Swing & Soul

After researching the culture of Louisiana, the students selected the city’s most significant aspects: jazz; the bayou landscapes, with their organic shapes and unique scenery; the architecture, rich in curved details; and the Mardi Gras carnival, full of history and tradition.

Based on these references, they chose to explore the relationship between the worlds of jazz and golf, identifying similarities between the two. The tools used in each field play a key role, combining precision and attention to detail in their design, while both disciplines require rhythm, personal expression, and a sense of teamwork.

With the focus clearly defined, the students created test sketches using different colors and patterns, aiming to visually represent the feelings conveyed by both worlds. Organic lines and warm colors were used to evoke the atmosphere of jazz clubs. The curves, also inspired by the Cleeks pattern, emerged from the basic shapes of the tools used in both disciplines: jazz instruments and golf clubs.

To create the pattern, the essential shapes of three classic jazz instruments —trumpet, saxophone, and clarinet— were represented, incorporating the golf club as a substitute for the instruments’ keys. The combination of these elements was inspired by the ironwork found in the city’s architecture, integrating history, music, and sport into a single design.

Some of the warm tones from the original palette were used to reference the atmosphere of a jazz club through color.

A range of browns was chosen to connect with the instruments and materials of jazz, as well as those of golf. Leather and wood, elements present in both worlds, were incorporated into the design through this color palette.

In addition, a sense of modernity and contrast was introduced by using white, a color directly associated with golf balls, the protagonists of the sport.