Military Appreciation Game Graphics

During these weeks I worked on creating Military Appreciation game graphics for both Stetson softball and baseball. This project took a little longer than some of the others because I could not find many strong inspiration graphics to reference beforehand. When I have a clear visual reference, the design process tends to move faster, but when I have to build something more from scratch it requires a lot more experimenting.

Because of that, I spent time testing different layouts, colors, and composition options before settling on the final design. I also sometimes second guess myself during the design process, but this project reminded me that it is important to trust the process and wait until the full design comes together before judging it too early.

One thing that helped was designing both the baseball and softball versions. Once I developed a direction for one sport, I could adapt similar elements for the other while still keeping the designs unique to each team. Using the American flag, muted background imagery, and the star shape helped highlight the Military Appreciation theme while still fitting within the Stetson Athletics style.

Sold Out Softball Graphic

Another graphic I created during these weeks was the sold-out announcement for the Stetson softball game against Texas Tech. At first, both versions of the graphic were designed without borders, but the overall result looked a little too plain.

To improve the design, I added the same border style that we often use on our lacrosse game day posts. This small adjustment added another visual layer to the graphic without making it feel overly busy. I liked that the border helped frame the design and made the post feel more polished while still keeping the focus on the “Sold Out” message.

Overall, I was really happy with how these graphics turned out. They are simple but effective, and the added border detail helped elevate the final look.

Giveaway Photos: Pit Vipers & T-Shirts

For softball giveaways, I also helped take photos of friends modeling the Pit Viper sunglasses and the Stetson giveaway t-shirts. Similar to the basketball shirt photos I took earlier in the semester, the goal was to capture images that show the giveaway items being worn rather than just photographed on their own.

Having real people model the giveaways helps the posts feel more engaging and gives fans a better sense of what the items actually look like. It also makes the content feel more natural and lifestyle-focused rather than purely promotional.

Learning AI Editing Techniques

One of the most interesting parts of these weeks was learning how another member of the social media team edits giveaway photos using AI tools. I did not take or edit the final photos myself, but I followed along as he showed me the process.

He demonstrated how he uploads the original images into ChatGPT and other AI editing platforms and then uses extremely specific prompts to transform the photos into polished promotional edits. Seeing this process was really interesting because the original images were fairly simple, but with the right prompts the AI could generate very professional-looking visuals.

It was helpful to see how detailed the prompts need to be in order to get the results you want. This showed me how AI tools can be used as another creative resource in the design process rather than replacing creativity entirely.

Conclusion

Weeks 8 and 9 helped me continue developing my design process and understanding of sports marketing content through projects like Military Appreciation graphics, sold-out posts, and photographing giveaways. I also gained insight into how tools like AI and different creative approaches from the team can enhance content creation and shape my future work.