I didn't design the Seattle Kraken logo, as my daughter inaccurately shared with her classmates. The logo is the work of the talented team at Adidas. However, I had the privilege to unveil the Kraken logo and brand in 2020.
I love creating immersive web experiences, especially those I can help shape from beginning to end. The highly anticipated rollout of the Seattle Kraken brand was a collaborative effort with the brand team a NHL Seattle. The requirements were simple: deliver the Kraken and its story to the world via an engaging and dramatic web experience—under extreme secrecy.
Design and development were, for the most part, done in parallel. The early-stage collaboration involved ideation and storyboarding to highlight commonalities between the PNW and the beast that lurks below. It was necessary to provide quick prototypes to illustrate ideas and solve complex UX challenges. To help visually thread the narrative, I created SVG animations using javascript, which works beautifully on mobile devices. A flexible approach to design and development proved essential due to the elusiveness of the final, approved brand and its release date.
The result was enormous: a smooth deployment, 15 million views within the first 12 hours, and an overwhelmingly positive reception. The website received Google Lighthouse scores of 100% Performance and 98% Accessibility.
