Moontower soccer
As a member of an Austin FC-supporting household all the way back to year 0, it was a no-brainer when I was approached by the hosts of the team's fan-favorite podcast for some ad-hoc work. Moontower Soccer, hosted by Landon Cotham and Jeremiah Bentley, is a show lauded for thoughtful Major League Soccer commentary with minimum hot takes. Their branding is straightforward and minimal, which they found challenging when it came to creating enticing branded giveaway items for members of their Patreon. They wanted to lean into a more organic feel for a bandana offered at their second-highest tier of membership, and a bottle of hot sauce for their top-tier "Captains."
Enter: my iPad (and my love of hot sauce). I illustrated a label design for a limited batch of Moontower Morita and Garlic hot sauce, produced by local-to-Austin St. Blane's Hot Sauce. I was given creative freedom with this project (a dream!) and shared a few design directions with Landon and Jeremiah, but we all agreed that a moniker as iconic as "Moontower" needed a fittingly groovy treatment.
For their bandana design, the hosts were looking for something with minor branding and maximum wearability. In Austin bandanas are aplenty, so I knew this needed to maintain enough of a 'cowboy-core' aesthetic to earn real use as an accessory and, in turn, brand awareness. I combined Texas elements — a large agave in each corner and an intertwined belt-buckle-esque "M S" in the center — with Moontower Soccer easter eggs throughout, such as a moon in a cloudy night sky that doubles as an abstracted soccer ball in motion and miniscule moontowers at the base of each agave.
