How To Design for Your Dream Client (Nike, NBA, Adidas, or the NFL)

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“Kids have it easy nowadays.”, says Graphic Designer/Illustrator AJ Dimarucot. You have access to everything.

He reminisces about the early days of his career, and how it began on Adobe Photoshop. He would research different techniques on Phong.com, where he learned and applied his first visual effect, drop shadow. “Wow, I can drop shadow!”, he exclaimed at the discovery of his new feat.

Loren Ipsum

He started with the website, Labskosierap.com, wherein he’d make fun of Erap, comparing the former Philippine president's intellectual prowess to the genius of Albert Einstein. He would then continue to work on corporate sites, until he got tired of adding “Loren Ipsum” to website mockups.

Design Your Life

So he shifted his focus to t-shirt design, winning several design contests on Threadless.com and Designbyhumans.com. He wanted to transition from web design, where it’s all Ipsum and text, into design to just create--without all that code. He went on and created epic designs for idols Michael Jackson and Kevin Garnett, to name a few.

Zombies Are Cool


Pondering on a design for Kevin Garnett, he realized “ [Kevin Garnett’s] brand is always angry." So, he created this image of a raging, zombified Kevin Garnet for a t-shirt. Both Nike and Adidas reached out to him for his “zombie” shirt, which made him realize zombies are cool.



After the wild success of his zombie Kevin Garnett, he was asked to create a shirt for a new client, based on Michael Jordan's 6th championship. Jordan’s likeness sold for P500,000 all over the world. 


Design for Imaginary Clients


That’s how AJ bags his high-profile roster of clients. He would set out on his own to create the designs he loves doing (even without any initial client comissions). He advises, “Design for imaginary clients.” He once created a website devoted to Linsanity, which caught the attention of a Nike agency, inviting him to work with the team. 

This is how he reels them in. This is how he attracts his clients. He now does what he really loves doing, designing for the NBA, Tom Brady, NFL, other dope clients, and all that stuff.



























About Post Author

I’m a wandering Filipina-German living in Manila. Flower child and moonlighter at heart, I dream, write, photograph, (model sometimes), and specialize in content and user experience design.

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About Me

About Me
I’m a wandering Filipina-German living in Manila. Flower child and moonlighter at heart, I dream, write, photograph, (model sometimes), and specialize in content and user experience design

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