Here’s a project I (Tom Lane – aka Ginger Monkey) created for the good folks at AIR JORDAN. Last summer the team asked whether I would design the packaging artwork for a new limited edition ‘Year of the Dragon’ Air Jordan shoe. What started out as a packaging job then snowballed after the first round of visuals. Eventually my work got incorporated into the shoe design, bag, some apparel, and a few more things to come.

I was challenged with creating a system to the design so that it could adapt to different size boxes and be rejigged by the Air Jordan designers. The final box size was yet to be fully determined so I needed to create artwork that could expand in width and height. All the elements therefore had to be individual so they could be shifted around without destroying the overall effect.

This was a really enjoyable project and working with the team has been one of my favourite collaborative experiences. From the get go I was given the freedom and trust to develop the work as I saw it and the input they gave me was always incredibly constructive and respectable. I’m told everyone is really over the moon with the results.