Episode 52. Brand Direction GPS Look Books.
Visual Packaging Game Plan for an Upcoming Youth Soccer Movie, Armadillo United.
Excited to Welcome Our Subscribers to Episode 52 of the Sports Branding Substack.
In sports, no team takes the field without a playbook. The coach doesn’t walk into the locker room and say, “Just go out there, play hard and win the game.” There are innumerable formations, audibles, route trees, two-minute drills and on and on…
The same is true for sports branding—yet too many designers and clients skip the most critical phase of the project cycle, the look book. Instead, they rush straight to logo sketches, jersey mockups, social media graphics, and other core brand impression touch points — only to find themselves lost in overtime revisions, conflicting feedback, and a brand that feels like it was assembled by committee.
That’s where the look book comes in. It’s not a mood board. It’s not a Pinterest collage. It’s the visual GPS of the branding project, codified before a single thumbnail is sketched. And it lives within a larger, disciplined process—a game plan that separates professional work from amateur $29.99 logos while you wait targetless design.
What is a Look Book?
A look book is a curated, visually driven presentation that defines a brand’s identity and creative direction. Rooted in fashion— but recently widely adopted in sports and design, it communicates tone, style, and intent through imagery over explanation. At its best, it becomes a storytelling tool—aligning key stakeholders around a clear and consistent visual narrative before creative execution begins.
At its core, a look book serves three purposes: to inspire, highlight trends, and introduce new work or products. It can also document the evolution of a design project or present a cohesive collection in a stylized, editorial format. Designers rely on consistent use of typography, color palettes, and brand elements to reinforce identity and create a unified visual experience over an array of applications.
When executed well, a look book becomes more than a portfolio—it’s a storytelling tool that connects a brand or designer to their client through a distinct and memorable visual narrative.
For this episode, Gameplan Creative Director Brigitte Smith and I present a case study look book developed for the Armadillo United movie—(yes, we’re going Hollywood… how cool is that?) exploring the brand identity direction for the youth soccer club — the central character (club) in the movie.
“I’ve spent 35 years designing brands seen globally on courts, fields, and broadcasts around the world. You don’t really think about where else they might end up—certainly not Hollywood. And then one day, you’re looking at your brand work as the central character in a film. A totally new audience. A new place for the work to live—the big screen. It’s flattering… and if I’m honest, a little humbling too.” -Tom O’Grady.
Look Book Case Study | Armadillo United: The Movie.
“Armadillo United” follows 12-year-old Dante Delgado and his fictional soccer club’s thrilling and unpredictable roller coaster ride to the World Cup of Youth Soccer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Antonio Banderas plays a character named Diego, described as “an eccentric ice cream vendor who believes he’s the legendary Argentine soccer player Diego Maradona and imparts important soccer and life lessons to the protagonist.” Rubén Blades (“Fear the Walking Dead”) will portray Coach Yepez, a former professional soccer star who serves as the coach of Armadillo United. Danay Garcia (“Prison Break”) will play Dante’s mother DeeDee. Trejo will portray Coach Koko, who leads the Armadillo United’s arch-rivals and nemesis, The Champions.
The feel-good film marks a reunion between Banderas and Trejo, who have shared the screen over the years in 1995’s “Desperado,” 1996’s “From Dusk Till Dawn” and the “Spy Kids” franchise. Yes, that “Spy Kids” franchise. Amazing.
Project Cycle. Process Breakout.
Since 2004, Gameplan Creative has utilized the “project cycle” with eight-phase milestones ensuring smooth client/agency engagement with turnkey execution.
SOCCER CLUB BRAND IDENTITY APPROACH
PHASE 1— ENGAGEMENT
1. RFP Issued by Client
2. Agency Response (No Spec Creative)
3. Contract Execution
PHASE 2 — DISCOVERY & STRATEGY
4. Stakeholder Interviews & Research
5. Market / League Audit
6. Brand Strategy & Positioning
7. Creative Brief Development
8. Client Approval of Creative Brief
PHASE 3 — CREATIVE DIRECTION
9. Lookbook Creation (Visual Explorations)
10. Lookbook Alignment & Strategic Sign-Off
PHASE 4 — IDENTITY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
11. Identity Exploration (Logos, Typography, Uniform Concepts in Parallel)
12. Concept Presentation & Iteration
13. Primary & Secondary Mark Refinement
14. Uniform & Equipment Design Integration
PHASE 5 — APPLICATION SYSTEM
15. Environmental / Venue Graphics
16. Digital & Social Media System
17. Merchandise & Retail Applications
PHASE 6 — VALIDATION & APPROVAL
18. League Review & Trademark Clearance
19. Manufacturer / Production Alignment
PHASE 7 — FINALIZATION
20. Brand Guidelines (Developed Throughout, Finalized Here)
21. Final Client Approval
22. Production-Ready Art Delivery
PHASE 8 — LAUNCH & MANAGEMENT
23. Launch Strategy & Rollout Planning
24. Public Launch
25. Ongoing Brand Management / Adherence Retainer
Phase 3 of the project cycle is where the Armadillo United Look Book is developed — serving as the creative launching pad—where visual direction is explored, tested, and aligned before creative direction and visual development begins.
Inspiration Look Book.
Unlike a simple mood board pinned to a wall, a professional look book is a structured presentation (typically 15–20 pages) that establishes critical benchmarks. For this project, Brigitte Smith and I developed an 18-page presentation deck that was submitted to Alan Jacobs, Executive Producer of Armadillo United.
“A look book isn’t just a tool for research or refining details—it’s where the story begins. It lays the foundation for the narrative behind the identity, capturing the essence of what lives beyond the logo. In this case, it serves as the starting point for shaping the world and storyline of Armadillo United.
By giving your clients the ingredients throughout the look book, you begin shaping direction, defining tone, and building toward a clear emotional outcome: what the audience should feel and how they should engage when they’re fully immersed in the brand.” -Brigitte Smith
Section i. Native Texas Armadillo
The look book targets the armadillo as both a symbolic and visual foundation for the brand. Key attributes—armor, resilience, adaptability, and movement—are defined to align the creative team and client around a shared visual language.
Layered throughout are lesser-known details help to deepen the narrative. For example, there are nine species of armadillos native to Texas, a detail that doesn’t sound important, but informs subtle design decisions, patterns, or hidden elements.
The goal is not restraint, but range of ideas. A surplus of reference material creates opportunity—where even the smallest detail can influence direction or become an embedded element for fans to discover over time. Easter eggs in today’s visual jargon.
10 Fast Facts About Armadillos | Biological & Behavioral Insights.
Armadillo is a Spanish word meaning little armored one, the outer shell their most noticeable feature.
The nine-banded armadillo has been designated the “Official State Small Mammal of Texas”. This fact led to the nine-banded armadillos’ stripes becoming a key brand component.
There are 21 species of armadillos, but only one, the nine-banded armadillo, is found in the United States, primarily in the South and West US regions.
Armadillos are most closely associated with Texas; home to more of them than any other state.
An armadillos’ body temperature is lower than most mammals and they have very little fat.
With climate change, their territory will continue to expand in warmer areas with 15 inches of rain annually.
Armadillos foraging for beetles, ants, termites, and worms makes them unwelcome yard guests for the damage they create as they dig for food.
Armadillos while having a clumsy appearance, can travel up to 30 mph.
When startled, an armadillo can jump straight up, as much as two or three feet.
The nine-banded armadillo found in Texas cannot roll up into a ball like other armadillos, which makes it more susceptible to predators.
Color and Texture Inspiration – Not a traditional palette, but a structured hierarchy:
Primary colors – the shell (becomes the core identity)
Secondary colors – supporting accents (extended tail and long snout)
Territory color – a localized identity layer
For the Armadillo United brand identity, copper and navy blue operate as the territory colors, referencing the 9-ring armadillo native to Texas.
Color, Texture & Kit Materiality System – The design system draws directly from the armadillo’s copper-toned armor shell, establishing a unified visual and physical language across identity and apparel.
An armadillo’s shell has a distinctly unique structure—rich with pattern, rhythm, and texture. Those geometric qualities offer a natural design language to build from, creating depth and visual interest. It also serves as a compelling parallel to the athlete: built for protection, resilience, and performance under pressure. Both its physical attributes and symbolic meaning align seamlessly, making it a powerful foundation for the identity.
-Brigitte Smith
The color hierarchy is derived from this same source: primary tones represent the core shell, secondary accents provide structural variation, and a territory color anchors the identity in place through copper and navy blue—referencing the 9-ring armadillo native to Texas.
Surfaces are treated as segmented armor rather than fabric alone—defined by layered protection, subtle metallic undertones, and structured paneling that echoes natural plating.
Within the kit system, these principles translate directly from identity to application. Thekits becomes a physical extension of the crest: a wearable armor system where color, structure, and material all originate from the same armadillo reference point.
Section ii. Armadillo United Logo Design.
For Armadillo United, the logo system is grounded in what consistently defines strong soccer identities at the highest level. A successful club mark must be immediately recognizable, emotionally resonant, and aspirational in tone. It should carry team spirit and pride, while functioning as a clear visual anchor for players, supporters, and partners alike. And if the icon can have an attitude, all the better.
Experience and exploration suggest strong soccer crests work best when they are:
Memorable, recognizable, and aspirational
Rooted in crest or roundel structures
Simple, with distinct color, shape, and typography systems
Flexible across all applications and sizes
Effective in one-color, black-and-white, and full-color formats
Designed for extension into secondary and tertiary marks
Aligned with club values and audience buy-in
In most cases, the most effective soccer identities lean into crest or roundel-based structures, creating a contained and disciplined space for symbolism and storytelling.
Within that structure, simplicity becomes a strength—distinct shapes, controlled color systems, and considered typography ensure clarity at every size and application.
Equally important is brand flexibility. A primary soccer mark must perform across all environments: digital, print, apparel, broadcast, and merchandise. It should remain legible and powerful in single-color, black-and-white, and full-color executions. Where appropriate, the system can be constructed with layering in mind—allowing for secondary and tertiary brand expressions without diluting the core identity.
· Typography Systems - Play a defining role in differentiation. Proprietary fonts and custom wordmarks elevate the club beyond category conventions, while reinforcing ownership and authenticity. Subtle references to the sport itself may be embedded within the crest, acting as secondary cues rather than overt illustration.
Athletic lettering separated from supporting typefaces. Each font is assigned a job: “This typefont for jersey numbers, this for the wordmark, this for social graphics, and this font on broadcast and environments.”
Finally, the most effective club identities are built with alignment in mind. The mark must reflect the values of the organization, resonate with its intended audience, and achieve clear internal and external buyoff. When appropriate, a club slogan or rallying call can be integrated—either within the structure of the crest or encircling it—to
Section iii. Armadillos Kit (Uniform) Design.
From its earliest functional roots to its role today as a cultural and commercial icon, the evolution of the soccer kit has elevated it into something far greater than apparel. It is a badge of loyalty, a marker of moments, and a canvas where a club’s past, present, and future converge.
A kit becomes a symbol of unity and pride, connecting players and supporters through a shared visual language. It holds history, reflects culture, and signals ambition—bridging the gap between performance and belonging.
For the Armadillo United film, the kits function as both team identity and cinematic device. They are not built for the grind of a full season, but for the scrutiny of the camera—where every stitch, texture, and color decision is magnified on screen. Details of the outfits will be highly scrutinized when close-up scenes appear on the big screen in movie theaters.
Strip away the over-hyped Nikesque performance language and the reality is straightforward: the kit is worn, filmed, and returned to the prop house. A very unusual role for athletic wear in 2026.
In this context, there are no lightweight interpretations or exaggerated performance narratives. The work is practical, intentional, and visually disciplined—designed to hold up under lighting, framing, and repetition across multiple takes. The kit ultimately operates as a controlled extension of the movie, built as much for storytelling as it is for sport.
Section iv. Armadillo United Regional Imagery.
The Armadillo United movie script does not call out a specific home location for the club so the look book lacks standard visual call outs of local “points of interest”.
Why Look Books Matter.
One of the most common missteps in branding is rushing past the look book and moving straight into logo concepts. It’s tempting—but it bypasses the most critical phase of the process since the look book is where alignment is built and strategic permission is earned.
It reframes subjective reaction (“I just don’t like blue…”) into objective evaluation, grounding feedback in a shared visual language rather than personal preference.
At its core, a look book functions as pre-agreed creative direction between client and agency—a form of visual insurance established at the outset. It defines the boundaries, sets expectations, and creates clarity before creative execution begins.
Once approved, the project moves forward with confidence: primary logo development, kit design, environmental graphics, digital systems, merchandise, and ultimately a complete set of brand guidelines. Each phase builds on a foundation that has already been vetted, understood — and agreed upon.
This process is not a one-off creative exercise, but an invaluable repeatable framework for building identity systems across sports—and, when applicable, beyond sport entirely… even movies!!!
The look book becomes a transferable structure: a disciplined method for aligning stakeholders, defining visual territory, and establishing decision-making logic before execution begins. Whether applied to a professional club, a youth program, or a non-sports brand environment, the principle remains the same—clarity before creation.
Look Book Final Page.
The look book is where direction is decided before execution begins—where opinion gets replaced by alignment, and where every future decision is already speaking the same visual language.
Get that part right, and everything downstream—logos, kits, environments, digital systems—stops being interpretation and becomes execution with intent.
Miss it, and the brand spends the rest of its life correcting itself.
Stick to the process, and the work holds—on the field, on screen, and in memory.
When you’re sitting in a dark theater, popcorn in hand, and Armadillo United shows up larger than life on the big screen—the identity, the kits, the world around it—just remember: that didn’t happen by accident.
That’s what process looks like when guided by sports branding GPS… the look book!
That’s the visual creative direction game plan (Vince knew it…). - The End.
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