The Creative Director approached me with a clear brief: to develop a series of hand-painted slashed zeros (“Ø”) in a drippy, expressive paint style. These graphic elements were to serve as the central visual identity for the upcoming Fall/Winter 2024 Zero ski collection. In addition to the slashed zero, I was tasked with illustrating the phrase Zero Collective as well as creating distinct lettering for each of the seven ski model names.
We began with a broad exploration of styles to identify the most compelling direction for the project. I experimented with various techniques for rendering the zero, using different tools and materials, some producing rich textures, others resulting in cleaner lines or expressive drips and splatters.
Once we had aligned on a general visual direction, I moved into a deeper exploration of that style,refining its characteristics, testing variations, and pushing its expressive potential.
At the same time, we explored various directions for the ski model names, the collection title lettering, and a hand-drawn interpretation of the ARMADA logo.
All elements follow a cohesive visual language. The Zeros features a bold, expressive style, while the ski model names were rendered in a thinner variation to complement it. Both retain the hand-painted character, with visible texture, drips, and imperfections that emphasize the analog process. The final artwork was converted into bitmap format and screenprinted onto the skis, preserving the tactile quality of the original brushwork.
