In August of 2014 I took a volunteer position to help coordinate a 5k & 10k for Stand Up Placer, an organization in California that empowers victims of domestic and sexual violence.
THE LOGO
I first offered my services in re-creating the logo for the run since the previous years' designs poorly communicated the branding of the organization. My design above incorporated the Pantone colors and the same typeface (different weight and width) as the Stand Up Placer logo. I used a bolder more condensed face for the text to emulate modern Nike designs, which I believed would attract a broader group of runners. It was also featured on the Roseville Auto Mall mega screen for a month prior to the race, flashing my graphic to thousands of commuters on the I 80 through to Nevada.
THE SHIRTS
Because I work at a T-shirt printing place I offered to design the shirts at no art, quote or revision charge. This was ideal for the organization as they had been severely over quoted by previous T-shirt places and my employment at Athletics Unlimited offered supervision over every step of the printing process to ensure a perfect result.
THE BRANDING
To ensure cohesion, I also created the run flyers, 400 of which were printed and distributed throughout the surrounding cities. Because they liked the flyer and logo design so much, they decided to incorporate it in almost every facet of the race, including the medals handed out to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place runners of every age bracket.
THE COURSE
In addition to my design contributions, I was also the course manager. The organization chose a new location for this year's run and had no set course on record, so I took it upon myself to create one. In high school I ran Cross Country and Track and have to date completed five half marathons, two 10ks and six 5ks, giving me a pretty good idea how to most efficiently design a course.
THE 5 ZONE
I had a lot of ideas along the way that might encourage onlooker-participant interaction to create a more fun and friendly atmosphere. People who may be walking along this course unaware of the run may want to join in next year after being drawn in by the 5 ZONE.
THE SIGNAGE
Because the course was so curvy and on public terrain, I created and posted multiple signs to along the path to alert runners to the turnaround locations. To keep with branding and visual consistency, I used only the Futura family as well as the 5 colors present in the original Stand Up Placer logo. A sign went up at every mile marker, both turn-arounds, and 200 yards before each turn-around point, making the course easier to navigate for runners, supporters, and staff alike.
THE MARKERS
After walking, running and biking the course 6 times I knew the course like the back of my hand. When I offered to post the mile markers the evening before I found out they did not, nor had they ever, had any from any former races. A quick 20 min later I had START, FINISH and Miles 1-5 designed, printed and ready to post the next morning at 5am.
THE RESULTS
After I set up the course direction markers, I biked back to help set up the awards table with only a few minutes to spare to see the first runners from the 10k cross the finish line. This was an amazing and positive experience and results showed it was not only the largest group of runners, but the most money raised of any previous year.