F5 Ugly Sweater Design 2023-2024

Illustration and production design

In 2023, the ugly sweater was brought in-house and I took responsibility for owning the project in 2023 and 2024. The purpose of the ugly sweater is for customers to sign up for meetings with F5 sales representatives to learn about F5 products and in turn they get an ugly sweater as a gift.

Objectives 2023-24: Needs to stand out from last year’s sweater, brighter colors,less blue, dev central icon, incorporate F5 history (load balancing, hardware), and a larger emphasis on our logo.

Duration: ~3 months

Other materials needed: Notecard, web images and social media promotion.

Sweater available here: https://shop.f5.com/products/f5-ugly-winter-sweater-2024-4th-generation

final design | 2024

For this year’s design, we drew inspiration from the meaning of “F5,” symbolizing one of the most powerful tornadoes. The tornado represents F5’s ability to eliminate bots and bugs from our customers’ environments. We decided to use a snowglobe so that the idea of a dangerous tornado felt more whimsical. Surrounding the tornado are key elements such as BIG-IP product icons, AI, security, and cloud symbols, along with winter-themed details. To stand out from the past three years’ blue sweaters, we opted for a bold green color, adding a fresh and dynamic look to this year’s design.

2024 Sketches

2023 Sketches

Final Design | 2023

For our 2023 sweater, we brought back the beloved SaaSquatch mascot, originally introduced in 2021 as part of a T-shirt design for the F5 store. Over the years, the SaaSquatch gained significant popularity, making it a favorite choice among stakeholders for this year’s design. We also incorporated the BIG-IP product icon and the DevCentral logo, fulfilling a specific request from the DevCentral team at F5