A youth-led design project exploring branding, product development, and community impact through badminton.
----YAO DESIGN LAB
SPORT BRANDS
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Founder, YAO FLAME Badminton Project
----Daniel Rong
West Vancouver High School Student
School Badminton Team Member
Academy Program Athlete
Long-term Community Centre Volunteer
Receiving a certificate presented by the Mayor of West Vancouver strengthened my belief that meaningful contributions, no matter how small, can make a real impact—and inspired me to do more for the community.
Through long-term training with the school team and the academy, As well as in volunteer work, I realized a high-quality, well-designed, and affordable badminton racket can help more people.
YAO FLAME was created to make that belief a reality.
PLAY WITH PASSION. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
The "Flame"
Symbolizes growth, inner drive and the willingness to push through challenges.
YAO FLAME is a young student-initiated creative brand concept built around badminton
It is not a commercial business, but a learning project showing my interest in product design, branding, and social responsibility.
Product Design & Development
The early design stages focused on understanding racket structure, weight balance, grip comfort, and aesthetic direction.
Design sketch illustrating the concept of balance, speed, and confidence behind the YAO FLAME badminton racket.
Design Process includes:
1. Identifying key performance components: spot optimization +handle ergonomics.
2. Sketching hand-drawn concepts: frame geometry.
3. Developing brand-aligned color and pattern ideas: color palette inspired by flame gradients.
4. Creating prototype visuals to show potential direction.
Work with the factory to researcheproduct development
Finished racket
About Community Impact
For the promoting youth access to sports and healthy activities, I designed a community contribution plan:
• Donating badminton rackets to the West Vancouver Community Centre (starting January 2026)
About Social Impact
My long-term support for students at Siddhartha Vanasthali Institute in Nepal has shaped my understanding of how access to education and sports can change young lives.After participating in the UN Youth Leadership “SE4All” Program, I became more aware of the responsibility that projects and brands can carry beyond products themselves. And learned how inclusive sustainable development goals (SDGS) can be integrated into real-world .
I believe that the true power of a brand lies more in social responsibility.
With this belief, YAO FLAME plans to dedicate 5% of future sales revenue to support programs for the education and sports of teenagers.
