SNAPS — Official NBA Collections

A snapback accessory turning overlooked space into a collectible expression of team pride.

Type: Product Design · Licensed Sports Accessories · Product Development
Client: SNAPS (co-founded brand; official NBA-licensed collections)
My role: Co-founder and designer, responsible for product strategy and management, concept design, development, prototyping, factory collaboration in China and mass production. I also contributed to patent strategy and protection alongside the CEO, and created and art-directed the product renders, digital product imagery and lifestyle/model photography.

Project

Brief & approach

The brief

SNAPS set out to turn the often-overlooked rear strap of a snapback hat into a place for fans to display the team or player they support. The challenge was to create a distinctive, collectible accessory that could translate licensed sports identities into a product range suitable for mass production.

My approach

Inspired by watching golfers and Formula 1 drivers around the paddock, we recognised the back of a cap as overlooked space and developed SNAPS as a small, jewellery-like accessory that attaches to the strap. I led product development from concept and prototyping through manufacturing, while creating and art-directing the product imagery. The NBA collections translated team logos and colours into collectible designs, including championship-ring-inspired editions. A special limited edition drew on Dwyane Wade’s 2014 In the Paint project, in which he created artwork using basketballs on hardwood from the 2011 NBA All-Star Game court. The SNAPS edition featured this artwork and was individually numbered and supplied with a certificate.

Outcome

The product was mass-produced, commercially launched and sold. The official NBA collections included team-specific and championship-inspired designs. The wider project also included the individually numbered Dwyane Wade In the Paint limited edition, supplied with a certificate.