

RESEARCH

1.1

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

BRAND REVIEW

We studied top streetwear brands within our target demographic, focusing on Aimé Leon Dore, Noah, and Kith, to guide our marketing strategy.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Differentiate Lotto NYC by incorporating Italian sport heritage to create a fusion of street style and European athletic tradition.

  • Create a sophisticated market position moving away from hype-driven trends to target upscale retailers like Nordstrom and Saks.

1.2

HISTORICAL RESEARCH

BRAND HISTORY

Lotto Sport Italia's peak from the 70s to early '00s inspired our start-up's retro-style collections. We focused on:

  • Brand inception in 1973

  • Sponsored teams and athletes

  • Graphic direction, colors, fabrics, and silhouettes from this era

  • Soccer focus, particularly AC Milan and Juventus

  • Incorporating current trends that reference this period

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PLAYERS

TEAMS

2

BRAND DEVELOPMENT:

CULTIVATING AN IDENTITY

Brand development focused on creating a unique identity that fused Italian sports heritage with New York street culture, targeting sophisticated consumers. This process involved careful persona creation, brand personality crafting, and logo development to establish a distinctive presence in the upscale streetwear market

2.1

PERSONA

BIO

Lucas is an advertising manager at a mid-sized agency.  Lucas has a strong fashion sense and mainly shops online.  He likes to find new brands with a point of view and / or unexpected collabs.  Lucas tends toward streetwear and athleisure that can be dressed up for work.  Lucas' girlfriend Mia also enjoys shopping and finding items he can wear.

GOALS

  • Expressing his unique personal style

  • Standing out in his professional and social circles

  • Supporting brands with strong values and compelling narratives

PAIN POINTS

  • Difficulty finding brands that balance sophistication with street style

  • Frustrated by mass-market fashion lacking authenticity or quality

LUCAS

AGE: 33

MARITAL STATUS: Has a girlfriend

OCCUPATION: Advertising Manager

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

INCOME: 165K

2.2

BRAND PERSONALITY

2.3

LOGO DEVELOPMENT

EVOLVING THE LOGO

We tried several ways to add "NYC" to the Lotto logo. After testing different fonts and colors, we settled on using a neutral grey for "NYC". This choice maintains the logo's versatility across seasons and applications while complementing the colorful, graphic nature of the brand.

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Logo exploration adding NYC in the same font as Lotto

A

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B

  • A - Exploration of NYC placement by original

  • B - Color exploration

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Further exploration of NYC with chosen placement

2.4

PRINTED ASSETS

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3

LINE DEVELOPMENT:

3.1 SPRING COLLECTION: LA GAZETTA

THEME

Our first collection was inspired by a 2006 La Gazzetta dello Sport cover featuring Luca Toni, celebrating Italy's World Cup semi-final win over Germany.

MOOD BOARD

La Gazzetta dello Sport's bold color blocks inspired our styling. We incorporated multicolor prints, bold typography, layering, and paper-like effects to evoke a retro newspaper feel.

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COLOR

Color inspiration came from primary tones with a twist, based on the La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

PANTONE 19-0303 TCX

CYMK 0 0 0 0

RGB 255 255 255

HEX 321F20

PANTONE 17-1324 TCX

CYMK 33 52 64 11

RGB 50 31 32

HEX 9C7961

PANTONE 18-0316 TCX

CYMK 58 44 70 23

RGB 49 56 41

HEX 666B54

PANTONE 18 -1655 TCX

CYMK 11 100 97 3

RGB 190 30 45

HEX BE1E2D

PANTONE 14-0852 TCX

CYMK 3 13 11 0

RGB 239 222 216

HEX EFDED8

PANTONE 18 -3949 TCX

CYMK 89 71 0 0

RGB 23 79 204

HEX 174FCC

LA GAZETTA: SELECTED DEVELOPMENT

3.1a

A RETRO REMIX:
COLORBLOCK HOODIE:

The colorblock hoodie and shorts showcased bold color with a retro feel to appeal to the streetwear consumer. I used unexpected text placements at the shoulder and back chest with bold, clear fonts that would evoke sports fonts as seen on soccer jerseys.

final design

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3.1b

JERSEY NUMBERS REIMAGINED:
NUMBERS PRINT

I was inspired to create the “Numbers” print from the bold numbers on the back of soccer jerseys and wanted to show a layered image to read 1, 2 or 3 depending on how the viewer sees it. I layed this overtop of a paper-like effect to tie the artwork back to the newspaper theme.

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KIT STRIPES REBORN:
MESH | TERRY POLO & SHORT

Our Mesh / Terry Polo and Short featured bold black stripes inspired by AC Milan and Juventus soccer jerseys. We combined mesh and terry fabrics for a comfortable, versatile streetwear look.

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3.1c

initial design

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We included a large patch on the back of the shirt to evoke a number placement but removed it due to pricing and salability concerns

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final design

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ATMOS COLLAB

3.1d

LOTTO x ATMOS:
STREETWEAR STRATEGY

A strategic collaboration with Atmos played a crucial role in Lotto's entry into the competitive streetwear market. This partnership leveraged Atmos's established reputation to enhance Lotto's credibility and visibility within this landscape. 

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COLLAB PROCESS POINTS

  1. Developed logo lockup with Atmos team.

  2. Created capsule assortment influencing Lotto's line.

  3. Adjusted silhouettes based on Atmos' streetwear research.

  4. Added all-over print cargo with NEWSPAPER PRINT to unify capsule.

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NEWSPAPER
ALL-OVER PRINT

We created a newspaper-style print for our capsule collection, featuring all colors and our theme. We added depth by incorporating Italian soccer history as background text, creating an abstract pattern that enhanced the design's visual appeal and meaning.

rough sketch

initial CAD

final
design

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3.1e

PRINT ASSETS: BRAND IDENTITY IN PRINT

We created print materials to market our startup, including a newspaper on Lotto Sport Italia's history and Lotto NYC's launch, plus lookbooks and brochures. These tools helped our teams engage clients and build brand awareness.

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3.2 SUMMER COLLECTION: THE GOLDEN BOOT

During our sophomore season, we honed our brand narrative to resonate with key cultural touchstones, enhancing our connection with our target demographic.

THEME

We drew inspiration from Italian football, specifically striker Luca Toni's Golden Boot win while sponsored by Lotto. We incorporated the dual-use nature of Italian stadiums for sports and concerts, linking streetwear with music culture to appeal to our target audience.

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GRAPHIC DIRECTION

Drawing from 70s to early 00s influences, we incorporated graphic elements inspired by David Carson's work for RayGun Magazine (1992-2000). Known for its progressive approach to advertising, music, and pop culture, Carson's deconstructive typography and experimental layouts shaped our design, supporting Lotto's strategy for innovative and distinctive visuals.

MOOD BOARD

Gold and Yellow shades reflect the "Golden Boot" inspiration. Various yellow hues represent gold. Our design draws from contemporary 3D imagery and inverted color trends, creating an intentionally imperfect, digitized aesthetic.

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PANTONE 19-0303 TCX

HEX 321F20

PANTONE 17-0636 TCX

HEX 857946

PANTONE 11-0604 TCX

HEX 857946

PANTONE 14-0755 TCX

HEX DDB614

PANTONE 12-0660 TCX

HEX DDB614

PANTONE 17-3914 TCX

HEX 848587

THE GOLDEN BOOT: SELECTED DEVELOPMENT

3.2a

NOSTALGIC AUDIO: 
CASSETTE TAPE PRINT

I created a retro cassette graphic appealing to streetwear customers by mixing music nostalgia with contemporary glitch art. The result is a versatile graphic that captures the intersection of retro cool and street edge, resonating with fashion-conscious consumers who value music-inspired style.

initial cassette
tape images

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cassette
images
layered:
1 repeat

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final artwork:
1 repeat

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3.2b

A PLAYFUL TYPOGRAPHY EXPERIMENT: CARNIVAL PRINT

I created the Carnival Print for the collection to showcase vibrant color graphics and expand on our creative experimentation with typography and layering.

inspiration
image

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The original inspiration came from Japanese art (artist unknown). The image of a carnival ride with inverted photocopy effects evoked the aesthetic we were seeking.

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3.2c

EVOLVING THE ALL-OVER PRINT: LOTTO GEO PRINT

The Lotto Geo print was our response to the rising popularity of all-over patterned tracksuits, allowing us to embrace the trend while showcasing our distinctive brand identity. We transitioned from an initial yellow and olive concept to an olive and black colorway for the all-over pattern, anticipating greater versatility and wider market appeal throughout our product range

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initial CAD in yellow/olive colorway

final design:
olive/black colorway

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3.2d

EXPANDING VISUAL IDENTITY: VISUAL MERCHANDISING

As we entered our second season, we focused on amplifying our marketing presence by creating design ideas for posters, trade show booths, and storefronts that focused on clean vibrant imagery and streamlined logo presentation.

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outdoor posters

store-front concept

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tradeshow booth
concept

3.3 FALL COLLECTION: 1982

By our third season we had a more defined formula for design aesthetic and print direction.

THEME

This theme focused on the 1982 FIFA World Cup where Italy defeated West Germany 3-1.  The theme also drew from 1982 pop culture, including films like Blade Runner and Tron.

MOOD BOARD

For this concept, we aimed to blend nostalgic elements from the 1980s with a modern, futuristic sensibility.  Drawing inspiration from the iconic sci-fi films Tron and Blade Runner, the overall look features bold, neon-tinged color palettes and sharp geometric shapes. Echoing the retro-futuristic style of 1980s techno-pop bands and airbrushed artwork, the graphics use dynamic lighting effects, glowing outlines, and contrasts between light and dark, positive and negative space.

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PANTONE 18-2320 TCX

HEX 8A3371

PANTONE 19-3952 TCX

HEX 203C7F

PANTONE 11-0604 TCX

HEX 857946

PANTONE 19-0303 TCX

HEX 321F20

PANTONE 18-2333 TCX

HEX CC4385

PANTONE 19-5226 TCX

HEX 005B5D

1982: SELECTED DEVELOPMENT

3.3a

RETRO-FUTURE FUSION: TRON PRINT

Drawing from the visuals of Tron and the dynamic movement of the AC Milan soccer team, the graphic design created a nostalgic yet futuristic aesthetic that appealed to our customers seeking colorful, cutting-edge products.

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inspiration image:
AC Milan running onto the field

inspiration image:
Tron, 1982 

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INITIAL CADS AND REPEAT OPTION
AC MILAN RUNS
ONTO THE FIELD
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3.3b

HIGH CONTRAST THROWBACK:
TODAY ITALY PRINT

Inspiration for this artwork was a magazine cover graphic with the phrase “Today Italy” and created a similar visual to fit in well with our 1982 theme. 

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inspiration
image

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final
design

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