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EDIT: a sports brand built on effort, the one thing every athlete shares

The shiftSportswear as apparel→Sport as an ecosystem

EDIT brand guideline cover with a sprinting athlete
The impact
150+hours of interviews and training observation
100+athlete journeys mapped, grassroots to semi-pro
4athlete tiers tested the anthem before any scale spend

The story in four moves

Client inputMy work
  1. Client input · 01 They came with

    A sports equipment and athleisure brand for Indian athletes, with a name, EDIT, short for Effort Does It.

  2. 02 I found

    Sport in India is sold through champions and podiums, a picture most athletes rarely see themselves in. Effort is the currency every one of them shares.

  3. 03 I built

    I ran 150+ hours of athlete research, then built the ecosystem positioning, “Rise. Play. Radiate.”, a messaging system across nine emotions, the identity direction and the anthem, tested 1:1 with athletes in four tiers.

  4. 04 It changed

    EDIT speaks to the athlete before it sells to them, with one hinge line at its centre: “Ab tak akela tha, ab hum saath hain.”

My part

I positioned EDIT around the Indian athlete’s whole world, and shaped the brand system and the anthem that carry it.

Across 5 brand areas
Led4areas end to end
Shaped1my direction, built with others
Supported0I contributed
01Consumer KnowledgeLed

150+ hours with athletes. Effort was the common thread.

I ran the research myself: 100+ athlete journeys from grassroots to semi-professional, through 150+ hours of interviews, training observation and routine mapping. Across every level, effort was what athletes recognised in themselves, and the grind felt solitary.

GrassrootsStudentSemi-professionalInternationalEffortthe thread every athlete shares
Four levels, one common thread
02Brand HeartLed

Sport belongs in everyday life.

I wrote EDIT’s belief: sport becomes part of life when it is engaging, accessible and culturally relevant.

03Brand PromiseLed

Sell the sport, and the kit follows.

I moved EDIT from apparel to an ecosystem built around the athlete, so the brand earns a place in training, community and culture before it asks for a purchase.

04Brand StoryLed

“Ab tak akela tha, ab hum saath hain.”

I built messaging across nine emotions, resilience, triumph, frustration, fear, discipline, loneliness, joy, brotherhood and hope, and shaped the anthem around one turn: “Baat khud ko sahi sabit karne ki thi”, then “Ab tak akela tha, ab hum saath hain.” It was lightly boosted and tested 1:1 with grassroots, student, semi-professional and international athletes for resonance, authenticity and recall.

Proving yourselfaloneAb hum saath hainResilienceDisciplineBrotherhood
The anthem’s turn
Born to Inspire poster with an American football player
Born to Inspire, from the EDIT brand guideline
05Visual Identity DirectionShaped

A system that moves like the athlete.

I steered a system built on the five-dot Edit mark, EDIT Red, the Vanguard CF typeface, the Running Man and Edit Community patterns, and a directional imagery rule.

EDIT shoe boxes in red and white
Packaging, from the EDIT brand guideline
My map on this project

Everything it took to position this brand, and where I stood.

Led end to endShaped my direction, built with othersSupported I contributed, others owned it
In association withZerologicBuilt at Zerologic, the brand strategy and execution studio where I lead as CMO, with its team of visual designers, UI designers and copywriters.
Brand PromiseLed Brand StoryLed Visual Identity DirectionShaped Consumer KnowledgeLed Brand HeartLed Consumer ExperienceOutside this brief Strategy and OperationsOutside this brief Brand CultureOutside this brief Purchase MomentOutside this brief
Next case · No. 07Mouse & Cheese and Zerologic: repositioning a studio, then building its growth engine