Role
Freelance Senior Graphic Designer
Category
Print, Poster, Outdoor Ad
Industry
Sports, Fitness & Community Events
Overview
Within Envato Elements, the sports category is largely dominated by minimalist and corporate aesthetics. I identified an opportunity in the Outdoor Adventure niche, particularly trail running. This project focused on creating a poster template that captures the spirit of the wild, raw, challenging, and energetic, tailored for mountain runs, nature-based events, and off-road competitions.
Challenge
The primary challenge was maintaining text readability over visually dense natural backgrounds. Trail running photography often features detailed forest scenery that can easily overpower typography if not handled carefully. At the same time, the design needed to feel rugged and adventurous while still appearing polished and premium as a commercial digital product.
Solution
I adopted a Grunge Collage approach to impose visual structure within a chaotic environment. A Deep Purple base provided a strong, dark foundation, contrasted with Acid Green-Lime accents to ensure high readability while retaining a modern, nature-inspired tone. Torn paper elements were used as typographic containers, separating key information from the background imagery without sacrificing atmosphere. Halftone dot textures were applied to photo transitions, introducing an underground, zine-like character that resonates with trail running culture. A trail map icon was added to clearly signal that the event takes place off-road rather than on paved streets.
Results
The template successfully filled a market gap for adventure-focused sports posters. It became a popular choice for event organizers in natural tourism areas and national parks. Buyers appreciated the clean layer structure, which allowed for quick color customization, including easy shifts to earth-tone palettes. Visually, the bold, italic sans-serif typography effectively conveyed motion and forward momentum, strengthening the poster’s impact as a promotional tool for sports events.
Freelance Senior Graphic Designer
Category
Print, Poster, Outdoor Ad
Industry
Sports, Fitness & Community Events
Overview
Within Envato Elements, the sports category is largely dominated by minimalist and corporate aesthetics. I identified an opportunity in the Outdoor Adventure niche, particularly trail running. This project focused on creating a poster template that captures the spirit of the wild, raw, challenging, and energetic, tailored for mountain runs, nature-based events, and off-road competitions.
Challenge
The primary challenge was maintaining text readability over visually dense natural backgrounds. Trail running photography often features detailed forest scenery that can easily overpower typography if not handled carefully. At the same time, the design needed to feel rugged and adventurous while still appearing polished and premium as a commercial digital product.
Solution
I adopted a Grunge Collage approach to impose visual structure within a chaotic environment. A Deep Purple base provided a strong, dark foundation, contrasted with Acid Green-Lime accents to ensure high readability while retaining a modern, nature-inspired tone. Torn paper elements were used as typographic containers, separating key information from the background imagery without sacrificing atmosphere. Halftone dot textures were applied to photo transitions, introducing an underground, zine-like character that resonates with trail running culture. A trail map icon was added to clearly signal that the event takes place off-road rather than on paved streets.
Results
The template successfully filled a market gap for adventure-focused sports posters. It became a popular choice for event organizers in natural tourism areas and national parks. Buyers appreciated the clean layer structure, which allowed for quick color customization, including easy shifts to earth-tone palettes. Visually, the bold, italic sans-serif typography effectively conveyed motion and forward momentum, strengthening the poster’s impact as a promotional tool for sports events.
Designed for Envato Elements.
