BUCKETS
2017-present
Role: Producer | Photographer | Videographer
BUCKETS is the result of 3+ years of documenting Portland’s most unique neighborhood basketball hoops resulting in a brand and coffee table book.
Working in lockstep with designer Phillip Nguyen since day one, BUCKETS is the result of his design and art direction as well as my photography and videography.
Phillip took charge of the branding, book, and packaging design.
Beginning in 2017, I approached my then co-worker Phillip with the idea of creating a coffee table book that documents our city’s basketball hoops.
At the time, we were already photographing hoops on our own, and the project couldn’t have happened more organically. Combining our love of basketball with our skills in design/photography — we had a goal to create an ode to our city of Portland that offers others a unique view of our hometown through its neighborhood hoops.
At the time, we were already photographing hoops on our own, and the project couldn’t have happened more organically. Combining our love of basketball with our skills in design/photography — we had a goal to create an ode to our city of Portland that offers others a unique view of our hometown through its neighborhood hoops.
A view into some of the process leading up to the creation of BUCKETS.
Zigzagging through countless neighborhoods for 3+ years, we documented over 350 basketball hoops in Portland. We found some organically through walks, runs, drives, and even from our friends' suggestions.
We held off on photographing a few hoops until it was the right season to do so as well (ex: hoops surrounded by good amounts of foliage/trees we waited on because we knew it might look better in the Spring or Fall).
We held off on photographing a few hoops until it was the right season to do so as well (ex: hoops surrounded by good amounts of foliage/trees we waited on because we knew it might look better in the Spring or Fall).
Looking at the photos we collected, patterns and pairings emerged and that influenced the overall organization of the book.
Through all of this, we ended up with four sections:
Place: Hoops defined by their unique placements, environments, or local nods to the city.
Color: Hoops that pop through the colors of their details, homes, or natural surroundings.
Shape: Hoops characterized by distinct or common shapes.
Texture: Hoops with a story you can feel by their age, material, or backboard prints.
Through all of this, we ended up with four sections:
Place: Hoops defined by their unique placements, environments, or local nods to the city.
Color: Hoops that pop through the colors of their details, homes, or natural surroundings.
Shape: Hoops characterized by distinct or common shapes.
Texture: Hoops with a story you can feel by their age, material, or backboard prints.
As we geared up for launch during the holidays, Phillip wanted the packaging to not only act as an attractive gift box, but also as a celebration for the completion of the project that we had the opportunity to share with all our friends and followers who anticipated the release.
Taking inspiration from the tradition of college basketball teams cutting down the net after a winning a national championship, he brought that same act of celebration into the unboxing of our book.
Taking inspiration from the tradition of college basketball teams cutting down the net after a winning a national championship, he brought that same act of celebration into the unboxing of our book.
The box included a sticker wrap with a net graphic that the recipient cut through in order to open the box.
This coincided with a social media push using the hashtag #CUTTHENET, where buyers of the book reposted their unboxings by cutting the net on their individual packages.
This coincided with a social media push using the hashtag #CUTTHENET, where buyers of the book reposted their unboxings by cutting the net on their individual packages.
Today we continue our journey of documenting hoops around Portland. Through the years, we’ve found these snapshots in time become more meaningful, as some of the hoops we return to are either broken or no longer exist.
Learn more about BUCKETS at bucketsbook.co or on Instagram at @buckets.book.
Learn more about BUCKETS at bucketsbook.co or on Instagram at @buckets.book.
