Nike Airphoria Vol 2 in Fortnite
Nike continues to push the boundaries of sport and entertainment to the max with a daring sequel to Airphoria, in Fortnite. A mysterious new element has disrupted the world of Airphoria. Feel the unreal, traverse portals to the unknown and collect four Air chambers to create a new sneaker grail. Enter the Dn Dimension, a beautiful, immersive, update to this Air Max-themed Fortnite experience created with Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). Airphoria re-opened March 26, 2024 and featured skins, cosmetics and a surreal experience that invites players to feel the unreal.
Airphoria Vol 2 Posters
I led the creative direction for the in-game posters that populate the Dn-ified Air Max city. The brief was: Feel the Unreal. Each poster had to reflect dynamic air, glitch aesthetics, and the internet in motion, icons, datamoshing, machine code, while tying back to the Air Max DN and the story of the world. We explored references from surreal sci-fi to boy band tour graphics, using characters from the skin drops to create playful moments like a dance class or an “Air Brothers” pop group. I also directed how these visuals were adapted across multiple aspect ratios, 16:9, 9:16, and 1:1, to ensure they stayed legible and immersive across every placement. These posters layered the city with easter eggs, cultural nods, and a visual rhythm that matched the pulse of the experience.
Airphoria Vol 2 Animated Content
I also led the creative direction for the animated content woven throughout the Dn Dimension. Building on the visual language of the posters, this phase focused on remixing content from Airphoria Vol. 1, adding glitch, distortion, and recolorization to achieve a psychedelic, hacked energy. Motion treatments leaned into datamoshing, corrupted signals, and internet-era aesthetics to make it feel like the world was glitching in real time. Each piece pushed the surrealism further, evolving the experience through layers of digital chaos.
Airphoria Vol 2 Airphorian ID Card
No citizen of Airphoria is complete without an ID. As a playful easter egg, we created the Airphorian ID card, another layer of immersion tucked into the experience. The names featured are a mashup of the designers who lived and breathed this world day and night, blended with a tongue-in-cheek nod to our creative director. It was a fun way to leave our fingerprint inside the space, part inside joke, part worldbuilding detail.
Airphoria Vol 2 3D Assets
I designed a series of 3D assets to help bring the Airphoria world to life. Starting with the orcas and sharks. These were original designs, inspired by the form and features of the Air Max DN shoe and brought to life as sculptural interpretations of the product’s internal colorway names. I created the concepts from scratch and textured them directly onto the models. For the “Maxtape,” a play on mixtape, I mocked up several versions, then developed the final textures for application onto 3D models, adding another playful layer to the world’s storytelling.
Airphoria Vol 2 Graffitti
I also led the creative direction for the graffiti elements found throughout the Dn Dimension. These pieces were designed as an extension of its surreal, glitched, and air-infused identity. From stylized tags to abstract symbols, each mark was crafted to reflect the culture of Airphoria and bring extra texture and attitude to the environment.
