Sporting Life Holliday Gift Guide

Launched a seasonal microsite experience to help users curate and share personalized gift lists — increasing digital engagement and driving traffic online and in-store during the brand’s most competitive retail period.

Role: Art Direction, Visual Design
Creative Directors: Catherine Baird, Julie Stolberg
Designers: Yuko Brown, Iris Wu
Copywriter: Julie Stolberg
Agency: Dashboard Communications
Client: Sporting Life
Year: 2012

A Personal Touch for the Biggest Sale of the Year

To support Sporting Life’s biggest sale season, we designed a dedicated holiday gift guide microsite that brought a sense of ease and personalization to the shopping experience. The campaign aimed to drive more traffic to the eCommerce platform and increase in-store visits — all during a highly competitive retail period.

Rather than pushing products en masse, we approached this guide as a curated, thoughtful experience to help shoppers find the right gift for everyone on their list.

Helping Shoppers Find (and Save) the Perfect Gifts

We designed a filterable experience that let users browse by budget, recipient, or interest — making it easier to discover relevant items without endless scrolling.

To deepen engagement, users could create and save custom gift lists for their friends and family. This gave them a simple way to stay organized while browsing, and helped turn the shopping experience into something more meaningful and personal.

From Guesswork to Gifting With Confidence

One standout feature was two-way gift giving. Shoppers could share their saved lists with loved ones to get feedback — making gifting less of a guessing game. This added a layer of interaction and connection to the online experience, reflecting how people shop thoughtfully during the holidays.

Extending the Experience Across Channels

To support the digital guide, we created a series of targeted email campaigns tailored to different customer segments — from last-minute shoppers to premium gift seekers.

We also designed a newspaper insert to expand visibility beyond the digital sphere and capture attention from the broader public. The messaging and visuals were carefully aligned to maintain a consistent brand tone and bring people into the experience — online and in-store.