03 // BRANDING

JESUS WAS AN ULTRA

Turning my dissertation into a coffee table book.

CLIENT: Falmouth University
YEAR: 2024/25
DURATION: 1 month

PROBLEM

To find ways of turning a dissertation into a graphic publication, a coffee table book.

INSIGHT

My dissertation was just a PDF, but I wanted it to be much more than that. I had passion for what I wrote about and wanted it to be memorable.

SOLUTION

Designing football artefacts in the style of existing religious artefacts, to show the parallel between football and religion.

SKILLS

Researching
Project Management
Book Binding
Publication Design
Exhibition Design

TOOLS

InDesign
Illustrator
Photoshop
Figma
Printer
Scanner

FORMAT AND TONE

One book, two voices. The Old Testament half is the dissertation with moderate tweaks. The New Testament half is the graphic, picture led side. Both had to sit on the same grid.

The page size specification: A4, an 18 by 18 grid and a 12.7mm margin, with an example spread

Tone of voice scales for the Old Testament half, sliding towards formal, opinionated and serious

Tone of voice scales for the New Testament half, sliding towards edgy, playful and profane

THE BOOK

The finished book with a black and gold Jesus Was An Ultra scarf laid over it

A spread showing the Old Testament contents page beside the New Testament divider

A spread from chapter two, running text beside a photograph of English hooligans with a figure caption

A spread reading BLAH BLAH BLAH in large cut out lettering across black and white pages

A spread setting the song North London Forever as a numbered psalm beside high contrast crowd photography

THE EXHIBITION

The degree show wall, a Jesus Was An Ultra scarf hung above printed spreads with the book on a stand

BRAND IDENTITY

THE APP

The book became a brand, with a hypothetical app where people submit their own cases of football and religion overlapping.

The JWAU app icon on an iPhone home screen

The app's submit screen, two upload panels labelled Football and Religion with an explanation below

The app's live streams screen listing watch parties with running scores

THE CAMPAIGN

QR led pieces that give nothing away. A famous moment, a line, and a code that sends you to the book.

Story format campaign graphics laid out across phone screens on a gold background

A digital billboard in a park path carrying the gold Jesus Was An Ultra graffiti

JWAU BRAND GUIDELINES ↗ Building an identity, the full document. PDF, 32 pages, 3.6 MB