DOCUMENTARY CAMPAIGN / SPORTS STORYTELLING

NBA RISING STARS INVITATIONAL

LEVEL UP

Key visual and promotional campaign artwork developed for the “Level Up” documentary series, capturing the intensity, ambition, and youth culture surrounding the NBA Rising Stars Invitational in Singapore.

Industry

Sports & Entertainment

Year

2025

Scope

Campaign Artwork, Typography System, Promotional Assets

Role

Key Visual Designer

“Level Up” follows high school athletes from six Asia-Pacific countries as they prepare for the NBA Rising Stars Invitational in Singapore.

The visual direction aimed to capture ambition, pressure, youth culture, and emotional intensity through cinematic storytelling and layered sports imagery.

BEYOND THE GAME.

Two basketball players in action, one in a white jersey and the other in a red jersey, playing for the Rising Stars Ignite team, with the text 'Level Up' on the left and a SoftBank logo.

CAPTURING INTENSITY THROUGH VISUAL STORYTELLING.

The creative direction combined cinematic sports photography, bold condensed typography, and layered compositions to create a visual identity that felt immersive, emotional, and energetic.

Inspired by documentary storytelling and modern sports culture, the visual system used high contrast imagery, dark atmospheric tones, and expressive motion-inspired layouts to reflect ambition, resilience, and competition.

The overall design language was developed to remain flexible across key visuals, digital promotions, social media content, and episodic rollout assets.

Bold white text saying 'DOWN UNDER' on a black background with a paint splash effect in the top right corner.

Typography

A young basketball player in a uniform with the NBA and Tim Duncan logos, jumping and holding a basketball.

Emotion

Poster for 'Level Up' presented by SoftBank featuring a young man and woman playing basketball, with the woman holding a basketball and wearing a white jersey.

Composition

KEY VISUAL SYSTEM

Poster for a basketball event called 'Level Up, Episode Fourteen: EIKO,' sponsored by SoftBank. The poster features a group of young basketball players in action, wearing white jerseys with blue accents, and includes large images of two smiling individuals in the background.
Poster for a basketball event called 'Level Up, Episode Fourteen: EIKO,' sponsored by SoftBank. The poster features a group of young basketball players in action, wearing white jerseys with blue accents, and includes large images of two smiling individuals in the background.

Reel

Promotional graphic for basketball event titled 'Level Up, Episode Fourteen, EIKO', featuring young female basketball players in action, with some large faint images of a smiling young woman in the background, presented by SoftBank.

Youtube Thumbnail

Poster for Episode Fourteen of Level Up featuring the basketball player EIKO, presented by SoftBank, with images of six female basketball players in white and blue uniforms, some holding or dribbling basketballs, in action poses.
Poster for Episode Fourteen of Level Up featuring the basketball player EIKO, presented by SoftBank, with images of six female basketball players in white and blue uniforms, some holding or dribbling basketballs, in action poses.

Main Visual

PROMOTIONAL APPLICATIONS

Instagram profile page for nbarisingstarsinvitational, featuring promotional images and videos for different episodes of the Rising Stars Invitational basketball event, with images of female and male basketball players and game action.

Social Media

YouTube playlist page for 'Level Up - an NBA Rising Stars Invitational' with a featured cover image showing two female basketball players, one dribbling and the other holding a basketball, surrounded by text and logo.

Youtube platform

Screenshot of a webpage promoting a youth basketball series called 'Level Up' related to the NBA Rising Stars Invitational, featuring videos and images of young basketball players.

Website

VISUAL IDENTITY AS NARRATIVE.

Collage of female and male youth basketball players in action, wearing uniforms with 'Rising Stars International' logo, some dribbling and shooting basketballs.

This project explored how visual identity can support sports storytelling beyond event promotion alone. Through cinematic imagery, layered typography, and emotionally driven compositions, the campaign visuals helped establish a recognisable and immersive identity for the “Level Up” documentary series.

The project reinforced the importance of using design not only as a promotional tool, but also as a medium for audience connection, emotion, and narrative-driven communication.