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Personal Project
2014The World Cup is something I look forward to every four years, and in 2014 I wanted to combine my love for the game with my love for design and work on a personal project that was fitting for the tournament. After looking around online, I wasn't satisfied with any of the options out there for a US-themed iOS lock screen, so I decided to create my own.
Reference Images
I knew pretty early on that I wanted to base the wallpapers off of the Home and Away shirts designed specifically for the World Cup. With many possible directions and levels of realism, I decided to keep things pretty simple and highlight the main design features of each shirt while incorporating detailed touches where appropriate.
Home
Away
With the wallpapers created, I also needed a way to share them with friends and whoever else would end up downloading them, so I created a mini-site using the U.S. Soccer typeface, color scheme, and copy playing off the U.S. World Cup motto.
Promotion
The promo site was unexpectedly picked up by a few prominent soccer-related Twitter accounts and it quickly reached 10,000+ page views over the span of the World Cup.
These smartphone wallpapers by @daveruse are required for all #USMNT fans http://t.co/RTlFJdPcTR pic.twitter.com/d3BbGo5cNf
— The Best Soccer Show (@BestSoccerShow) June 19, 2014Go ahead and gobble these up, #USMNT fans MT @daveruse: USMNT iPhone wallpapers I made for the World Cup: http://t.co/wZVbyFmaOb
— Howler Magazine (@whatahowler) June 5, 2014I received an incredible amount of feedback from fans all around the world, and even inspired some to create their own versions based on their favorite national or club teams. One guy even had a custom iPhone case made from the Away version!
@daveruse @KICKTV Love the wallpapers. Inspired me to do similar for my Dutch wife and #ENG friends. Sharing your US designs with others.
— Edward Gaug (@edwardgaug) June 19, 2014Inspired by @daveruse, I made my own @NUFC jersey for my phone. The season can't start soon enough. pic.twitter.com/q2834hsKAP
— H. Jose Bosch (@HJBosch21) July 11, 2014Lessons Learned
My favorite part of the project was seeing so many U.S. Soccer fans get even more excited about the World Cup by something as simple as a few wallpapers. The experience reinforced for me how personal projects can be a great outlet for creativity, while also presenting opportunities to share my work with others. Although the US got knocked out in the Round of 16, it was an incredible tournament as always, and one I was able to share with thousands of other U.S. Soccer fans even though I wasn't in Brazil.