Turning the Table with Hayley Lim

Hayley Lim, Art Director and Designer, and 2024 Design Awards juror, shared one of her latest and favourite projects, the Beterbiev vs. Smith - Boxing Shorts & Glove Design.

Artur Beterbiev is the Unified Light Heavyweight World Champion of Boxing. With 20 straight wins by way of knockout and zero defeats, he currently holds the IBF, WBC and WBO titles. Beterbiev hails from Chechnya and lives and trains in Montreal, Quebec, home of boxing gear company Rival.

The design of his boxing shorts and gloves for the Beterbiev vs. Smith match features custom lettering inspired by traditional male and female Chechen attire, specifically the sharp tips of blades and the decorative, pointed metal chest pieces worn outside of gowns. The arched shape of the custom lettering also references traditional boxing graphic cues and allows for the placement of sponsor logos at the bottom of the shorts. The design's intention is to match his fearsome boxing prowess and also nod to his cultural heritage.

What were some unique features of the design?

It's not very often that I have the chance to work on athletic and performance gear. It was fascinating for me to learn about the boxing world, see what's happening design-wise and then create something new and fresh that would stand out for the right reasons.

Beterbiev is a champion in his field, an equally fearsome and mysterious boxer. The design needed to be an extension of his personality and story. It also needed to look good from a distance and at all angles in the televised ring. The design features custom lettering that I drew and is composed of pointed modular shapes that create the components of the letters. The inspiration behind this was traditional male and female Chechen attire, specifically the sharp tips of blades and the decorative and pointed metal chest pieces worn outside of gowns. The letters are drawn on an arc so we could place logos underneath it and also call back to the arched type that is heavily featured in the boxing world. The pointed motif is also repeated on the gloves, almost acting as claws or arrows pointing out at the opponent. 

What were the success stats or indicators? Can you give us your opinion on what you think made this project a success?

It was definitely a success in and of itself to have Artur like and sign off on the design. He's usually on the more conservative side regarding his boxing attire. Until now, he has always worn more modest black boxing shorts with minimal design. Hearing the response from the boxing community and receiving messages about whether or not I'm going to design his next uniform were great indications that people liked the work. The project also won a Judge's Choice and a Certificate of Typographic Excellence at the Type Directors Club Awards, the Coup de Coeur Prize at the Concours Idéa and a Merit at the ADC Awards in New York.

Can you give us some "peeks" behind the scenes?

Behind the scenes, it was a string of a few late-night work sessions from my home/office/cave. "Ugh, Designers! They always do something crazy," was a phrase from the tailor when he found out there would be a new design by a graphic designer this time. Cut to me creating new printing patterns directly from the tailor's measurements drawn in disappearing ink on fabric that Luc, boxing coach and product designer at Rival, whisked over to my house. Thankfully, the result turned out to be striking and everything aligned accordingly.

Why is this particular project a fave?

This project was a pleasure for me because it was all new. I don't often do lettering, and I didn't really know that much about boxing before my long hours of research; the amount of knowledge I gained and the pleasure of seeing something you designed in real-life functioning is really special. It's always a good surprise when something turns out way better than you expected, especially on projects that seem out of your comfort zone.

Credits:
Art Director and Design: Hayley Lim | IG: @hayley__lim | W: hayleylim.com
Product Designer and Boxing Coach at Rival: Luc-Vincent Ouellet
Photographer: Raphael Ouellet  | @raphaelouellet | w: raphaelouellet.com

Beautiful work! Inspiration for us all to jump out of our comfort zone.