Adidas : Smart Ball / MiCoach App 

Client: Adidas
Studio: Citizen, Inc.
Role: Art Direction & Design, Product Design UI
Collaborators: Annette Thurston - Creative Direction, Kate McCusker - Producer, Graham Barey - Motion Design

As previously mentioned in the pitch portion of this project, the Adidas Digital Soccer Ball has sensors inside and pairs with a smart phone to measure speed, bend, spin and flight path when a ball is kicked. The name of the project changed a few times in the six months we developed the iOS app designs (ball names included Digital Soccer Ball and Smart Ball while the app was called Kick App and MiCoach). The app measures kicks, tracks kick data over time, has video tutorials to develop dribbling and shooting skills, has instructions for setup and troubleshooting, and has game challenges to compete against a friend or pro. In the design we wanted the kick data to be the hero and to use design where possible to add visual context to the results (such as low to high ranges, level indicators, and more). Our designs were handed off to Adidas' development team in Germany, and ten months later the ball and app were launched ahead of the Champions League final at the Adidas Lab in London. The ball and app received a huge amount of press (overwhelmingly positive) which was certainly helped by bringing in Zinedine Zidane and Michael Ballack to demonstrate the ball and app (video below). The app and ball went on to appear in Apple's "Strength" campaign. 

Footnote: I grew up cheering for Zidane, and seeing him interact with something I designed still feels like a dream. I'll always have an infinite level of respect for Zizou for having the audacity to execute a Panenka penalty kick in a WORLD CUP FINAL (even if he was red carded later in the same game for the infamous head butt!) Attempting such a risky kick as an estimated worldwide audience of 715 million watches requires an unparalleled level of confidence.