Yonex is a Japanese manufacturer of sports equipment, most known for the quality of its badminton equipment. The fact that its various types badminton rackets are named with very cool, sci-fi sounding names and the badminton birdie looking like a UFO and its beam, have inspired an alien/space theme. Additionally, this metaphor attributes Yonex’s badminton equipment to things that are not of this world, as if made by aliens, due to the amazing quality of materials, performance, and innovation that it took to design them.
I chose Yonex because I already owned some of their equipment and badminton is my favorite sport. I was taking a badminton class at the time, so my passion for the game was at an all time high.
Brand Analysis/research
Ideation/sketches
The ideas that I went with ones the one where I focused on space or sci-fi aspects because they provided a more interesting concept than my other sketches/ideas, which were more general and cliche. I worked to build upon the idea of aliens since I thought a badminton birdie looked like a UFO and its beam.
Photography
Poster 1
My makeshift photoshoot
I initially wanted to use green light to act as the beam from the birdie, but it didn't give me the effect that I wanted. I ended up taking photos without the green light and editing the beam in photoshop.
Poster 2
I wanted to incorporate Yonex's badminton shoes because I had them on hand and I think they're designed really well. I chose to take these pictures and decided to place them underneath the UFO beam to create an interesting perspective.
Typography
This type is not used in their branding, but was used in their equipment magazines for the past few years. I thought it went well with the alien theme that I was going with.
Mockups
Promotional signs
Instagram Carousel
