Sydney SwansNew Blood
- Brand Identity
Dating back to 1874, the Sydney Swans are one of Australia’s oldest and most iconic sporting clubs. Commonly misperceived as a sunny beachside city, Sydney is everything but what the rest of the world thinks. It might look relaxed, but its work ethic is gruelling. The people might seem lucky, but that luck is born from grit and determination. Sydney’s enemy isn’t another team, or another city, it’s the perceptions that the rest of Australia have of them. So, when it came to redesigning the brand for the Swans, we needed to create something that embodied the city itself, and gave its people something they could rally behind.
To do this, the new swan was illustrated with a sense of movement, urgency and aggression, championing the city’s grit and determination. With a heavier emphasis of the swan in the hierarchy, the iconic Sydney Opera House was seamlessly blended into the feathers. This, along with the removal of the word ‘swans’ allows the new mark to be bolder in its ownership of the city. Housed inside a V, a nod to the club’s Victorian origins along with its inception year of 1874, the mark ensured the club’s rich history wasn’t forgotten. Sydney Swans’ new identity struck a balance between honouring the club’s past and looking ahead to the future.
Critical to success was ensuring the iconic and significant elements of the club evolved with the brand and weren't left behind. What resulted was a brand with more confidence and attitude that spoke instantly and effortlessly with fans and stakeholders alike. An instant success and an enduring mark for years to come.
Working closely with new apparel sponsor Nike, a full range of kit and merchandise was developed to coincide with the brand launch.
Integral to embracing the future and progressive nature of the club, it was important to pair our new swan with a typeface that was just as dynamic and aggressive. A customised typeface featured angle notches referencing the illustrative style of the swan, made to compliment both the V and the geometric structure of the pictorial elements.
