FIFA Arab Cup
The Last Mile
2025
2D DESIGN | DESIGN LEAD
Designing the emotional build-up to kick-off.
For the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 proposal, I contributed to the creative direction and graphic design development for the “Last Mile” experience surrounding Stadium 974, the key fan journey connecting the metro station to the stadium entrance.
Working as Design Lead, I was responsible for shaping the visual identity and experiential narrative across part of the arrival experience, translating the overarching creative platform, Pulse of Unity, into a large-scale activation system that immersed fans in rhythm, movement and cultural celebration from the very first step.
This project formed part of a wider tournament pitch proposal developed by Stagestruck, where the overall experience was divided into two key areas: the Fan Zone and the Last Mile approach. My focus centred on developing the Last Mile concept and its visual storytelling language through 2D graphics, spatial branding, activation concepts and presentation design, while collaborating closely with fellow 2D designers and a freelance 3D visualiser to bring the environments to life.
Pulse of Unity.
At the heart of the proposal was the creative concept Pulse of Unity; a celebration of football as a universal rhythm connecting cultures, nations and generations across the Arab world.
The concept explored how emotion, sound, movement and shared anticipation could transform the journey to the stadium into part of the spectacle itself. Rather than treating the Last Mile as a transitional walkway, we reimagined it as an immersive fan destination, alive with music, performance, colour and interactive moments.
The visual language drew heavily from FIFA’s brand toolkit, football vernacular, and layered cultural textures. Bright modular graphics and bold colour blocking were used to create a cohesive experiential system that could flex across activations, wayfinding, performance spaces and social touch-points.
Designing the Last Mile.
The project focused on a large-scale public environment extending from the metro station approach through to the stadium perimeter. Because of the scale and complexity of the experience, the proposal was structured around modular activation zones designed to build energy progressively as fans moved toward kick-off.
My role involved developing the overarching visual direction for the Last Mile and translating early conceptual thinking into pitch-ready presentation visuals, branded environments and experiential storytelling systems.
Creating Momentum Through Experience.
A major focus of the project was designing emotional escalation through space.
Each activation along the route was designed to build anticipation incrementally, beginning with bold welcome arches and immersive colour canopies before progressing into performance-led experiences, interactive football moments and large-scale branded installations.
FIFA Jersey Quest — Augmented Reality Fan Experience.
As part of the wider Pulse of Unity concept, I developed FIFA Jersey Quest — an augmented reality activation designed to transform the journey to the stadium into an interactive, collectible fan experience.
The idea reimagined the “Last Mile” as more than simply a route to the venue. Instead, it became a gamified layer of digital discovery where fans could scan activation points throughout the environment to unlock collectible virtual football jerseys representing participating Arab nations.
Visually, the experience blended large-scale environmental graphics, QR-enabled activation points and mobile-based AR interactions into the physical event space. Fans would encounter branded “scan to collect” moments integrated into wayfinding structures, digital billboards and experiential installations along the route, gradually building their collection as they approached the stadium.
To help sell the concept beyond static visuals, I also experimented with AI image and video generation tools to create hyper-real motion mockups simulating the live fan experience. These cinematic prototypes helped visualise how the AR interactions, animated jerseys and digital overlays could seamlessly integrate into the physical event environment, while showcasing how AI could be used as a rapid concept visualisation tool within experiential design.
The Outcome.
The final proposal presented a fully immersive matchday journey that blended football culture, Arab identity, live entertainment and environmental design into a unified fan experience.
More than simply designing signage or activations, the project explored how graphic design could shape atmosphere, movement and emotional connection at architectural scale, turning the walk to the stadium into part of the event itself.
This project remains one of the most ambitious experiential design concepts I’ve led, combining branding, storytelling, spatial thinking and collaborative visual development across a major international sporting proposal.