Adidas x Willy Chavarria
Comprehensive Visual and Creative Execution by Nik Johnson
Product Photography • Art Direction • 3D Film • Post-Production
Project Overview
The Harden x Willy Chavarria collaboration brought together performance basketball and high-fashion storytelling. Known for his bold silhouettes and culturally driven design language, Willy Chavarria infused the collection with a refined Western influence rooted in heritage, identity, and community.
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Drawing inspiration from the Compton Cowboys, which is a powerful symbol of modern Black Western culture. The campaign balanced grit and elegance, merging sport performance with fashion narrative.
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For this project, I handled the product photography end-to-end for both the Harden silhouette and the Adidas Superstar collaboration from lighting design and capture through final retouching and compositing. I also developed custom environmental backplates for each product, creating a cohesive visual world that supported the campaign’s tone across still and motion assets.
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The goal was to build a world around the product not just to simply document it.
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Every visual decision from texture highlights to atmospheric lighting was designed to honor the cultural depth of Willy’s influence while maintaining Adidas Basketball’s performance-driven identity.
Role & Responsibilities
Creative Direction & Visual Development
Helped shape the visual language for the collaboration, ensuring cohesion across photography and motion while aligning with Willy Chavarria’s culturally driven aesthetic and the Compton Cowboys narrative.
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Product Photography – Harden & Adidas Superstar
Shot and edited the final product photography for both silhouettes, handling lighting design, composition, capture, retouching, and compositing to achieve a consistent, elevated presentation across the collection.
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Custom Backplate Creation
Conceptualized and built original environmental backplates for both the Harden and Superstar products. Developed atmospheric foundations that reinforced the Western influence and cultural tone of the campaign while maintaining Adidas Basketball’s performance identity.
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3D Premium Film – Visual Direction & Finishing
Collaborated with 3D artist Jimmy Edwards on the Premium 3D Film, guiding the visual direction, lighting tone, and overall aesthetic execution. Completed the final edit and color grade to ensure the motion piece aligned seamlessly with the still photography and campaign narrative.​
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Post-Production & Color Finishing
Executed detailed compositing, texture refinement, and color grading across both still and motion deliverables to create a unified visual system across platforms.
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