Actually Pretty Good Run Club Shirt
This project began when I was approached by Actually Pretty Good, a local pizza restaurant in Calgary, ahead of the Calgary Marathon. The owner, Chris, wanted to sponsor a few high-performance athletes with custom shirts for race day, with the potential to evolve the design into a future run club identity for the restaurant.
As my first freelance project out of school, it was exciting to finally put what I had learned in my program into practice. The goal was straightforward: create a running-themed pizza illustration that aligned with the restaurant’s existing branding and illustration style. Once the artwork was complete, the design would be applied to performance shirts with messaging provided by the owner Chris.
Client
Actually Pretty Good Pizza
Year
20/05/2025
Role
Graphic Design
To build the illustration, I drew inspiration directly from my own experiences. I used photos I had taken of running to form the shape and posture of the running pizza, giving the design a sense of authenticity and motion. For the sunglasses, I photographed a pair of Oakleys I own, even staging a shot of myself in the same running direction to make sure the proportions and angles felt natural. These details tied the artwork back to the real running culture it was meant to represent.
What challenged me most in this project was stepping outside of my comfort zone as an illustrator. I’ve never considered illustration my strongest skill, but this project pushed me to experiment, adapt, and refine my approach to match the restaurant’s playful visual identity. In the end, the design captured the fun, energetic personality of Actually Pretty Good while staying true to the technical needs of a shirt meant for athletes on race day.