Brooklyn Cassettes bright orange beanie

Brooklyn Cassettes was one of my earliest designs, created when the New Jersey Nets made their move to Brooklyn. The typography is inspired by the Hello Brooklyn campaign from that year, using the bold, sharp-edged Swordfish font to capture the energy of the borough’s new basketball era.

This design is a fusion of two iconic Brooklyn cultures: basketball and the golden age of cassettes and mixtapes from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. The mock-up features a classic cassette housed in a paper insert, reminiscent of old-school mixtapes that once circulated through barbershops, record stores, and street corners. The handwritten tracklist in orange ink adds a raw, personal touch, paying homage to the DIY ethos of mixtape culture.

Featuring legendary Brooklyn artists like Lou Reed, Big Daddy Kane, The Notorious B.I.G., & The Beastie Boys, the tracklist cements the connection between the borough’s basketball and music legacies—both defined by hustle, creativity, and an unmistakable Brooklyn attitude. The design bridges the past and present, celebrating an era when both mixtapes and basketball were gritty, grassroots, and deeply embedded in the culture of the city.

Standard one size fits all 12.5"L x 16.5W