EF Pro Cycling

When one global phenomenon meets another

Explore the world with EF Pro Cycling

In 2017, EF saved a pro cycling team from disappearing altogether after previous negotiations around securing a lead sponsor fell through. However not content with just sponsoring the team, EF owns the team, and uses this to really push it to new heights which has happened as the relationship ventured into a second term in 2019. Using what Rapha’s design team created for the kit design as a base, I led the wider identity design project between design teams in Lucerne, Boston and Hong Kong.

Role

Creative Director
Designer

Period

2017–19

Company

EF Education First

The cropped logo device became a key part of the graphic language across a range of team and EF-specific related items

Make the logo bigger?

Simply making the logo bigger doesn't necessarily equal strong brand recognition or presence. Consumers often ignore logos that are simply made bigger and bigger, so a creative solution had to be sought. By cropping into sections of the EF logo, which is unique and memorable in its own right, we created dynamic graphic devices that feel akin to the sport. They have a movement and energy that when applied in the correct way, says EF semiotically but are also conscious of cycling and the visual aesthetic that surrounds the culture.

Align those touchpoints

One of the issues of the 2018 season’s brand was the visual differences between the kit, vehicle fleet and other touchpoints. For 2019/20, we were keen to make sure the team’s visual language was more linked up.

The design team at Rapha kicked things off by designing an amazing kit centred around an ‘oil slick’ graphic, which then formed the basis for the entire identity design. The identity usage guide utilised the oil slick and the cropped logo graphics as the main assets to build out a system which could be applied to the wide range of touchpoints associated with a pro cycling team.

The concept of the design was based on emergency vehicles—utilitarianism is a fundamental EF creative pillar, and it is represented in this idea

Still exploring in 2020

The 2020 season saw a remix of the kit, designed by Rapha, and an update to the art direction to align. Our riders are the heroes of the team. And, when they play center stage, they should be portrayed as such. By combining the professional headshots of the riders we played with scale and a ‘chopped up’ version of the graphic device to create these hero posters. This technique is intended to build strong customer connections by utilising powerful imagery that communicates this truth of our riders.