NBA x AT&T: Store Takeover

Welcome to the FanZone — a collaboration with the NBA and AT&T celebrating the fandom and spectacle of the 2020 NBA All Star game in Chicago.

We created a complete store takeover consisting of interactive physical and digital experiences, passive visual displays, environmental graphics, and branding.

One of AT&T’s few flagship stores is located in Chicago IL and being a prolific sponsor of the NBA, our client asked us to go above and beyond to create unique experiences for fans and customers alike. This started with naming and creating a unified brand and visual center inspired by the urban basketball atheistic.

We drew inspiration from graphic languages seen in NBA, NCAA, and WNBA teams, which included things like ripped paper, tape, bold fonts and colors, and sketched accents. 

Each experience highlighted a different aspect of the game — from dunking, to the court, to the ball itself, we covered it all. 

In total, we created seven experiences that ranged in level of involvement. Together my co-worker and I designed each experience from the ground up, creating the user experience, graphic user interface, and surrounding physical print graphics. We tested different variations of user experiences and meticulously made each design decision.

Here’s a full breakdown of each unique experience we designed for the space.

  • Court Designer

    This touchscreen interactive gave fans a place to flex their creative muscle and design their own NBA court. There were plenty of options including wood type, wood color, line colors, paint color, and extras. Once submitted fans could view and vote on other designs.

  • Hot Take Booth

    Utilizing a sound proof booth, we gave fans the privacy to really give their personal NBA opinions. An interactive touch screen allowed users to get a look of their setup before recording, reviewing, and sharing it to themselves.

  • Dunk Cam

    A touchscreen kiosk walked fans through the process of setting up the right shot. Once ready a shot clock counts down the time to achieve the best pose. The kiosk displayed the pic and once satisfied the final asset was emailed with a branded border.

  • All about the Ball

    This passive experience lets fans explore a curated collection of Spalding basketballs, and discover how basketballs are made and prepared. The back wall tied the space together featuring a large inspirational quote from Dr. James Naismith.

  • History of the Game

    This vertical interactive experience gave fans a way to explored the history of basketball through the original 13 rules of the game, presented in engaging illustrations and infographics.

  • Watch Lounge

    This passive lounge-like atmosphere was designed so fans could hang out, relax, and watch curated NBA highlights.

  • The Jumbotron

    Utilizing the NBA.com stat tracker we displayed live and recent scores in real time to fans as the center piece to the experience.

This store takeover was a great success and AT&T saw a large increase of traffic during All Star Weekend. 

We also gathered analytic data on the interactive experiences to asses level of interaction and what could be improved. The Hot Take Booth and the Dunk Cam saw the highest turnout and some great pictures were shared on social media with the hashtag #attfanzone.

From concepting the original experiences to helping on site during the store install I had never been so involved on a project. Being a basketball fan myself made the whole process so exciting and getting to experience it in person during All Star Weekend was the cherry on top. 

  • UX and UI Design, Experience Design, Logo Design,  Illustration, Visual Center Development, Production Artist.

  • Early 2020, with Twenty Four 7

  • Steve Shaw: Creative Director

    Kyle Kendrick: Lead Design 

    Elise Englert: Illustration