Backwoods Hoodie
November 2024
CLIENT
Matrix MKTG
DATE
5 weeks
DIMENSIONS
18.3” L x
37.8” W x
40.6” H
DURATION
I was asked by Matrix MKTG to create a centerpiece for Backwoods’ shopping experience at Rolling Loud Miami - and being someone who loves the experience of attending music festivals and the activations therein, I immediately understood how important it was to craft this LEGO build to captivate and impress Backwoods’ customers. I collaborated with the Project Manager and Sr. Creative Producer on this campaign to introduce a new avenue of interactivity and play to their brand, arriving at a scope that was feasible to execute on and ship on time to be presented on site at the music festival.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Building the hoodie
The project commenced just 5 weeks before it was due to be presented at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami, so time was of the essence.
The design brief was to create an almost 3.5 foot tall LEGO build in the shape of a hoodie that would be placed centrally in their merchandise booth, and the model also had to accommodate placement of the Surgeon’s General Warning to be affixed upon arrival. With that in mind, I hopped into designing the hoodie digitally over the course of 7 days to capture the curvature of the hoodie in the natural position of someone inserting their hands into the front pouch.
To accurately capture the item in the form of LEGO bricks, I thought it would also be a great touch to use an off-grid technique to include the tag at the bottom of the hoodie that’s present on the clothing example that was provided.
LETTERING WITH LEGO Bricks
When approaching the design of the Backwoods logo on the hoodie, not only was it a challenge to capture the curvature of the emblem across multiple planes, it was also important to design it at a scale to where the letterforms would have enough space and be differentiated visually.
I started with digitally scaling it to a place where I felt comfortable building out the logo, but in my first pass, the ‘A’, ‘K’, and ‘W’ weren’t clear enough and didn’t represent the original logo well - and here’s where LEGO math comes in handy!
5 stacked plates equals 2 studs wide, so I used that formula to better capture those aforementioned letters and the spacing around them. Yes, it sacrificed the sturdiness of the build a little bit, but in exchange for a more accurate design, I’ll take it 10 times out of 10. When sharing this update with the client, they were very happy with it.
BUILDING THE HOODIE
Once I finalized the design of the hoodie digitally, I began building in my studio. Beginning the week before the Thanksgiving holiday, I built the hoodie over the course of 10 days (with a 24-hour break of enjoying some home cooking via a friend of a friend), pulling 12-hour days stacking and gluing pieces brick-by-brick, finishing ahead of the time I communicated to the client by a couple days.
When building something of this scale, it’s important to not only rely on using glue to keep it together both in the process of building, but also in transit. Building techniques that add strength on top of any adhesive used is necessary for the structural integrity of the commissioned build, to ensure that it arrives to its final location the same way its shown to them in the studio.
Its final details included creating a LEGO-built string with red round bricks and a round black cap, as well as printing a Backwoods Authentic Apparel sticker to place onto the bottom of the hoodie.
PREPARE FOR DEPARTURE
Getting this ready for shipping was no small feat - I was able to get this into my car with the help of a friend and took it to get crated and shipped to Matrix MKTG’s office in Atlanta, where they then shipped it to Miami.
The hoodie was wrapped in a bag to capture any pieces that happened to fall off in transit, and I also included some extra pieces if there were any last-minute touch ups that needed to happen on site.
Once on site, the hoodie was placed and ready to enhance the shopping experience at Backwoods’ booth and amaze the customers interacting with their brand.
LEGO bricks aren’t just a toy, they’re a medium of art and a learning tool that can be applied in any and every context to give people the chance to learn while they play.
Get in touch with me to learn how we can create something incredible like this for your brand, organization, or company’s needs.