Cooper Glick, Spring 24

CONTENT

TYPOGRAPHY

VECTOR DESIGN

RENDER CONCEPTS

HERO CARDS

DIGITAL PAINT SCHEMES

MEDIA GRAPHICS

PHOTOGRAPHY

VECTOR DESIGN

Name rails in racing are one of the most critical aspects when it comes to drivers branding themselves. Name rails, usually applied to either the top of the doors, bottom of the doors, or above the windows on their racecars, act as a designed and branded signature for the driver. They are used as a logo for their websites and social media when not on the race track. They also appear on driver merchandise and memorabilia, such as autographed driver cars or clothing. They are just as important as a logo or wordmark is to a company.

MBM Motorsports parody logo RealRadman sim racing number font Commemorative uniform framing services logo Custom off-road vehicle accessory designing company logo

When designing for race teams, brand application and repurposing to create something new from it is very important. Whether if it is a race team looking to expand and they need another car number, if a race team is looking to run a throwback of a very old racecar and they want to apply the old branding to their own numbers, or if teams are collaborating and they want to create a number that unifies both brands together, being able to look at branding and apply it to create something new from it is valuable.

What I did to display my skill for this is I took the number 50 from racecar driver Preston Pardus and created a whole number set based on only reference photography. From that photography, I was able to create a complete number set that took their branding and applied it fully to all of the new numbers.

Talladega Superspeedway is one of the fastest and most popular tracks to host NASCAR-sanctioned races. At the beginning of February, International Speedway Corporation, the company that owns Talladega, revealed that it had rebranded Talladega’s logo and identity, simplifying its old logo down and modifying it to match the rest of the tracks owned under the ISC banner.

The response from the sport’s fanbase was immediate and apparent, they did not approve of this rebranding as many believed it completely stripped away all the characteristics and identity that the old logo expressed. In response to this rebranding, I took it upon myself to redesign the rebrand in an attempt to appeal to both ISC branding and the fanbase. I made sure to keep ISC’s sleek brand identity while incorporating aspects of the old logo as a callback to it, with the use of blue and bringing over the giant double Ls from the original logo for example.

The response to my rebrand was overwhelmingly positive when I posted it online with it reaching over 55,000 views on Twitter, plenty even saying that if this was the real rebrand they would have had no complaints about it.

Previous Talladega logo 1998-2023 Rebranded Talladega logo 2024

RENDER CONCEPTS

Justin Haley Rick Ware Racing Fraternal Order of Eagles Cup Series concept

Racing eRacr Xfinity Series concept

Parker

Kligerman

Big Machine

Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing MF Ghost Cup Series concept

Menards Series sponsor pitch

Colby

Evans CCM Racing Casey’s ARCA

HERO CARDS

Christopher Tate Late Model hero card

hero card

Brayton Laster ARCA Menards Series

DIGITAL PAINT SCHEMES

In August 2023, a contest opened up allowing online digital designers the opportunity to design for a real race car. Organized by DriveSmart Warranty and DGM Racing, the contest was the design the best looking DriveSmart Warranty sponsored DGM Racing racecar, where the most popular design from a public vote would have their winning design become a reality on the racetrack.

On top of having a well designed racecar, the design also had to align with the branding standards and guidelines of the race team DGM Racing, the primary sponsor DriveSmart Warranty, and the multiple secondary sponsors who also paid to be on the racecar. And ontop of all that, the design also had to be within the guidelines of what the NASCAR sanctioning body allowed for ontrack paint schemes to look like. These are all the stipulations that I had to abide by as I started designing my entry that was due the next month.

When the voting began, my entry was noticed by the organizers and those voting. NASCAR driver Kyle Weatherman, the driver who would be driving the winning design, said that my design was a top three favorite of his out of all the entries. At the end of the voting, out of 60 plus entries, my design ranked in fifth place out of all entries.

This shows plenty of things about me and my designing. For one, I am able to apply branding and branding guidelines into my design. I am able to take the branding of multiple different entities and put them together on the same ‘canvas’ and not have them conflict with each other. It also shows my ability to promote and market myself. Being able to be recognized by industry personnel and have my designs be a top preference for them is a huge achievement for someone designing in the industry.

This was a commissioned digital sim racing paint scheme design for content creator Darian Gilliam. Darian Gilliam, also known as Black Flags Matter online, is an online content creator who does informational commentary on NASCAR and football. He has also had the opportunity to do pit reporting and interview work for NASCAR-sanctioned races and events. Darrian is very well-known and active in the NASCAR fanbase and community.

This shows that I have a great ability for brand application, being able to take other’s branding and apply it to designs that feels natural for the brand. Brand application is a vital component for designing in the motorsports industry.

This also shows that I have experience being trusted with the branding of very important individuals like this. It also shows my ability to score work with professional and well-known individuals like this.