ABOUT

Our client
The UEFA Europa League (UEL) is an annual football club competition in which European clubs qualify based on their performance 
in both their national league and various 
cup competitions held throughout the year. With 48 clubs participating at the group stage, 
it makes it the biggest club football competition in Europe.
The brief
The brief was to create a truly versatile visual identity system that encapsulated the League’s raw spirit and unpredictability and differentiated it from the UEFA Champions League.

The visual identity system needed to be flexible enough to be used by the competition’s multiple stakeholders across a diverse range of touchpoints.

The design concept
For use as the primary branding element, 
we re-imagined the ‘energy wave’. Taking inspiration from the iconic UEL trophy, we used its polygonal sides and hammered metal texture to create a vibrant and dynamic ‘energy wave’. Its form moves in dramatic and unexpected ways, emulating the emotional highs and lows experienced both on and off the pitch. To complement a diverse suite of energy waves we also finessed the existing colour palette to add vibrancy, developed a bespoke slab serif font to bring attitude, and worked with UEFA to identify a unique UEL tone of voice.
The delivery
We designed and produced all programme sequences for match broadcasts alongside a flexible on-air package for broadcasters. This comprehensive toolkit of match graphics, studio set backgrounds and promo assets were delivered through an app and distributed on a hard drive, housed in a sleek packaging solution.

The competition’s social presence was 
a priority for UEFA, so we created a clear digital design strategy alongside a broad suite of template and digital assets, these allowed for immediate and impactful branding of match content across social channels. These were used by UEFA digital themselves as well as its key partners – clubs and sponsors.
Alongside these designs we produced comprehensive guidelines for the new visual identity as well as specific licensing and co-branding guides.

Finally, we activated the brand for launch through the production of a short film which tells the story of the energy wave and created a bespoke microsite to announce the refresh to press, the sports industry and fans around the globe.