MVP Disc Sports is starting 2024 with some great Team MVP signings. One of them is Eagle McMahon! I can’t say this enough, but it was a team effort to design, film, edit, plan, and execute the Eagle McMahon recent news drop. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this team we have assembled. Eagle had requested in discussions that his Team Series disc be the Axiom Prism Proton Envy. Prism Proton is a combination of a Proton core with a Prism Proton rim. It differs from the standard stock Proton Envy with its Neutron overmold. It allows light to bounce through and create some remarkable results. The Envy is one of our company's most popular discs, and the Prism Proton Envy is easily one of the most gorgeous Envy’s we have ever produced.

Assignment:
To provide Eagle McMahon with a triple-foil 2024 Team Series design and to have stamped product before Eagle’s arrival at MVP HQ. At age 25, firmly in his prime, He knew this opportunity was the start of the next phase of his career. Those conversations led naturally to the concept of a phoenix, or rebirth. It was the start of something new and exciting. While this was my priority secret assignment, I had to conduct my day-to-day operations as the Art Director of MVP.

Phase 1
MVP/Axiom isn’t known to be a company to release anything bird-related. Where do we start? How can we work within the parameters of the phoenix lore and not create something similar to other disc golf brands? Cybernetic concepts? AI generation? The choice to use an animal has been made and redone countless times within the disc golf space. I relied on gathering references of phoenixes and eagles that displayed strong pose characteristics and unique silhouettes. While in the rabbit hole, I found references to an Eastern-style phoenix-like bird that steers toward ostrich/peacock comparisons. I felt there needed to be a sense of pomp and circumstance/elegance.

Phase 2
I got to work on a few sheets of thumbnails. Listening to feedback from the first thumbnail selection gave me more to chew on going into the second set of ideas. This sheet would land the bones/overall direction of the design moving forward. I brought a rough chosen thumbnail into Procreate and started to figure out bird, text, and logo placement within the stamp. There are standards for the Official Team Series seal with a minimum stamping size of 10mm tall, and I knew from the jump that those were must-haves. Going from loose drawings to idealized structure (mocked onto discs) helps show ratios and how the design feels with the characteristics of the plastic.

Phase 3
I learned a lot about Eagle during this first project. He wasn’t the biggest fan of his name taking up so much space as I initially thought we needed. We opted for a smaller footprint. The head facing to the right side offered the best silhouette value. Overall, leaving the head looking off to the side felt commonplace with the reference I’ve been seeing. Looking upward and straight on felt more engaging and powerful, so I continued with that mindset. We entered a more polished stage. I started thinking about all three foils. Eagle was pretty jazzed, and we all felt this was the final direction.

We were at the 80% mark when I felt the flames didn’t replicate the excitement/buzz going into 2024. In a traditional sense, the vibe fits more with the Eastern/traditional style fire. While working through the final ideas of the bottom stamp rocker, I realized that the airfoil caused by a bird rising from the fire would create a bit more disturbance. Adding more lateral energy helped add dynamics to the bottom portion tenfold.

The Final Phase
The last part to do was to finalize line quality, start placing the assets into the custom template, and work through final line detailing with stamping guidelines in mind. This design had to have little to no issues on the day they tested. It needed to work consistently for whoever was running the stamping machine at any point.

The Eagle McMahon “Rebirth” Team Series discs will include gold holographic foil, red holo foil styles (shatter, dots, and vertical holographic lines), and a black outline. I’d like to thank Eagle for his attitude and pure joy during this process. It aided in the extra hours needed to finish this. I’m beyond excited to see these out in the wild and can’t imagine what 2024 has in store for MVP Disc Sports. I hope you all enjoyed and feel free to ask any questions. Thanks!