From “work with us” to “choose us”. A careers site worthy of a brand born in 1919.
Champion is an icon of sportswear, born in Rochester in 1919, with its European headquarters in Carpi, Italy. The HR team was receiving applications from every channel — “total chaos” — and the best profiles were getting lost. But the real problem was not only organizing: it was attracting. We turned recruiting into an experience consistent with the brand’s identity, where applying is not a form to fill in but a natural step for anyone who recognizes themselves in that culture.
WHO CHAMPION IS
Who Champion is.
A historic brand born in 1919 in Rochester, New York, today a global presence in activewear and streetwear, with European headquarters in Carpi, Italy. A brand that talks about trust, passion, healthy competition and personal identity — “fly our own personal colors” — and whose world also gave rise to Game7Athletics, a multi-brand company created in 2007 by Champion EMEA. We have been working with them since 2010.
The starting point was not a problem of absence but of adequacy: attracting talent took more than listing open positions; it took a digital presence able to hold up the brand’s reputation.
THE CHALLENGE
“Applications come in from every channel. But it is chaos.”
The HR team’s frustration was right there in the words: “we get applications from every possible channel, but it is total chaos. We cannot keep up with all of it and we often lose interesting profiles along the way.” And next to the operational problem, a subtler one: “we did not want a careers portal like all the others. We needed a digital place that really told people how we work, without looking like a brochure.”
The challenge was holding together three apparently conflicting needs: the efficiency HR needs, the authenticity that attracts the right candidates, and the identity of a brand with more than a century of history. A list of positions was not enough: it took a path that, before the application, helped people work out whether there was a fit in style, values and expectations.
WHAT WE DID
Discovery before design.
We started with a thorough discovery, mapping the pain points of the existing process and the needs of both candidates and HR. That phase let us decide what to make immediate — key information, sections, access to the openings — and what to make progressive: detail on culture, benefits, testimonials. So the minisite accompanies people without saturating them.
We organized the architecture into intuitive sections (openings, company culture, benefits, testimonials) and split the listings by category and location, starting from real analysis of user behavior. This is where UX becomes storytelling: the user is not left hunting for a job title, but guided through a progression that builds context and connection before the application.
ADAM phases: Analyze + Design + Measure
Discovery
Information architecture
Design system
CRO on the application path
THE TECHNICAL PART
Design that does not drown out the voice.
Champion has a very strong language of values: trust that “takes time”, passion, believing in yourself, competition. The UI could not be neutral or generic: design and micro-interactions had to hold up that tone, not replace it with effects. We implemented a design system consistent with the brand’s visual identity — colors, typography, layout, micro-animations — so that even people who do not know Champion would immediately sense a recognizable personality.
And we optimized the application itself by cutting steps, with visual feedback that makes the interface feel alive, responsive design and real attention to loading speed. Because “good” friction is the kind that selects; “bad” friction is the kind that makes the best profiles give up, and they are often the most senior.
THE HEART OF THE PROJECT
Consistency as natural selection.
This is the idea that guided everything, and the one we are proudest of. Consistency between what a company is and what it shows is not only aesthetics: it is a strategic lever that attracts or repels the right people. With Champion that was especially true, for a brand that talks about trust you earn, about passion, about personal identity. We worked so that every detail of the experience — hierarchy, rhythm, micro-interactions, tone — would be an extension of those values, not a superstructure on top of them.
When the UI is consistent, applying is not a “form”: it is a natural step for anyone who recognizes themselves in that culture. That is how you go from “work with us” to “choose us”.
—
THE RESULTS
ATTRACT, NOT JUST ORGANIZE
More applications. And better matched.
Direct applications
Up
more applications received after launch than in the period before.
Quality of profiles
Better matched
communicating values and culture attracted candidates more in line with expectations.
HR team
More efficient
faster, centralized handling of applications, with far less scattered around.
Recruiting
In the brand’s voice
the minisite speaks Champion’s language, not a template’s.