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Bold orange typography on a bright blue background reads “kill”. A small Nike swoosh sits above the letter “i”, with the words “the game” written in a smaller font below.

Sawdust creates dynamic typeface for LeBron James for Nike basketball

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Date
8 December 2015

Back in July, creative partnership Sawdust (aka Jonathan Quainton and Rob Gonzalez) was tasked by Nike basketball to create a bespoke typeface for NBA champ Kobe Bryant. Beautifully sharp, the duo has just released a custom typeface for fellow NBA star, LeBron James. The new typeface emulates the same dynamism and energy, but it’s broader and more imposing, suiting 6’ 8” LeBron perfectly.

Taking cues from the player’s existing crown-like logo mark, which alludes to his self-appointed “King James” title, the letterforms are bold, athletic and still majestic enough to carry the weight of LeBron’s reputation and stature.

A blue alphabet in a bold, blocky display typeface is centred on a white background. Below the letters, the words “Display Typeface” appear above a Nike swoosh.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A bold orange typographic poster on a bright blue background reads “Beat Defeat. Repeat.” Smaller text below reads “Nike Basketball” above a Nike swoosh.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A bold black “23” is centred on a bright yellow background with visible fold marks. A small white Nike swoosh sits inside the curve of the three, with “Lebron James” written vertically beside a small crown logo.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A bold, blue alphabet in a blocky display typeface is centred on a light grey background. Below the letters, the words “Display Typeface” appear above a Nike swoosh.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A black and white image featuring a quote from LeBron James: “I treated it like every day was my last day with a basketball”. The Nike swoosh logo appears below the text, alongside the name “LeBron James”.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A bold graphic in blue and orange featuring the letters “XYZ” in a heavy serif typeface. Below the text are the Nike swoosh and a small, stylised logo.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A black and white close-up of a person’s chin and mouth, cropped to show only the lower face. The word “king” appears in a bold serif typeface on a white background to the right.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

A graphic poster for LeBron James featuring two images of the basketball player set within the large, bold letters of the word “king”. The top image shows him in a white jersey, while the bottom image shows him shouting in a yellow Lakers jersey. The design uses a high-contrast palette of black, white and orange, with the text “the” above the main title and “leBron James” written in small script. Nike and LeBron James brand logos appear at the bottom.
Above

Sawdust: LeBron James typeface, Nike basketball

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About the Author

Rebecca Fulleylove

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Rebecca Fulleylove is a freelance writer and editor specialising in art, design and culture. She is also senior writer at Creative Review, having previously worked at Elephant, Google Arts & Culture, and It’s Nice That.

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