I have followed Sven van de Wege for a long time. A blind content creator, cancer survivor and accessibility advocate building his name as one of the top Street Fighter players to grace my screen.
Sven contacted me initially to refresh his Twitch stream assets, which later led to an introduction video, creating thumbnail templates for YouTube and Event Videography.
So far I have been fortunate enough to follow Sven across the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States filming and editing his adventures as he attends events and tournaments.
Logo Design
Sven is known for playing Ken in the Street Fighter series, and Cinder in Killer Instinct. Both characters utilise fire, so using flame imagery was a clear choice.
Inspired by fire warning signs around my apartment, I stylised Sven’s name, and ultimately initials, into a flame. The thick border allows for contrast on darker backgrounds and promotes a friendlier feel, dulling the edges. This also protects the fingers when the logo is embroidered or 3D printed.
Overlays
The current overlay is inspired by braille, using halftone textures creating a gritty, slightly hostile feeling. I wanted to reflect Sven’s day to day life, his positivity and determination shining through.
The striking visual of Sven playing blindfolded is paramount to his brand identity, so the iconic red bandanna is highlighted in his Starting, BRB and End scenes. Contrasting the otherwise black and white photography, the eye to Sven’s face, and establishes an emotional connection.
My previously rigid design relied on background elements designed in Illustrator and animated in After Effects, which led to issues adding extra elements. The new overlay was wireframed in Illustrator and Photoshop before being recreated within OBS using shape layers. This modular approach allows dynamic resizing of sections as Sven adds or removes elements.
As Sven looks to create more short-form content, it was important to optimise the overlay for easy editing. Ensuring the gameplay and webcams remain static and unobstructed, combined with templates and a larger scale, Sven’s volunteer editing team can quickly format high quality highlights.
Videography
When following Sven as he attends conventions and tournaments, I use a lightweight camera and unobstructive shooting style. Although Sven does not mind, his opponents can be distracted by aggressive camera movements which could cost them their game. This would harm competitive integrity, of which Sven cares deeply about.
Shooting from the hip helps the videos feel "like you would filming a family holiday [sic]". Sven's request allows for a cosy atmosphere which I enjoy constrasting with sharp cuts to a beat.
Jersey Design
Using the latest overlay as a base, which features a halftone treated portrait of Sven I took whilst he was visiting HSBC's offices in Canary Wharf, I created an esports style jersey for his trip to EVO Las Vegas, the largest event in the Fighting Game Community's calendar.
