AKQA Road Case

It was a three-dimensional puzzle, the kind of problem we love to take on. Our client AKQA had assembled a wide variety of Nike shoes, clothing, equipment, and gifts, to be given away by the Finish Line store in their HQ city, Indianapolis. We had to measure, weigh, and visualize how to fit everything into the most efficient space. Our inspiration was to use wheeled road cases – not just to house the items in a visually spectacular way, but also to provide a reusable storage box. Who wouldn’t want a road case, after all?  

To make the project even more challenging, there were three different collections to build. 

The Blazer case includes six outfits, including tees, sweats, a pair of shoes, a duffel bag, and a backpack. The message on the lid says it all: “Yours To Be Worn.” Inside, the clothing is in a branded acrylic tray that sits on rails, and lifts out to reveal the duffel and backpack. Every item is in its own custom-made, branded container.   

Next up: The LeBron James case. This one has his persona all over it. His drawings provide the artwork for Nike swoosh and King James logo, and his handwriting becomes the font. Like the Blazer case, a branded acrylic tray rests on rails to reveal the loot below – in this case, four pairs of shoes, each one with an inspirational quote from LeBron. We wrapped the boxes in a black matte carton sleeve with a premium feel, and each one is highlighted with a color sampled from its respective shoe colorway.  

And the show stopper: The Kyrie Irving brand case. This one is nearly three feet wide, two feet high, and a foot and a half deep. It’s made of 3/8” plywood with spring-action handles, double foam lining, and custom inserts to hold the gifts inside. The top layer is a polished stained oak tray containing a basketball in a branded bag, a journal, a Polaroid camera in a Kyrie-logo-engraved oak box, and an acrylic gift card for a master class. Under the tray are the Kyrie brand clothing and shoes, hand-wrapped with black tissue and a branded sticker inside glossy custom boxes.  

We created seven cases in total, and sent them safely on the road to Indianapolis – a successful performance by AKQA, Nike, and Premier.