The most dynamic football competition in Europe, UEFA Europa League, has been refreshed for the 2021/22 season with an evolved competition format and a new look. The 2021/22 season also marks the start of a new competition to be played alongside it on Thursday nights.
The introduction of the UEFA Europa Conference League means more clubs have the opportunity to compete for European honours. It makes UEFA’s club competitions more inclusive than ever before.
With the evolved format of the UEFA Europa League and the launch of the UEFA Europa Conference League, a new brand identity system for both competitions was needed.
The challenge was to create an identity system that allows both brands to work side-by-side but also function as strong independent brands when required. The new brand identities have to work across multiple touchpoints – from large-scale stadium branding and merchandise to match graphics and social media templates – all aided by robust and comprehensive guidelines.
A unifying concept of energy waves was used to link both brands.
These energy waves represent the emotion that runs through each competition – from the pitch to the supporters in the stands to the fans watching at home.
The design and behaviour of the energy waves has been interpreted differently to capture the unique attributes of the respective competitions.
A new, simplified logo system has been developed for the competitions. This helps position both competitions as a family of brands, while still allowing for bespoke elements to be present within the logos.
The new UEFA Europa League logo has been designed with the use of angular geometry, mirroring the core design features of the classic UEFA Europa League trophy.
The new UEFA Europa Conference League logo has been designed with the use of curved geometry, mirroring the more fluid features of the new UEFA Europa Conference League trophy.
The simple geometric forms of both logos are designed to give maximum standout and legibility across all media.
Both energy waves radiate from the base of their respective trophies.
The UEFA Europa League energy wave reflects the edgy and dynamic nature of the competition. Its angular and geometric form taking influence from the features of the iconic UEFA Europa League trophy.
The UEFA Europa Conference League energy wave represents the optimistic, inspiring and open nature of the new competition. Its curved, fluid form referencing the new UEFA Europa Conference League trophy.
A comprehensive package has been developed for broadcasters to give fans a rich and dynamic match night experience.
The brand identities have been specifically developed to create an impactful and cohesive experience in-stadium. The identity elements work across all stadium touch-points from signage to hospitality to LED perimeter boards.
A dynamic and flexible social media toolkit was developed for each competition – designed to maximise engagement with fans across a broad range of content and platforms.
A flexible toolkit was developed to allow partners to create a wide range of merchandise for both fans and stakeholders. Key to the design system was the ability to integrate competition branding with club assets to allow clubs to maximise their merchandise sales each match night.
We created a collection of inspiring brand books and an extensive guidelines suite to aid stakeholders, partners and clubs in the activation of these exciting new brands.
