The Ask
Website Redesign Concept
Client • Diamond MMA
ANML was approached by Diamond MMA, a sports equipment company dedicated to providing the protective gear as tough as its network of athletes. They needed our help in conceptualizing a 2.0 online experience.
Their key concerns being that they weren’t capitalizing on the big names they had at their disposal, or showing the value of their products in other markets in a simple way. They asked us to also emphasize the very first viewport customers will see: the hero. If you land on the current home page, you’re greeted with the statement of, “The last athletic cup you’ll ever buy.” — why?”
The User
The persona of an athlete. The one who’s not afraid to put in the work: the blood, sweat, and tears that lead to triumph. They accept nothing but the best from themselves, and their gear.
"Diamond is the best and only protection I trust when I step into The Octagon." - UFC Lightweight Champion, Anthony Pettis
My Role
• Provide an engaging landing experience
• Drive the overall content design vision
• Support with brand visioning
Exploration
From early ideations & loose wireframing, we knew we wanted to consider the athlete ambassador hero in combination with brand exploration, experimenting with hero directions. They were proving to be interesting to the client, but they still weren’t addressing every concern.
Explorations / Ideations
Other Markets
Focus: Stick the Landing
Diamond MMA is building an emerging presence into markets beyond MMA itself. From their customer insights, they've shown growing popularity with athletes in the MLB, NHL, and even law enforcement officers. I experimented with what statement showcasing could look like in these other markets. Let's see what happens if we try to keep the same impact, perhaps introduce color, or highlight different product variants, all with the same goal in mind: build consumer intrigue.
Heavy Hitters
Speaking to the Athlete
I wanted this brand experience to be one that grants immersion for the athlete, and speaks to the protection they’re looking for in the ring. It was about getting them right into the action with a bold statement, following by a product showcase outlining the custom designed technology behind their results.
Regarding testimonials, they wanted to show why customers wearing their gear will have true peace of mind, trusting Diamond’s team of celebrity athletes personally invested in the technology. We all liked the idea of the athletes such as Joe Rogan being the voice of the brand, and driving the action. The resulting visual direction could be dauntless in messaging, badass, and athlete focused.
The Diamond Challenge
Hell, let’s give it a test kick!
What better way to pressure test the validity of your claims than to strap the cup on and get wrecked? I wanted the end note to be showing the product in action through mediums like social media, and having some fun with the humor of groin protection that’s hard to ignore.
Diamond: engineered to withstand getting blasted by a kick of UFC Welterweight proportions! And if you think I'm kidding:
The Diamond Guarantee challenged spirited customers to test their will, and build even stronger trust in the brand. Seeing it was a hit on Instagram, we thought this could also be fitting as a piece of social proofing, and even implementing some UFC footage to push the ethos tactic in product marketing. Not gonna lie though, it was pretty hard for us all to keep it together watching dozens of these hilarious challenge videos…
Outcome
The web concept was well very received. However, this was a short term contract, and it is unclear from Diamond MMA whether a full scale project will be in scope in the future.
Project Status:
• Shipped
