UNINTERRUPTED

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Launching the Uninterrupted brand as a part of the Bleacher Report ecosystem was a challenge which required a delicate balance of marketing and social promotion. The unique raw nature of the content, bundled with the direct to your phone mobile experience sets Uninterrupted apart from other content experiments. The mobile-first platform has made it possible for athletes to build one-to-one relationships with fans and supporters. It allows athletes the control of the length, topic and frequency of their messages, giving fans uncensored front-row access to issues, struggles and triumphs that affect players directly – no editors, no media spin.

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Early on in the launch process, as Uninterrupted chose to partner with Bleacher Report to build audience and develop a platform and landing page for this content, Maverick Carter came to visit our San Francisco Office to discuss his vision for the brand. I got to sit in on this meeting and was given the directive of building options for the look and feel of the launch of the brand. This was followed by an intensive design and review process as we began the process of launching the brand. The collaborative process was one that I got to be intimately involved in as we worked with Mavkerick Carter and LeBron James to figure out the voice and look and feel of the brand.

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The rise of Uninterrupted marked a turning point in how athletes shaped their public identities. It arrived in the wake of LeBron James’ decision to return to Cleveland, a moment that symbolized both redemption and self-determination. For the first time, an athlete wasn’t waiting for a network or journalist to interpret his narrative; he was building a platform to tell it himself. This idea of narrative ownership became the defining spirit of the player empowerment era. Uninterrupted gave athletes the freedom to speak directly to their audiences, whether to share frustration, triumph, or reflection, and in doing so, it redefined what athlete-driven media could be. The platform helped pave the way for a wave of creative self-expression across sports culture. Soon after, The Players’ Tribune emerged, continuing the momentum toward authenticity and transparency. Today, that lineage lives on through a new generation of athlete-led media voices, from Draymond Green’s podcast to LeBron’s own Mind the Game, both of which build on the foundation Uninterrupted helped create. What began as a bold experiment in direct communication became a symbol of power reclaimed, proving that control over one’s story is the ultimate act of agency in modern sport.

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Upon the announcement of the collaboration with Bleacher Report and its parent companies Warner Media and Turner, LeBron James said, "The best thing about UNINTERRUPTED is there are so many creative opportunities for athletes to tell their stories. I'm excited to be partnering with important, innovative companies like Warner Brothers and Turner to keep building UNINTERRUPTED as a place for athletes to go to connect with fans and share their stories in a different way." He was a willing and excited partner who saw what our team at Bleacher Report had built from a digital perspective and he felt like we could amplify what they were doing. I was thrilled to be assigned this project, being a fan of video and athlete storytelling and understanding the network that LeBron could create.

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LeBron and his team wanted a no frills easy to use design that would limit the barriers between athletes and their fans, and the partnership with us as a way to boost their initial design and infrastructure made sense on many levels. This collaboration allowed both Bleacher Report and Time Warner to gain access to these athletes, but it also allowed Uninterrupted to build out an infrastructure as it went through its early stages of development.

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The design process involved many rounds of feedback back and forth with the Uninterrupted team and Bleacher Report as we found a good middle ground to express the voice of the platform and stripped it of the usual superfluous factors that you would often find on media sites. The overarching goal was to retain the spirit and voice of the athlete, and the branding had to reflect that as well as the site UI and experience. I was the design lead for the entire project and brought the brand to life through many rounds of iteration and evolution.

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Knowing that the main goal was to provide a flexible brand vision that would be paired with intimate and personal storytelling from athletes informed all of the iterative steps before we landed on a color palette, logo, video broadcast package, and website design. We worked hand in hand with Mav Carter, LeBron, and the uninterrupted team as I presented various options from a logo and branding perspective. The process involved many different name options and typeface layouts as well as branding and logo explorations.

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Furthermore, one of the more important aspects of developing the layout and design for Uninterrupted as a platform was to allow ease of use both on desktop where you could full immerse yourself in these videos, but also allow for quick mobile consumption as well. I wanted to work on something that would be smooth and functional and responsive as it was used in different scenarios. From a UI standpoint the design had to feel as if it encourage an intimate relationship between the athlete creators and our engaged audiences, and this seamless blending of these world was the crux of much of the design direction and development.

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One of the most visible markers of the brand’s growth was the emergence of the UN hat. It became more than merchandise, it became a cultural symbol that stood for athlete control and authenticity. My role in refining the logo system ensured that it worked as fluidly on physical products as it did within the UI. The challenge was to create a mark that could sit unobtrusively within video-heavy digital environments but also carry enough presence to stand on its own when worn on a hat or embedded within a broadcast package. Seeing athletes and fans alike wearing the UN hat courtside, on social, and in everyday life validated that design choice. It showed how a minimal and stripped down mark could transcend channels and evolve into a lifestyle signifier without diluting its meaning.

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At the time of launch upward of 75% of Bleacher Reports audience was primarily consuming our content on mobile, and capitalizing on this data we wanted to make sure that any content that we developed in partnership with LeBron and Uninterrupted would be consumed efficiently and quickly on a user centric mobile platform. It would be a platform built for fans and athletes on the go. This mobile centric design meant that video bandwidth had to be quickly delivered, and the design assets had to be simple and clean. Knowing these limitations, we knew we had to make something striking and yet subtle at the same time which was quite a challenge. Not only did the logo have to work on merch, apparel and IRL but also on digital seamlessly. It had to work on websites, mobile phones and look right at home when LeBron would rock it to games.

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Initial explorations were more organic and hand drawn as we leaned into a script style which would speak to the personal aspect of the initiative. However as we spoke through the different iterations, we decided to go for a cleaner look that stripped away the extra fluff and focused on a minimal and clean look that would put the focus on the video content. The key was to put as few barriers between the consumer and the athlete and make the connection as direct as possible. In developing the logo and branding, it had to work from a web perspective, but also from an apparel standpoint and from what would traditionally be considered a broadcast package.

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The hub page for the video experience was deliberately designed to limit distractions and allow the athlete’s voice to remain front and center. From the outset, I pushed to strip away the traditional content clutter that usually surrounds media sites, including links back to other Bleacher Report articles and ad-heavy modules. Instead, the page became a focused canvas for the athlete’s perspective, built around a clean video player with simple navigation. Categories were broken down by athlete rather than by sport or news cycle, emphasizing that this was about individuals telling their own stories in their own words. Early on, the roster of contributors was intentionally limited, so the design had to feel intimate and easy to navigate while also being scalable for future expansion. Many of these videos were in the locker room or in the sprinter on the way home from a game or even sitting at home on their couches watching a night of sports.

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Taken together, these choices defined the creative direction of Uninterrupted. The minimalism of the visual identity, the athlete-first UI, the portability of the logo into lifestyle products, and the commitment to unfiltered storytelling all worked in tandem to create a brand that was scalable and resonant. The design acted as scaffolding that supported the voice of the athlete without intruding on it. That balance is why the brand grew from an experimental partnership into a cultural movement. It was not only about producing content, but about reshaping the expectations of what athlete-driven media could look like and how it could live in culture.

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Behind the scenes, we were able to capture an unprecedented level of athlete access and translate it into a cohesive brand experience. Serena Williams allowed cameras into her physical therapy sessions, giving fans a rare look at the unseen labor behind her dominance. Odell Beckham Jr. recorded a heartfelt message thanking Kobe Bryant after his retirement and iconic 60 point finale, letting his emotion speak directly to fans without editorial filters. These videos needed to be featured simply and cleanly to dissove as much distance between the athlete and the fan, no obtrusive design to keep that intimacy.

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Rob Gronkowski offered a playful, off-the-cuff look into his world that resonated with his larger-than-life persona. Each of these clips carried a different energy, but my responsibility was to ensure that the UI, visual framing, and brand environment made them feel unified under the Uninterrupted identity. The result was a pipeline of content that was raw and immediate, but always felt intentional and consistent. The UN logo bug in the corner, for attribution and sharing was ever present and the intro animation I created with the distinctive Hoodie Allen soundtrack would always play.

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One of the defining turning points for the brand came during LeBron’s Zero Dark 23 playoff ritual, when he typically went completely silent on social media. By choosing to post reflections and behind the scenes glimpses through Uninterrupted during this blackout, he elevated the platform into something bigger than a media partnership. It became the only window into his mindset during the most critical moments of the season. My focus as a designer was to strip away any barriers between the fan and the athlete in these moments. The clean, distraction-free design made the content feel like an unmediated conversation, and it positioned Uninterrupted as the sole channel capable of breaking LeBron’s own blackout. That contrast made every piece of content feel like an event.

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The cultural resonance of the platform deepened through viral moments that blurred the lines between sports, music, and everyday life. LeBron previewing Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled unmastered album on his phone became a moment of cultural cross-pollination, where NBA fans and hip hop communities collided over a simple, unfiltered video. The fact that we could turn this intimate vlog style content into larger stories within our media ecosystem was a fresh experiment. Similar to Shaq and Tout and other platforms, LeBron was trying to create his own media empire through this vision. The athletes would post these videos and upload them to our private Bleacher Report FTP server, and then Kenny Dorset and our social programming team would upload them to the website hub I had created.

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The Cavaliers’ subway ride in New York is another example, a raw and mobile-shot piece that spread across mainstream outlets while keeping the Uninterrupted design elements in place. These moments worked because our design direction was intentionally invisible, amplifying the authenticity instead of overshadowing it. They showcased how a platform built for direct expression could generate cultural waves far beyond traditional sports coverage. The video was shared far and wide across many other platforms, amplifying our brand and getting it out there.

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Opting for a clean Sans Serif logo that articulated that Uninterrupted was a platform rather than a media company. The goal of the logo was to be unobtrusive yet still clean enough to serve as a vessel for multiple voices. Amongst a number of iterations of the logoset and typeface, we repeatedly found ourselves leaning towards a more minimal aesthetic. As the brand grew, my challenge was to evolve the hub page into a more sophisticated platform without sacrificing its original simplicity.

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I iterated on layouts that allowed for more athletes and more content categories while preserving the directness that had defined the initial launch. This required careful adjustments to typography, spacing, and interaction design to make sure the interface could handle greater content density while still feeling uncluttered. The visual branding was kept consistent throughout these iterations, using the same restrained color palette and minimal type treatments to reinforce the idea that the platform was a vessel for athlete voices rather than a media company trying to compete for attention. By setting these principles early and defending them through multiple rounds of feedback, I helped establish a design system that could scale with Uninterrupted’s growth while staying true to its core identity.

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The launch of Striving for Greatness marked one of the earliest forays into immersive storytelling for Uninterrupted and showed how the brand could extend beyond traditional video. Working in partnership with Oculus Studios and Felix & Paul Studios, we crafted a 12 minute, 360 degree VR film that placed fans directly inside LeBron James’ preseason training regimen. Instead of watching a highlight reel, fans found themselves standing beside him in the gym, on the court, and even riding in the car with his family. The intimacy of those perspectives was amplified by our design approach, which emphasized proximity and presence over heavy graphics. It was the purest distillation of our goal to eliminate barriers between the athlete and the audience, and VR was the perfect medium to prove it could be done.

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From a creative direction standpoint, the project reinforced the idea that Uninterrupted was not confined to any one platform. We treated VR as an extension of the same design system we had applied to mobile and broadcast, making sure the branding remained minimal while the experience felt expansive and cinematic. The film allowed viewers to explore LeBron’s preparation for his thirteenth NBA season in a way that could never be replicated on social media or even traditional television. Fans felt like part of his inner circle, and the cultural reception validated that the future of athlete storytelling could live across mediums. The success of Striving for Greatness positioned Uninterrupted not just as a content platform but as a pioneer of immersive storytelling, one that was willing to experiment with new technologies to deepen the athlete-fan relationship. The partnership with Turner and Bleacher Report also allowed for amplification of this content to grow awareness for the content and brand as can be seen in the TNT promo below.

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The Trophies series became the first episodic content format to emerge from Uninterrupted, and it proved to be a blueprint for how athlete-driven storytelling could live beyond isolated clips. During the 2016 NBA Playoffs, LeBron James used the platform to deliver personal reflections, walkthroughs of his daily preparation, and glimpses of his life off the court in between games. The creative direction was intentionally stripped down to feel like diary entries rather than staged features, and this episodic framing allowed fans to follow the Cavaliers’ journey in real time. Each drop was short, direct, and intimate, but when consumed together, they formed a narrative arc that mirrored the highs and lows of the postseason. By designing the system to handle recurring installments, I helped set the foundation for Uninterrupted to evolve into a serialized storytelling platform rather than a loose collection of uploads.

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The timing could not have been more dramatic, as the 2016 Finals quickly became one of the most thrilling championship series in NBA history. With the Cavaliers coming back from a 3–1 deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors in seven games, every episode of Trophies carried the weight of unfolding history. Fans were able to see LeBron’s mindset shift game to game, from the grind of preparation to the emotional release after pivotal wins. The series gave a rare sense of proximity to a championship run that felt both historic and deeply personal, and the design choices we made ensured that nothing got in the way of that connection. It transformed Uninterrupted into a destination for episodic athlete storytelling, proving that fans craved more than post-game press conferences or media soundbites—they wanted to follow the human journey, step by step, as history was being made.

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One of the first examples of all the pieces of the design, video packaging, brand guidelines, access, and sponsorship all coming together in a piece of exclusive content around a major sports trigger happened when LeBron signed his lifetime deal with Nike. It showcased the personal connection with athletes giving a peak into their lives with the branding acting as a strong signifier of a social content vehicle, while still being unobtrusive. We partnered with the Verizon platform Go90 which would also go on to host pieces like Kobe Bryant's "Dear Basketball" as an integrated sponsor bug in the corner of the video to drive revenue.

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Getting a peek inside any athlete's sneaker closet is usually a treat, let alone of of the biggest names in the space who has one of the most popular signatures shoes in the game. This one of a kind look at some of LeBron's iconic sneakers in his Cleveland home was a perfect way to showcase what this platform could be in the future. It became a shining example that was taken to market and lead to a number of monetized experiences by showing the power of this type of content vehicle.

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The following year one of the first major events that I had the opportunity to help develop as a part of the creative production team that would work on concepts for Uninterrupted was a ping pong match between Drake and Reggie Miller that was broadcast during the halftime of the 2016 NBA All Star game in Toronto. These type of creative collaborations would set the stage for an environment of inclusivity and lead to many more partnerships between creators and the brand. Getting a big name like Drake to participate in a live event like this showcased the power of Uninterrupted to really draw some of the biggest celebrities in the industry. This proof of concept was a key moment in the evolution of the brand that I was excited to help produce and coordinate from a creative execution perspective.

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The redesign followed the thought of not being just a symbol or monogram, but a complete and striking identity that could be recognized and applied anywhere as a symbol and tool for expression. The content was the hero rather than the branding and so it had to feel modern yet unobtrusive so that it could be applied in a video heavy user interface. Maintaining this authenticity was a key factor in making sure the barriers between the athlete and the consumer were minimized. Not only did it become a content platform, but also a lifestyle brand.

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During the design process we went through a number of iterations that were flashy and more trendy, but the continual feedback was to strip away too much of the flair that was added in an attempt to streamline things. The logo had to be versatile and going with a stripped down sans serif custom typeface that would be bold and eye catching and yet fit into any UI implementation was a key factor in the process. The seamless logo was unobtrusive and I made sure it could work in multiple contexts.

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The logo can be seen integrated into the Los Angeles offices of Uninterrupted in this video as Draymond Green visits Maverick Carter to get a behind the scenes tour of their content production studio. One thing that Mav made clear was that the logo and the brand style would have to feel like it could breathe and live in actual space. He wanted a physical representation of the brand that could be a vessel for different styles and storytelling methods. Similar to how the different athletes had their own backgrounds and personalities, the logo should feel like a chameleon in the sense that it can stand out on it's own, but also blend in with any of those voices.

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The Hometown episode of Dwyane Wade’s Flash3ack series was a powerful example of how Uninterrupted could elevate storytelling into something both personal and universal. In this installment Wade opened up about the experience of returning to Chicago and joining the Bulls, a team that had shaped his childhood and defined his earliest dreams. The content was intimate and reflective, blending his memories of growing up as a fan with the reality of stepping onto the court in a Bulls uniform. My role in shaping this piece was to ensure that the design system reinforced the weight of the story without overshadowing it. By creating a clean, unobtrusive visual framework, balancing archival elements with fresh footage, and leaning into the rhythm of Wade’s own narration, I helped frame an episode that resonated deeply with fans. It served as proof that Uninterrupted could handle not only in-the-moment updates but also legacy-driven narratives, positioning the brand as a vessel for athlete storytelling at every stage of their careers.

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The integration of the logo into Uninterrupted as it grew as a brand was following the same principles and guidelines. The logo and branding were meant to be an element that could easily blend into the background as the storytelling took focus. The principles of leadership, charisma, and identity taking center stage as the personalized content blurred the lines between athlete and consumer. One thing that Maverick Carter was very passionate about was making sure that the brand was something that could be developed over time into different verticals and become a symbol for a sports and culture lifestyle, which is something I feel like we really succeded in.

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Working on the launch of the Uninterrupted brand while developing the look and feel of the design package was a fulfilling experience that allowed me to better understand the nuances of brand development and marketing. Understanding the core user base and product as best we could and building the plane as we were flying it meant I had to work efficiently and in a nimble manner. Seeing the brand grow and thrive to become the institution it is now is extremely gratifying and it was a pleasure to be a part of the launch of the brand and the company from a design standpoint and as an infrastructure partner in Bleacher Report. I really don't think the brand would be what it is today without those early contributions. It truly is amazing what a UN logo can do and the journey it went on.

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Key Collaborators: Maverick Carter, Bennett Spector, Kenny Dorset

Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro

Deliverables: Brand Guidelines, Logo, Video Package, Branded Content, Aparel