Lead Marketing Designer · Pear
Pear
Brand and marketing design for a grassroots sponsorship platform.
Pear connected teams and groups who needed custom gear with the brands willing to fund it. I led the brand's marketing design across both sides of that marketplace, from the trade-show floor to the subway platform to the inbox.
Read the case studyA two-sided marketplace for custom apparel
Pear was a Chicago-based grassroots sponsorship platform launched under the Custom Ink umbrella. The idea was simple and a little magical: a sports team, school club, or community group could get its custom shirts paid for by a brand sponsor, in exchange for putting that sponsor's logo on the gear.
That meant Pear had to win two very different audiences at once — the groups who wanted free, well-made gear, and the brands who needed a measurable, on-the-ground way to reach those communities. I led the design work that spoke to both, keeping one voice consistent across every channel.
A startup's brand, with an industry leader behind it
Pear launched as an early-stage venture inside Custom Ink, one of the largest custom-apparel companies in the U.S. The brand had to feel established and trustworthy to enterprise sponsors while staying approachable and energetic for the everyday groups it served — credible in a boardroom and at a ballpark in the same week.
2013Custom Ink's Revolution Growth investment that funded new ventures, including Pear
$225MCustom Ink's 2014 sales — the company behind the Pear brand
2 sidesOne brand voice serving both sponsors and the groups they fund
Context: customink.com · Built In Chicago · Revolution Growth. Public figures shown; internal Pear performance metrics omitted — swap in real numbers here if you have them.
Making the offer easy to say yes to
The materials a sponsor or partner would hold in their hands — built to make Pear feel established and the sponsorship offer simple to understand and act on.
Reaching the brands
Targeted digital creative aimed at the marketing teams who could become sponsors — a flexible system that held together across formats and placements.
Where the brand met the crowd
The places Pear showed up in the real world — on Chicago's transit system in its home market, and on display at live events.
Getting groups up and running
Plain-spoken collateral that helped non-designers get started and represent their sponsor well — clear enough for a first-time team captain.
One brand, two audiences, every channel
From a single-page sell sheet to a subway wall to an inbox, the work gave Pear a consistent, confident voice — credible enough for enterprise sponsors, friendly enough for the groups it was built to fund.
