The first design was a classic tournament T-shirt bought by players participating in LAMBDA's summer 2025 3 on 3 tournament. The LAMBDA board provided a Pinterest board for inspiration and detailed what text needed to be on the shirt. Other than that, I was allowed to take the graphic in my own direction.
Below you can see the Pinterest board, a slide from my pitch deck, and an early concept sketch.
The first shirt was well received by the LAMBDA board and by players in the league. Weeks later, one player even told me it was her new favorite shirt, and it was getting dirty and worn from how much she had been wearing it, which is feedback I am honored to have received!
Next, the league asked me to design a shirt for the winners of the Fall 2025 league. This time they just provided the required text. The visuals were completely up to me.
I created my own Pinterest board (included below) and took inspiration from vintage AAU T-shirts. I especially wanted to lean into the playful wackiness of sports typography and graphics from the 90s and early 2000s.
I adapted the state silhouette concept from one of the Pinterest pins and drew a basketball player figure in Procreate that was a mix between Sue Bird and Kristen Stewart in Love Lies Bleeding. I wanted the figure to feel androgynous because the shirts would be worn by the Womens+ and All Gender League champions (pictured below).
Simultaneously, I also designed a fundraising T-shirt. Again, I was given full creative freedom and I created my own Pinterest board. I took inspiration from vintage American ads from the 50s and also the Mel's Diner sign.
For the design, I drew a pin-up girl sign pointing to the West Hollywood Park rec center, which is where LAMBDA games are played. Below, you can see the final shirt, an early sketch, and the Pinterest board.
This project was a ton of fun. I loved getting to develop a series of T-shirts with a cohesive aesthetic that each served a different purpose. As a LAMBDA player myself, I was honored to be able to contribute to the community.
