The best creative ideas are not always the most polished ones. Sometimes they begin as rough sketches, half-formed thoughts or even concepts that are almost left behind. For Yolk Creative London Limited, the winning idea for the Guinness Six Nations 20th Anniversary identity was discovered in a pile of discarded paper, eventually evolving into a visual system that celebrated two decades of one of rugby's most iconic championships.
Tasked with creating an identity that honoured all six competing nations while sitting seamlessly alongside the established Guinness Six Nations brand, the team balanced heritage, unity and practicality in equal measure. From collaborative brainstorming and hand-drawn exploration to delivering assets that worked across multiple stakeholders, Yolk Creative London Limited demonstrates how curiosity, persistence and a willingness to look twice can transform an overlooked idea into a defining piece of sports branding.
What was the brief?
The annual international men’s rugby union competition between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, known as the Guinness Six Nations, is regarded as one of the fiercest contested championships in the modern game.
Since expanding from five nations to six in 2000 the competition has grown from strength to strength with an estimated global viewership of 125 million. The challenge was to create an identity celebrating 20 years of the Six Nations, Rugby’s Greatest Championship, ensuring that all nations were included and celebrated whilst working seamlessly with the main Guinness Six Nations Identity.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
As with all creative projects research and exploration are a key factor but ultimately this is the fun part! As avid rugby fans the team really got stuck in and we all felt a sense of desire to one up each other… healthy competition between creatives is always a good thing.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
As a team we threw ideas around, scribbled on sketch pads and started to play with initial concepts for what the identity could be. I believe that mark making and drawing initial ideas allows you to be free of constraints which it turn allows you to explore ideas as a form of freehand rather than getting bogged down in the detail… that follows once you’re set on which concepts you’re going to present.
Out of the multiple ideas that we had explored four of these were then worked up into actual Mac visuals.
What was the production process like?
Once the concept was chosen by the client the production process was quite regimented. We were creating an identity that needed to work across 6 nations and so ensuring that the delivery of all assets was on point was of great importance.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
The only challenge during production was aligning each of the teams and ensuring they were all happy with what we were creating, making sure that the outputs worked for them and their external partners.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
We used the Creative Suite - Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and After Effects.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
The chosen concept nearly didn’t even make the initial client presentation!
What became the final design was a scribble that didn’t quite work and the designer who had originated it decided not to share it. However, as we were doing our internal review, I was aware of a few scraps of paper that we just sitting idle in the corner, and I decided to have a sift through. And right there in this discarded pile of paper was the beginning of a great idea, it just hadn’t been realised yet!
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
We were briefed in September 2019, and the full project was delivered mid-November 2019 in prep for the start of the Six Nations in February 2020.
Can you describe the creative spark or inspiration behind the initial concept? Was there a specific moment or insight that ignited the idea?
What I loved about the concept that was chosen by the client was the idea of unity and of the 6 nations coming together as a celebration of Rugby’s Greatest Championship. As I described earlier initially that idea wasn’t even in the mix but by digging a little deeper, we created something that embodied the 20 years …the client really resonated towards.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
The identity that we produced galvanised a moment in the 6 Nations rich history and even though the celebrations were fragmented due to the Covid pandemic the client and the teams alike were very happy.