Smeda Sports Pickleball

Technical artworking & custom typography of a Professional Pickleball Paddle series

Freelance Production

Overview

SMEDA Sports is a family-run business based in Hampshire that provides coaching and specialized experiences for Pickleball, Beach Tennis, and Padel. Pickleball is a fast-growing sport which gained significant momentum in 2023. Smeda Sports has since expanded its operations with the launch of The PicklePad, a dedicated indoor pickleball and padel hub.

My involvement across two distinct freelance stints focused on the technical art working of their high-performance paddle ranges, ensuring design concepts were accurately translated into high-quality, physical manufacturing. This work spanned several key product phases, including the King Pro line, the Gold Precision series and its 2.0 iteration, as well as the Red Dragon series, ensuring the finished products maintained the high standards of durability, innovation, and aesthetic appeal required for professional-grade gear.

Process

The project began with phase one, where I took the existing brand logo and performed small color tweaks to the pink and blue gradient so it would flow perfectly across the paddle surfaces. Following this, I managed the development of the various paddle series through frequent client meetings and constant collaboration over the space of a month.

This phase involved exploring several initial design concepts before we ultimately drew it back to basics, deciding that a clean application of the logo with intertwined custom typography provided the most professional look. Once this direction was set, I handled the technical details, including the deep Slate Charcoal finish for the longer "Stretch" paddle and the precise application of "CRLN" (Cerulean) branding for the various models.