Project Description

For the final year of AIDS/LifeCycle's 7-day, 545 mile fundraising ride from SF to LA, the Marauders new team captain asked me to design a new jersey commemorating the event. She wanted to convey a sense of JOY, have the design rooted in nature and include a fun 1970's stripe. She sent me examples of rolling green hills, blue skies, different 70's inspired stripes and a cute photo of a happy, running golden retriever. :) I've done this ride twice, I was a training ride leader and had been involved with AIDS/LifeCycle for years, so I definitely understood the joy that she was describing.

My first round of designs had a base of blue and green to symbolize the sky and hills. My 70s stripes were rainbows and I sprinkled in lots of stars because to me that felt like joy. But I was worried it would be too campy. It was a huge departure from previous team jersey designs, where I was told to keep it more understated and "definitely NO pink". The new team captain loved the designs but also thought it might be a bit much for the Marauders. My next round of design went back to the team's darker, more serious blues and teals, the rainbow became muted tones and the stars were gone. The designs were nice but they were definitely lacking the joy and spark that the previous round had. So we embraced the JOY and camp and when the design was released people were SO excited about it. I even heard that someone at an event was so in love with the design that she ordered it immediately on her phone; she wasn't a team member.