Every year during ski season—through all the ruckus of road trips, sleeping in tents, screaming and cheering at the top of our lungs, red and blue body painting, missing passes and making them too—we’ve created a team that feels more like a family. - Treah Hutchings
to u r n a m E n
t tYpograp
HY
s K w a h y a spr tion
tHE
k E L LY rEEVE
in aC
typography + water
5 i ntro du Cti o n
WATERSKI AnD BoATInG BRAnDInG and typography is universally recognized by individuals with connections to the sport. The University of Kansas Waterski Club and its competitors around the United States are all deďŹ ned by team spirit through design of logos, typography, and colors. The camaraderie, challenges, and success in collegiate waterskiing add up to a lifestyle that is cherished by those involved. This book will feature the typography found on water skis and equipment as well as showcase personal stories and memories of the Kansas skiers.
Chapter 1:
it’s not just a sport
Katie O’Connor completes a pass through the slalom course on a D3 ski. Katie grew up competing in three-event waterskiing and skied for the University of Kansas for four years. The “X7” typeface on her ski is blocky, san-serif, and outlined.
Katie trick skis at the national collegiate waterski tournament. She balances her tricks with her foot in the rope.
8 it’s not just a sport
Katie also uses D3 brand jump skis. The letterforms convey movement and speed.
“When you see someone walking around with a Mastercraft shirt or a USA Waterski shirt, you know that is someone you want to introduce yourself to,” said senior KU skier, Katie O’Connor. Because waterskiing is such a unique sport, there is a lot of pride and enthusiasm between the small numbers of people connected with it. Katie grew up competing in three event skiing. She joined the Kansas ski club as a freshman and participated all four years of college. At the beginning of her senior year at KU, she moved into a new house surrounded by new neighbors. She noticed that one of her neighbors had a Ronix sticker (a brand of wakeboards and equipment) on his car and got to know him because of their instant connection with watersports. As it turns out, Katie convinced the neighbor, Riley Soward, who transferred to KU for his senior year, to join the waterski club at KU. It was the perfect opportunity for him to meet a new group of people, learn new things about three-event waterskiing, and practice wakeboarding. The striped lettering of “Ronix” reflect the simple and sleek pattern of the rest of the life jacket.
9 tHE Li F E stYLE
ThERE IS no BETTER SUppoRTER oF A brand than someone who is passionate about what that brand does. Watersport enthusiasts are generally interested when they see the typography or symbols that define their favorite waterski, boat, or equipment company.
Logos are distinctive identiďŹ ers for skiers. The typefaces can be recognized from far distances. Missouri State, Iowa State, and Kansas State are three competitors in the Midwest region.
10 it’s not just a sport
During Katie’s junior year in the ski club, she brought one of her close friends, Danielle Green to a competition to hang out and have fun for the weekend.
“Danielle doesn’t ski but when I first took her to a tournament, she had so much fun. When we woke up the next morning after camping, she said, ‘what did you bring me to?! These are the nicest people and they really care about you and want to get to know you.’” Danielle had made friends with the skiers from other schools and realized how friendly they were. The connections between students from participating schools is not only instant because of the shared interest, but also lasting. After hanging out with each other for a few weekends in a row, members know they can count on each other for anything. Katie O’Connor also mentioned that if she ever needed to travel anywhere in the country, she wouldn’t hesitate to call another skier and ask to sleep on their couch.
Katie o ’ Co n n o r //////////////
ri Ley
s owarD //////////////
Da n ie LLe
green // // // // // // // /
11 tHE Li F E stYLE
Members of the Kansas waterski club know that skiing is not just a sport, it is a lifestyle. Between the interteam bonding during and outside of ski season and the friendships that are developed with skiers from other schools, skiing is more than just a competition.
o k at o u r a CLosEr Lo
s r o t i t e p M Co Many students and faculty members are surprised to hear that a waterski club even exists at their university. here are the logos (including typography) of
12 it’s not just a sport
the Midwestern schools that compete with each other. These logos are found on t-shirts, stickers, skis, and bibs all around ski sites at weekend tournaments.
Tim Kuhn walks out of the water after competing in the trick ski event. The typeface in the Kansas logo is seen on many other branding materials for athletics at Kansas. The design of the “D3” on his ski is inspired by Old English typefaces.
tiM Kuhn ////////////// /
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15 tHE Li F E stYLE
Along with the large amount of friendships and connections that people make in the ski community, they usually find their very best friends in their own team. Senior Tim Kuhn’s birthday falls during the week of the national competition in the fall. He said,
“spending my birthday with you guys every year is a blast. Before college, I always had football practice or games so I always had to be serious. Now I can celebrate with all of you.” Tim grew up wakeboarding with his friends and family at home and learned to trick ski when he got to college.
The team swimsuits are all marked with “Kansas Waterski” in a common typeface. The team spirit as seen by the constant crimson and blue defines the Kansas brand. The flags that the skiers are holding also use KU branding and logos.
B ran Do n r eg este r // / / / / / / / / / / ///
One of sophomore Brandon Regester’s favorite moments of team spirit was at the Regional tournament in Illinois in the fall of 2014.
“The amount of cheering and camaraderie from the team was awesome. We were just super excited for everybody.” During that tournament, team members painted their entire bodies with red and blue and Kansas lettering.
16 it’s not just a sport
17 THE LIF E STYLE
Brandon Regester uses equipment from many different brands when he jump skis. His skis, boots, gloves, jump suit, arm strap, bib, and helmet are all marked differently.
Mary Hamilton reaches out as she skis around the buoy in the slalom course. She uses a Goode ski with writing that is worn and faded and wears the same Kansas bib as her teammates.
Jake Waldenmeyer and Mary Hamilton are two seniors that joined the team when they were freshmen. Both of their favorite experiences of the club were also not just about skiing, but the lifestyle of tournaments and team bonding. Mary remembers the first tournament of her junior year at Missouri State’s Lake Freddy. Across the lake from the main dock and camping area is a rope swing hidden in the woods. Mary knew about the swing because her older siblings told her stories about it. Jon Hamilton was an alumni of the
18 it’s not just a sport
M a ry haM i Lto n // // // // // // // /
Many brands create variations of logos for different types of products. This is a barefoot suit and the photo below is a women’s life jacket, both made by the same company.
“you go down this really skinny road, it’s so skinny that you have to go all the way around the lake or back up the whole way.” Once everyone got to the swing, they set up Jon’s tailgate cover on the hill.
This “eagle sports” typeface is round and uses a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.
jaKe waLDen M e yer
// / / / / / / / / / / / / /
“At the rope swing, you had to stand up on something high because you have to get leverage on the rope swing so you don’t hit the ground before you hit the water. You swing over the water and you plop down like 30 feet and it’s amazing.” Mary’s boyfriend, Jake also had a blast jumping off of the rope. One of Jake’s other favorite memories of Kansas Waterski was hanging out with members of KU and the other ski teams at a Denny’s restaurant in California during his sophomore year.
19 tHE Li F E stYLE
Kansas team at the time and was at Lake Freddy to watch the tournament and hang out with old friends. During a break in the skiing action, a few of the KU skiers piled into Jon’s truck to head over to the swing. Mary said described the adventure like this:
These Goodman jump skis use a box shaped typeface and a colored drop shadow. The Midwest Nighty logo uses contrast between the thick and thin letterforms.
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Collegiate waterskiing is usually the best overall college experience for most of the members. Passion for the sport and the water, instant recognition for brands, and similar lifelong priorities make waterskiing more than just a sport, but a lifestyle.
21 tHE Li F E stYLE
During that same trip to California, senior Drew Brittain, remembers riding in his family’s RV with the whole ski team. He said the members became even better friends during their time in close quarters and each night was like one big sleep over.
Chapter 2:
strength & DeterMination
Below: Sean Kulig uses the red HO Syndicate ski which matches his red life jacket and gloves. The word Syndicate, takes up almost the entire bottom portion of the ski and stands out because of the contrast between white and red.
sean KuLig /////////////// 24 strEngtH & dEtErmination
25 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
Treah Hutchings skis behind the 2015 Mastercraft Prostar. The Mastercraft logo looks official and refined. Treah’s Duval ski does not have any branding on the bottom of it.
AlThoUGh SKIInG CoMES WITh incredible moments and memories, like any other sport, it also presents many challenges. Without those challenges, there wouldn’t be anything to work for. Sophomore Sean Kulig and senior Treah Hutchings have both come face to face with one of the most difficult challenges in a sport–injury. Sean broke his ankle competing in the slalom event during a summer tournament right before he got to college. His story goes like this...
///////////////
tr e a h h u tC h i ngs ///////////////
“It was July 5th. I was at a tournament right before regionals and it was my second set of the day, but still before noon. It was very windy that day, the water was choppy and I was with all of my friends, basically everybody that I knew in the waterski community at the time.� “It was a pretty typical tournament but with bad conditions. I was pushing
Top: The Radar Theory ski on the left and the HO Syndicate bag on the right wait in the grass for their next use. Two different typefaces are used between the Radar ski and its cover to diversify the brand. The pattern in the cover is bold and varies from other designs created by the same brand. The Syndicate bag on the right indicates the design and appearance style of the ski that it holds, seen in the picture below. The limited color palette and intense, yet subtle graphics on the ski allude to suspense in this picture. When the ski is in action, the graphics display skill and power.
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27 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
“
I was always going for the best and doing the best I could.
”
Along with the strong typeface choice of the word “Syndicate” on Sean’s ski, the black logo also takes prominence on the tip of the ski.
The shape and slant of the logos on the Ski Nautique and Malibu are similar to the Mastercraft logo on previous pages. The “For Sale� sign in the Nautique photo stands out because of the bright color.
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“I couldn’t wiggle my toes and I knew I couldn’t swim in, so the boat
came back to get me. They lifted me up into the boat and my foot was disconnected from my ankle and it was dangling down. I went to the hospital and they told me that I would never be the same and that I would never be a good skier again.” Sean had to hobble around on crutches for months after the injury and couldn’t participate in many physical activities.
“I didn’t really know how to feel, it was so disappointing and I didn’t really know what to think about it. It was a really bad situation but I always managed to be positive about it.” When Sean got to KU in the fall of 2014, his freshman year, he was still on crutches and struggled balancing his health and academics. He faced many challenges in his every day life.
“
...they told me that I would never be the same and that I would never be a good skier again.
”
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myself to be the best skier I could be, because I was very excited to ski at KU in the fall. I was always going for the best and doing the best I could. I was skiing great during the set, I was early and had run all of my passes early as could be. I felt confident that I could do anything. Then I reached 35 off which is a very hard pass. I started the pass the earliest and best I had ever started a 35 off pass before and I was confident that I could run it for the first time in a tournament. I was back-siding 1 & 2 ball and at the 3 ball, my back foot came out of the ski and my front foot didn’t. I then twisted hard before hitting the water and was instantly put into shock. My leg was numb so I didn’t really feel any pain.”
These Wiley bindings appear to be well used and slightly worn because of the distress in the ink. The logo shows a sweeping motion because of the line going through it and the italic slant and cursive letters.
“
It was a really bad situation but I always managed to be positive about it.
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”
“It was a complete life changing experience. I learned from it, how to be tough and to appreciate everything that I have and to have respect for people that are disabled and can’t walk because I know what that is like.” Sean met all of the KU ski team members and traveled to tournaments with them in the fall, even though he couldn’t ski. After working to strengthen his muscles and bones for almost a year, he was finally able to strap on his slalom ski again in the spring and participate in the spring tournaments. He worked hard to get back in shape and found that the doctors were wrong when they told him he would never be a good skier again.
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Many of the KU members grew up skiing with the Kansas Junior Water Ski Team and ordered personalized ski bags with their names embroidered on them. The letters of their names are outlined like the one shown in this photo. The Radar ski below uses a typeface with large serifs in combination with the circular Radar logo.
The loud typography and design on these wakeboards are meant to grab attention. They both use contrasting colors, strong patterns, and bold typefaces.
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Through perseverance and determination, Sean worked through the challenge of injury, slalom skiing almost the best he has ever skied at the 2015 National Collegiate Waterski Championship tournament, and placed 25th in the nation. This Radar ski uses a different typeface than the one on the previous page, but the same iconic circular logo. Both skis use black lettering and graphics on a single color base.
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“When I skied my first tournament [of 2015], Missouri State, in the spring and got 1st place at 32 off (3 buoys), other people saw that it was a big accomplishment but not as much as I saw in myself because of everything that had happened. That felt great because I had done everything I could possibly do to become healthy again and it paid off and my body healed for the most part.�
Treah Hutchings walks back from her trick ski pass at the Conference tournament at Iowa State University’s ski site, Dream Lakes. The pattern on her ski is circular and shows a motion similar to that of the movement she does when she skis.
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“When I was 13, it was around April, and Mary [Hamilton] called me and said ‘hey do you want to go skiing?’ because it was really nice outside. We left to go skiing but since it was still April, dry suits were necessary. Our dads were there too. I skied 2-3 passes and I was feeling pretty tired but I wanted to go again because I wanted this year to be really good. I leaned a little harder into the wakes on this pass and the ski came up, hit me in the
“
head, and knocked me out. Our dads came rushing back in the boat. Mr. Hamilton jumped in to get me and he was also wearing a dry suit but it was unzipped so water filled his suit and he had a hard time swimming to help me. They eventually picked me up and got me out of the water. I was in and out of consciousness and I couldn’t breathe very well because of my life jacket. They took me to the hospital and were told that I had to have surgery. They had to transfer me from St. Luke’s to Children’ Mercy because I was too small to operate on at St. Luke’s. My skull was crushed in
I leaned a little harder into the wakes on this pass and the ski came up and hit me in the head and knocked me out.
”
35 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
Treah Hutchings’ story of passion for the sport and persistence to continue through injury is similar to Sean’s. Her story involved a head injury from slalom skiing and a miraculous recovery.
and they couldn’t find a doctor to do the surgery because they thought there was no point. There was one doctor that finally said he would try.” “There were a lot of complications during the surgery and I was in a coma for 3 days. I was kind of in and out when I first woke up and didn’t have a voice because of the respirator. They kind of told me what happened but didn’t want to freak me out, so just said that I had a couple of stitches. I
“
My skull was crushed in and they couldn’t find a doctor to do the surgery because they thought there was no point.
” As mentioned before, the Mastercraft logo in the right phoots is official and refined. It is also versatile enough to take different shapes and still look like the same logo. The top right photo shows the company’s badge and below, the logo is seen on the boat. Photos above show other types of equipment (gloves and ropes) that are also branded with typography. The O’Brien logo is simple and the Masterline logo looks similar to the Mastercraft logo.
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“I remember going back to school after the injury in 7th grade in May and not really doing anything and thinking they
“
”
There were a lot of complications during the surgery...
37 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
stayed in the hospital for another week, then I had to do therapy in the hospital for another week. They said I lost a fistful of my brain but I don’t know if I believed them. All the girls on my track team came in and put “Treah” on their arms and ran for me. They eventually let me go home to continue healing.”
38 strength & determination
39 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
should not pass me but they just kind of wrote it off. They shaved my head and I was really gross & ugly and I hated it. I was doing better but was on a lot of medication.” “I tried to ski again because people told me to get back on the horse and I ended up getting another concussion. Then, I started getting even worse headaches. I stopped skiing for 6 years. I took a lot of medication in high school but it made me feel really out of it. We tried acupuncture and therapy and I hated all of it. Then I went to college and decided that I would just live my life without the drugs and therapy because that was not how I wanted to be living. Somebody told me that I should live regardless of my headaches instead of in spite of them.”
“”
Treah Hutchings trick skis and slalom skis for KU. The typeface on the Duval logo of her slalom ski is thin and light.
Somebody told me that I should live regardless of my headaches instead of in spite of them.”
“I started to ski again in college. It was frustrating being at the bottom again but it was a lot of fun. One of my childhood dreams was to be on the KU ski team because my dad helped start it and my neighbor’s older siblings were on it. I was really upset senior year of high school because I didn’t think I could do it but then I asked myself, why can’t I? So when I got to college I ended up joining the team and I am glad I did because it’s been one of my favorite things in college.”
The brand name of this wakeboard, Liquid Force, is tightly kerned and stylized with stripes. The name of the board, Witness, is unique and was possibly hand lettered.
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41 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
The main features of the design on this trick ski are the Radar logos. The letterforms are simplified and geometric. The lettering “Tournament Team” on the boat behind the ski mimics the Mastercraft logo.
Treah pushed through her injury and all of its lasting complications to be a part of the collegiate skiing lifestyle. She overcame this huge challenge for the love of the sport and the friendships that came with it.
“
So when I got to college I ended up joining the team and I am glad I did because it’s been one of my favorite things in college.
”
2
BOAT GUIDES
SKIE
R PA TH
STARTING GATES
BOAT PATH
3 1 ne d ia g r a m o
oFFiCia
e s r u o C M o L a L s L
6 4
ENDING GATES
5
The pattern of the slalom course is precisely measured and geometric. It is designed to be used in both directions, with the boat taking the middle path through the guides and the skier travelling through the starting gates, across the wakes and around the six skier buoys, and out the ending gates.The skier’s goal for scoring points in competition is to round as many buoys as possible.
The skier has one opportunity to make a full pass through the course, and can then progressively speed up the boat after each consecutive full pass. once hitting the top speed through the course, 34 mph for women and 36 mph for men, the skier can shorten the rope after each full pass until they can no longer complete all six buoys and the starting and ending gates.
“” Then when everyone ran to me, that was one of the best moments of my life, I loved it.
Along with the challenges of serious injury and physical pain, there are many other tests and trials that come with the sport of waterskiing. One main challenge that the whole team faces is the small amount of practice time allotted for each member. Classes and homework are first priority during the school year, therefore the team only has a few hours per week to practice. When this is divided among approximately 40 skiing members, each person only gets a few minutes of water time. This makes it difficult to improve, and can be extremely discouraging during tournaments. Sophomore Richard (Dickey) Hollocher and Tim Kuhn overcame this challenge in the jump event this year. Dickey just learned how to jump during his
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freshman year, and almost instantly found that he was good at the event. At the Regional tournament in Illinois, Dickey beat his former personal best score by 15 feet.
“When I got a 79 foot jump and everyone ran to me. That had to be my favorite memory, without a doubt. The best part was, I knew it was a good jump and I landed it. Then when everyone ran to me, that was one of the best moments of my life, I loved it.” Tim Kuhn progressed in jump at a similar pace to Dickey and when it came time for the national
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The t-shirt on the top left mimics the NFL logo and uses a standard san-serif typeface. The type in the jump suit in the top right photo is distorted and shaped into a circle. The skis in the bottom photo are branded with the Connelly logo.
“
�
That had to be my favorite memory, without a doubt.
Richard (Dickey) Hollocher and Tim Kuhn watch other skiers ahead of them as they prepare for their jump sets at the 2015 Nationals tournament in Cypress, Texas. Dickey and other team members painted their bodies with red and blue to show their spirit for the team.
46 strEngtH & dEtErmination
ho L L o C h er // / / / / / / / / / / / / /
tournament this year in Cypress, Texas, they decided that a little inter-team competition was in order. They were each jumping around 80 feet in practice and wanted to do their absolute best in competition. It all started when Dickey challenged Katie O’Connor, the best KU women’s jumper. He said that if he beat her at nationals, he would get to take her out on a date. Then, when they all realized that Tim was also
If skiers don’t fall, they won’t learn anything new. In the left photo, Tim goes out the back and in the right photo, Dickey goes out the front during practice. These are common mistakes for jumpers, especially when learning new techniques.
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ri C h a r D
The jump at Dream Lakes near Ames, Iowa is embellished with the painted letters that make up “Iowa State.�
Sophomore, Laken Downes designed his jump skis with red white and blue for KU. The word Kansas here is typed in a classic style font. He split the lettering in half between the two skis.
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Passion for the sport and the drive and determination to overcome challenges are characteristics of serious skiers. People say that nothing worth working for is ever easy, and skiing is no exception.
Laken also decorated his helmet with “Jayhawks” and racing stripes. He was inspired by the aviation helmets from the movie, Top Gun.
49 dE F E ati ng CHaLLE ngE s
jumping around the same distances, he joined the competition. Dickey ended up jumping 85 feet, improving from his previous score by 6 feet and beating Katie’s 83 foot jump and Tim’s 75 foot jump. They all took what small amount of practice time they were allotted and made the most of it.
Chapter 3:
TOP NON-SCHOLARSHIP TEAM
6 in th e th //////
//// nation
ThE UnIVERSITY oF KAnSAS WATERSKI team is built from strong skiers, many of whom grew up with the sport. They all came together to ski in college and compete against other teams across the nation. The goals that they pursue and the depth of the team and years of experience they bring to the sport help them earn many awards, individually and collaboratively.
52 top non-sCHoLarsHip tEam
6 su 53 suCCE CCEssss&&grE grEatnE atnEssss
The logo and typography on the 6th place trophy from nationals was engraved in stone. The logo includes icons of three waterskiers and “NCWSA� written in a bold italic typeface.
Brandon Regester flips on his trick ski at the 2015 Nationals Tournament. The “D3” on his ski looks brushed and dimensional because of the yellow drop shadow and the brown gradient.
54 top non-sCHoLarsHip tEam
Kansas not only placed high at the national competition, but also earned first place at the Midwest Regionals tournament for the second year in a row. The team also placed first at the Midwest Great Plains Conference tournament the week before Regionals.
1in th e st //////
//// r e gion The KU men’s team earned first place at the 2015 Regionals tournament at P.I.T.S. Lake near Decautr, Illinois. They all wore boating or Kansas related t-shirts when they accepted the trophy. Tim and Dylan wore the gray 2015 Kansas Waterski team t-shirts.
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For the second year in a row, Kansas earned 6th place at the national competition. The five schools above Kansas all recognize waterskiing as a sanctioned sport and give out scholarship money to their athletes, who are often times from places outside of the United States. Kansas and all of the schools below on the ranking list consider waterskiing a club sport and receive very little funding.
E Q u ip m E n t
& b r a n d in g
e p y t e V a h s i K aLL s
Every ski used at collegiate tournaments is marked with a typeface and brand, whether subtle or dynamic. In this particular pile of skis, typefaces are
very prominent. often times, graphic designers will use the lettering of the brand name or the ski name to create patterns and interest on the skis. Many
of the typeface designs are very unique due to their various serifs, slants, or shapes. Designers want their skis to be noticed in the water, so they tend
to use these wild, catchy typefaces. The skis are individualized to show the drive, determination, power, and success of the skiers using them.
Dylan Brittain ips on his D3 trick ski at the 2015 Regionals tournament near Decatur, Illinois.
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Dylan slalom skis at Nationals on his Goode ski. The lettering on the ski is a thin version of the Goode logo. He wears the Kansas bib. Dylan wears two of his individual medals, from 2015, one from the Conference tournament and one from Regionals.
Junior Dylan Brittain is no stranger to earning awards at tournaments. At nearly every tournament of his collegiate career he has earned medals for individual events, slalom, trick, and jump as well as overall awards for the combined total points. Dylan grew up on a private ski lake and learned to wakeboard when he was three years old. His tiny legs were barely strong enough to hold the board on his feet, but this was the spark for his lifelong love and talent for skiing. The
DyL a n Brittain ///////////////
Dr ew
Brittain ///////////////
Derk Brittain, father of Drew and Dylan drives a purple and white Ski Nautique at nationals. He is an official for the National Collegiate Waterski Association.
talent runs in the Brittain family, and is displayed by the stage of awards covering an entire wall in the basement of their home. Dylan’s brother, Drew, is a great slalom skier and is very valuable to the KU men’s team. Their dad, Derk, is also involved in the sport year round.
These are only a few of the trophies that the Brittain family have earned. The display takes over an entire will in the basement of their house in Wichita, Kansas.
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61 su CCE ss & grE atnE ss
Drew Brittain slalom skis on his red and black Goode ski at Nationals. He wears his red Kansas Waterski embroidered swim trunks and blue Kansas bib.
Katie O’Connor is also no stranger to great accomplishments. Like Dylan, she takes home individual medals at almost every tournament. She also grew up near a private lake and skied with her two younger sisters and dad throughout her childhood.
“I really want my sisters to do this too.”
Katie O’Connor and her mom, Nancy walk along the lake after Katie’s trick ski run. She placed 14th at Nationals on her D3 trick ski.
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Kansas wat e rs K i overall, the 12 A-team skiers have approximately 120 years or more of experience on the water which creates a winning team with great depth.
The success and greatness of the skiers and the team come from talent, passion, and hard work.
THE BEST KIND OF PEOPLE
66 the best kind of people
“Everyone is so genuine. It is completely different from any other sport. Water-skiers are the best kind of people. I wish you could just go on campus and introduce yourself to people like we do at ski tournaments because everyone is so friendly,” I chose to complete this project on the typography of ski tournaments because of my personal interests in both skiing and design. I am passionate about waterskiing and believe that collegiate tournaments and the people in the ski community are very special. When I got this assignment to create a typography book about any topic, I knew that this would be a great opportunity to combine my career interest in design and my love for waterskiing. As I worked on the project, I was inspired by the designs that I saw on skis and equipment and was able to analyze the decisions that graphic designers made when creating each piece of imagery.
67 aF tE rWo rds
ThE lIFESTYlE, ChAllEnGES, and successes of collegiate waterskiing are held tightly by the athletes and alumni. Between road trips, random Walmart stops, ski prom and other team bonding, camping, long lasting friendships, water time, outdoors, campfires, and parties–the overall experience leaves a permanent mark on the people. Katie O’Connor describes it this way:
Colophon This book was created by Kelly Reeve in the fall of 2015 for Professor Patrick Dooley’s Designer as Author class at the University of Kansas. All photos were taken by Kelly Reeve with a Canon Rebel T5i and all text was written by Kelly Reeve. The fonts Bembo and Frutiger were used for the copy and the book was designed using Adobe InDesign CS6. The book was printed by Blurb. Special thanks to some of my favorite people, the members of the Kansas Waterski Club, for helping me create fantastic memories and making good experiences great.Thank you for sharing your stories with me to make this book possible. Here’s to many more great times to come, ski ya on the lake!