Negotiated Project: IBC Boxing Calendar

The aim of the brief was to research the following five sports; boxing, curling, football, tennis and underwater rugby. The calendar was for fans and followers to use and enjoy on a regular basis, helping them to keep track of upcoming events.

I have always had an interest in sports but never actually followed one sport in particular until four years ago when I discovered boxing. I originally did not know whether to design a boxing calendar or base it on another sport, but my appreciation and connection to boxing helped me ultimately choose this sport. This brief allowed me to get ‘real life’ experience because, the Islington Boxing Club gym I am a member of, was looking for a graphic artist to design a calendar for them.

I chose to use hand-drawn illustrations so the tone of voice was more personal and so it stood out from other sports calendars in existence. The boxers loved the comic inspired style of imagery and it made the finished project strong and effective. The identity link of the club is very present in the design.

One of the most important parts of designing is understanding where design comes from and the theory behind it all. One of the ways to understand it is by looking at past ideas and bringing past influences and inspirations to inform one’s design decisions. During this brief I looked for inspiration that would inspire innovative ideas. And one main source of influence was from the IBC - understanding the club’s needs were crucial to the development of the design and the comprehension of who they were was the strength during the brief.

The images above show the target audience of the brief. Creating a target market profile helps to put the audience into an organized and understandable manner. The bottom image is of the IBC amateur boxers.

This was another style of imagery I experimented with. The top image is drawn from conte pastels and the bottom in oil pastels. The style is very dramatic and bold, and would demand attention.

These were the final comic inspired drawings for the calendar. Each one is different but the style is the same throughout, linking them all together and creating one coherent message. The IBC boxers absolutely loved the drawings of themselves and felt it shows them in a natural manner.