// ESPN / EXPN Photo Collages //

We were deeply involved with ESPN Events and X Games producing a variety of services during my employment at The Familie LLC. As our partnership grew, ESPN the magazine engaged us to provide consultation on a spinoff magazine for the EXPN brand. EXPN, served as their Action Sports online platform, and was closely integrated with X Games in their efforts. As the business plan took shape, we began developing design proposals to define the visual identity of the prospective new magazine.

During this time, a colleague and I attended a David Hockney exhibition at the Getty in Los Angeles, which left us profoundly inspired. We were eager to infuse elements of Hockney's style into a new series or editorial section of the forthcoming magazine. With my background as an action sports photographer, I had previously enjoyed assembling sequences and creating photo montages. These executions presented a puzzle-like challenge that I truly enjoyed. I always started with a rough authentic motion path of the athlete then looked to add the creative direction of the shapes and overlapping background. The collages we gathered for inspiration incorporated square or rectangle shapes, and we wanted the final work to feel fresh and decided to run with a more geometric shape.

The first in the series ran in ESPN the magazine (pictured above and right) in a feature highlighting X Games content. I both photographed Nate Adams and designed the collage then handing the digital “photo Illustration” off to the magazine for text and layout. In later executions I received sequenced action images and apply the same general idea while additional direction came from the Art Director at the magazine. It received great praise and the series appeared in both ESPN and EXPN magazines over a few year period.