Critical Hit Strategies
Client
Spec
Year
2024-2025
Services
Motion Design
Critical Hit Strategies
Client
Spec
Year
2024-2025
Services
Motion Design
What If Tabletop Gaming Carried the Energy of Esports?
Tabletop gaming and esports seem worlds apart, yet both are driven by strategy, teamwork, and those split-second decisions that change everything. One is framed as a quiet hobby. The other is framed as high-octane competition. Anyone who has played a TTRPG knows the reality. Collaborative strategy, dynamic social interaction, and high-stakes decision making produce the same adrenaline rush found in competitive gaming. The experience is intense, but the visual language rarely shows it.
Critical Hit Strategies set out to change that. They needed a brand that captured the kinetic feel of esports while staying rooted in the depth and creativity of tabletop. The challenge was to build a visual world that could bridge two cultures without flattening either one.
This project defined the brand strategy, visual identity, and motion system for Critical Hit Strategies. It created a distinct presence that stands out in both spaces and gave the studio a flexible design platform for campaigns, content, and future growth.
What If Tabletop Gaming Carried the Energy of Esports?
Tabletop gaming and esports seem worlds apart, yet both are driven by strategy, teamwork, and those split-second decisions that change everything. One is framed as a quiet hobby. The other is framed as high-octane competition. Anyone who has played a TTRPG knows the reality. Collaborative strategy, dynamic social interaction, and high-stakes decision making produce the same adrenaline rush found in competitive gaming. The experience is intense, but the visual language rarely shows it.
Critical Hit Strategies set out to change that. They needed a brand that captured the kinetic feel of esports while staying rooted in the depth and creativity of tabletop. The challenge was to build a visual world that could bridge two cultures without flattening either one.
This project defined the brand strategy, visual identity, and motion system for Critical Hit Strategies. It created a distinct presence that stands out in both spaces and gave the studio a flexible design platform for campaigns, content, and future growth.
What If Tabletop Gaming Carried the Energy of Esports?
Tabletop gaming and esports seem worlds apart, yet both are driven by strategy, teamwork, and those split-second decisions that change everything. One is framed as a quiet hobby. The other is framed as high-octane competition. Anyone who has played a TTRPG knows the reality. Collaborative strategy, dynamic social interaction, and high-stakes decision making produce the same adrenaline rush found in competitive gaming. The experience is intense, but the visual language rarely shows it.
Critical Hit Strategies set out to change that. They needed a brand that captured the kinetic feel of esports while staying rooted in the depth and creativity of tabletop. The challenge was to build a visual world that could bridge two cultures without flattening either one.
This project defined the brand strategy, visual identity, and motion system for Critical Hit Strategies. It created a distinct presence that stands out in both spaces and gave the studio a flexible design platform for campaigns, content, and future growth.
Logo
Logo
Logo
Designing for Strategic Depth and Lucky Moments
Tabletop gaming logos follow predictable formulas: swords piercing dice, ornate wordmarks, or genre-specific symbols that prioritize atmosphere over energy.
The Critical Hit Strategies logo breaks that pattern by capturing two essential tabletop gaming elements: the strategic complexity of games like Warhammer and the thrill of rolling a critical hit in D&D.
The wordmark uses angular, condensed letterforms that suggest forward momentum. Borrowing directly from esports tournament branding where speed and precision matter. Sharp cuts and dynamic spacing create visual tension that feels kinetic even when static, treating the logo itself as if it's mid-action.
The main logo mark is an emblem that becomes iconic at all scales. It becomes a tag or a stamp.
Designing for Strategic Depth and Lucky Moments
Tabletop gaming logos follow predictable formulas: swords piercing dice, ornate wordmarks, or genre-specific symbols that prioritize atmosphere over energy.
The Critical Hit Strategies logo breaks that pattern by capturing two essential tabletop gaming elements: the strategic complexity of games like Warhammer and the thrill of rolling a critical hit in D&D.
The wordmark uses angular, condensed letterforms that suggest forward momentum. Borrowing directly from esports tournament branding where speed and precision matter. Sharp cuts and dynamic spacing create visual tension that feels kinetic even when static, treating the logo itself as if it's mid-action.
The main logo mark is an emblem that becomes iconic at all scales. It becomes a tag or a stamp.
Designing for Strategic Depth and Lucky Moments
Tabletop gaming logos follow predictable formulas: swords piercing dice, ornate wordmarks, or genre-specific symbols that prioritize atmosphere over energy.
The Critical Hit Strategies logo breaks that pattern by capturing two essential tabletop gaming elements: the strategic complexity of games like Warhammer and the thrill of rolling a critical hit in D&D.
The wordmark uses angular, condensed letterforms that suggest forward momentum. Borrowing directly from esports tournament branding where speed and precision matter. Sharp cuts and dynamic spacing create visual tension that feels kinetic even when static, treating the logo itself as if it's mid-action.
The main logo mark is an emblem that becomes iconic at all scales. It becomes a tag or a stamp.
Design System
Design System
Design System
Bridging the Gap
The key was understanding what makes esports visuals work, then translating those principles to tabletop experiences.
Bridging the Gap
The key was understanding what makes esports visuals work, then translating those principles to tabletop experiences.
Bridging the Gap
The key was understanding what makes esports visuals work, then translating those principles to tabletop experiences.
Energy over atmosphere
Traditional tabletop gaming design prioritizes genre atmosphere. Esports design prioritizes excitement and momentum. The strategy: maintain tabletop gaming's collaborative spirit while injecting the visual energy that makes team-based strategy feel electric.
Systems over singular solutions
Rather than creating one universal rebrand, the approach recognizes that different tabletop genres have distinct communities with their own visual expectations. The system creates genre-specific expressions while maintaining the core competitive spirit across all applications.
Motion as meaning
While the static work suggests movement, the animated elements push this further - kinetic typography that builds tension. Static genre aesthetics couldn't capture the dynamic nature of actual gameplay. The solution: treat every design element as if it's mid-action.
Energy over atmosphere
Traditional tabletop gaming design prioritizes genre atmosphere. Esports design prioritizes excitement and momentum. The strategy: maintain tabletop gaming's collaborative spirit while injecting the visual energy that makes team-based strategy feel electric.
Systems over singular solutions
Rather than creating one universal rebrand, the approach recognizes that different tabletop genres have distinct communities with their own visual expectations. The system creates genre-specific expressions while maintaining the core competitive spirit across all applications.
Motion as meaning
While the static work suggests movement, the animated elements push this further - kinetic typography that builds tension. Static genre aesthetics couldn't capture the dynamic nature of actual gameplay. The solution: treat every design element as if it's mid-action.
Energy over atmosphere
Traditional tabletop gaming design prioritizes genre atmosphere. Esports design prioritizes excitement and momentum. The strategy: maintain tabletop gaming's collaborative spirit while injecting the visual energy that makes team-based strategy feel electric.
Systems over singular solutions
Rather than creating one universal rebrand, the approach recognizes that different tabletop genres have distinct communities with their own visual expectations. The system creates genre-specific expressions while maintaining the core competitive spirit across all applications.
Motion as meaning
While the static work suggests movement, the animated elements push this further - kinetic typography that builds tension. Static genre aesthetics couldn't capture the dynamic nature of actual gameplay. The solution: treat every design element as if it's mid-action.
Design
Design
Design
Where Worlds Meet
Critical Hit Strategies explores what happens when you apply one gaming culture's visual sophistication to another's collaborative and storytelling depth. The result isn't revolutionary - it's recognizable. Both communities immediately understand the language because it speaks to shared values they've always had.
The gaming industry continues converging. Physical and digital experiences increasingly overlap. The most interesting creative opportunities exist at these cultural intersections, where familiar energy finds unfamiliar expression.
For gaming brands, this suggests a different approach: instead of staying within established aesthetic lanes, look for the deeper behavioral and emotional connections between communities. The visual languages may differ, but the underlying values often align.
Sometimes the best way forward isn't creating something entirely new, it's helping people see what was always there.
Where Worlds Meet
Critical Hit Strategies explores what happens when you apply one gaming culture's visual sophistication to another's collaborative and storytelling depth. The result isn't revolutionary - it's recognizable. Both communities immediately understand the language because it speaks to shared values they've always had.
The gaming industry continues converging. Physical and digital experiences increasingly overlap. The most interesting creative opportunities exist at these cultural intersections, where familiar energy finds unfamiliar expression.
For gaming brands, this suggests a different approach: instead of staying within established aesthetic lanes, look for the deeper behavioral and emotional connections between communities. The visual languages may differ, but the underlying values often align.
Sometimes the best way forward isn't creating something entirely new, it's helping people see what was always there.
Where Worlds Meet
Critical Hit Strategies explores what happens when you apply one gaming culture's visual sophistication to another's collaborative and storytelling depth. The result isn't revolutionary - it's recognizable. Both communities immediately understand the language because it speaks to shared values they've always had.
The gaming industry continues converging. Physical and digital experiences increasingly overlap. The most interesting creative opportunities exist at these cultural intersections, where familiar energy finds unfamiliar expression.
For gaming brands, this suggests a different approach: instead of staying within established aesthetic lanes, look for the deeper behavioral and emotional connections between communities. The visual languages may differ, but the underlying values often align.
Sometimes the best way forward isn't creating something entirely new, it's helping people see what was always there.
Got an idea brewing?
Let's make it real!
Available for work
Got an idea brewing?
Let's make it real!
Available for work
Got an idea brewing?
Let's make it real!
Available for work