MANILA, AUGUST 14, 2013- AJ Dimarucot created illustrations for the visit of Miami Heat basketball player Lebron James.
AJ Dimarucot, graphic designer, entrepreneur, restaurateur and a basketball fan, was luckily chosen to create designs for Lebron’s video introduction during promotional tour at the Mall of Asia Arena. It wasn’t presented in the video but he was one among the ten designers that made a new spin with Nike’s shoes.
“I’m a big fan so it was totally fun to come up with ideas for the pieces. Just based on watching him for the last few years. Luckily, I was also able to work on another project to do some sneaker customs and met Lebron personally,” said Dimarucot.
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Dimarucot was tasked to take inspiration from the theme “Witness History” wherein he selected the historical moments of Lebron’s past year – his 4th MVP to the "no-headband game" in the Finals, supported by his 1st and 2nd championships. In Dimarucot’s blog, he told that he chose to create a piece called “Manila Inferno” which was based on Lebrons’ team Miami Heat. He attached the two words in each shoe tongue.
“My first idea was to paint a pattern of palm leaves on each shoe, because that was something common between Manila and Miami. But that didn’t really work out so I had to continue experimenting.” From that concept he already decided to call it shoes “on fire,” explained Dimarucot.
At present, Dimarucot is known for his t-shirt designs for Nike, Jordan Brand, Adidas, and Uniqlo, which are worn not just in Manila but also across the globe. He was also an art director for Ogilvy & Mather’s digital department.
