Valorant Champions Tour /21

Valorant Champions stands as Riot Games' premier professional competition for its tactical first-person shooter, Valorant. Inaugurated in 2021, the tournament carried the immense pressure of establishing a new, global benchmark for esports production. The tournament quickly became a worldwide spectacle, drawing sixteen elite teams from around the world to compete fiercely for a significant $1 million prize pool and the coveted title of world champion. Hosting the first-ever finals in Berlin, Germany, was a landmark moment that immediately solidified the tournament's high global prestige and set the definitive visual standard for all subsequent competitive circuits and VCT events, emphasizing the need for an unparalleled inaugural visual identity.

To successfully elevate the tournament's inaugural identity and ensure its cultural presence, I focused on crafting a visually bold and authoritative language deployed across a complex, integrated multi-platform campaign. This included developing the core aesthetic for the high-impact teaser film, the cinematic trophy film, and all corresponding marketing materials. The strategic goal was to create a robust design system capable of unifying the diverse deliverables—from static key art to dynamic broadcast elements guaranteeing a consistent, high-energy presentation worthy of a world championship while instantly cutting through the noise in the crowded digital landscape and commanding attention.

The core design solution was centered on utilizing kinetic typography not just as decoration, but as a powerful, echoing visual metaphor for competitive spirit and digital communication. This strategic approach was instrumental in achieving the delicate balance between essential brand clarity and dynamic storytelling complexity. By developing streamlined motion guidelines, we were able to enhance critical readability on fast-moving screens while simultaneously creating significant space for rich, engaging narrative content. The final result delivered a cohesive and highly memorable experience, deeply engaging both professional players and the dedicated global fanbase, and maximizing the dramatic impact of the championship's inaugural run across all media.

The echo of Champions

A narrative iconographic and title system

A typography first territory

Numerous typographic explorations have enabled me to determine the most suitable compositional principles for the dissemination of both straightforward as well as complex information.

The scientific models of acoustic visualisation were an essential frame of reference for the artistic development of the "Champions" identity.

A social echo

A series of posts and stories were developed in collaboration with the in house concept artists for various social media platforms.

Online activations created strong engagement with the esports community in the lead up to the event.