Paradox | Emma Burke Studio

Sneakers for Rebels

The Brief

Paradox is a fictional sneaker brand created for a competition brief set by The Brief Club. The concept centres on a genuine contradiction: bold, rebellious style built on recycled materials and fair labour. The challenge was developing a brand identity that could hold both sides of that tension without softening either one.

The brief asked for something that would appeal to people who push back against convention, while still communicating that the brand has a conscience beneath the attitude. There was no existing brand to work from and no client to consult — just a strong concept and the task of building a visual system that could carry it.

What the studio did

I built the identity around a core tension: neon acid green and black as the palette, deliberately loud, set against black and white photography that brings restraint and sophistication to the rebellion. The wordmark uses a single green ‘o’ in place of the standard letterform, a visual nod to the paradox at the brand’s core. The brandmark abstracts two letter p’s into a safety pin, a longstanding symbol of punk defiance.

The system extends across packaging, gift cards, apparel and social content, with a torn-paper motif and a graffiti-style type treatment that keeps the energy consistent from box to screen.