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Meet Sheron Barber: The visionary behind the COD League Championship Throne
Sheron Barber’s experience designing for artists such as Rihanna, Drake, Post Malone, and Billie Eilish, gave him recognition in the fashion industry.
Now, he’s taken his creative mind to another level. He is the designated designer of the new COD League Championship Throne.
Watch out for Sheron Barber, the latest cultural architect of our time.
Who is Sheron Barber?
Coming from a generation of cross-disciplinary designers, Sheron Barber’s ability to conquer culture is now no longer a stranger to esports — one of the most creative industries today.
Since a very young age, Barber has been exposed to video games.
“My dad kept video games around to keep us off the streets and our imagination going,” said Barber in an interview.
Not like many parents, he had recognized the creative input and infinite imagination going on in a virtual screen.
But Barber started his design journey with rather a more mainstream approach; reinventing and reimagining clothes he saw, but could not afford.
He began screen printing shirts. Quickly realized its limitation and looking for ways to express himself further, he was self-taught how to cut and sew.
Sheron became known for designing custom leather goods using iconic leather from luxury brands such as Loui Vuitton or Goyard. And designed the DR14 — a Hip-Hop inspired accessory that successfully grabs the attention of many celebrities.
Yet, being a bit of a gamer himself, Sheron had recognized and learned to admire the immense details that games delivered. They are, after all, what brings imagination closest to reality.
“Virtual worlds are filled with detail, and the attention paid, the more real it becomes. When I’m designing, my mission is to find a way to bring what’s in my imagination to fruition in real life.”
As a true visionary, Sheron Barber always saw an opportunity in the Esports industry, but little did he know where.
The COD League Championship Throne
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The Call of Duty League Throne conceptualized. – – #TakeTheThrone #callofduty
Just like with these previous designs, Sheron always saw room to redevelop and improve gamers’ chairs. “There IS a need to reinvent the wheel. When you look at conventional gaming chairs, it’s clear they come from a PC world,” he said.
After talking with pros about their functional preferences, he successfully created a 70-120 pounds, and at 6 feet high throne that is innovative and aesthetically pleasing.
At first, the chair was going to be made out of solid marble or granite. But, because of the weight and practical constraints, the material changed to avonite — a human-made acrylic based material that replicates the look, feel, and density of natural stone or granite.
“I’m especially fascinated with process and detail, and that’s a basis for everything I do.”
For this project, he was inspired by architecture, monolithic structures, brutalist design, and cubism. It is where function meets aesthetic and that is exactly what made the design process so particular and challenging.
After all, it is a place where gamers need to feel comfortable sitting for hours on end.
Eventually, Sheron Barber was able not only to incorporate the elements of a real throne but found a way to bring imagination to fruition in real life.
Now, he has officially merged both industries into one product: The COD League Championship Throne. For sure, the competitors at the tournament finals couldn’t be more hype to battle over the throne and more.
The Dallas Empire, who were ranked second, defeated the Atlanta FaZe, ranked first, to become the first-ever Call of Duty League Champions.
In addition to the COD League Championship Throne, they received the CDL Trophy and $1.5 million. Johanna Faries, Commissioner of the Call of Duty League spoke on the win,
“What an epic finale to an amazing Call of Duty League Championship Weekend. Congratulations to the Dallas Empire as the League’s first-ever champions, to the entire Envy Gaming organization, and to the great city of Dallas. You all earned the glory with a dominating performance today. Thanks as well to all of our 12 CDL team franchises for making this inaugural season so successful, exciting, and memorable.”
Barber not only made his debut as a multi-faceted designer but as a pioneer cultural developer and contributor within both arts: gaming and design.
His advice to the up-and-coming designers:
“If you have an idea, get it out of your head and into the world. If you need help doing that, find someone that knows how to sketch your idea and take your idea to the next person.”