Producing an entirely new, coherent and fresh visual system, to enable the Devils to compete in an ever more challenging climate.
Cardiff Devils are Wales’ most successful sporting team. With a loyal fanbase and a new home in Cardiff Bay in the offing, the Elite Ice Hockey League team required a new approach to their branding and marketing.
As design partners, limegreentangerine were asked to look at the brand language – producing an entirely new, coherent and fresh visual system, enabling the Devils to compete in an ever more challenging climate.
Producing an entirely new, coherent and fresh visual system, to enable the Devils to compete in an ever more challenging climate.
After an extensive planning and consultation phase with the Devils' senior management team we introduced a comprehensive new graphic language that encompassed every touchpoint. The typography, the image choice and style, and the way in which Devils marketing materials spoke to fans, through email marketing or print collateral, was completely overhauled. Only the existing Devils logo was saved.
The primary idea was to place the Devils' players themselves at the forefront – making them 'heroes' and allowing the graphics to be more absorbing. The treatment was rough, tough and vividly red to reflect the physicality of the sport. We introduced new sub brands for the Community Foundation (DCF) and 'Red Army' supporters club which translated through to tertiary branding such as DevilsTV and DevilsTalk. These elements and treatment gave us distinctive and usable tools to push the brand forward.
A year after launching the new brand we were tasked with redesigning the website. We began by analysing the website, investigating competitor sites and other club websites beyond the sport of hockey. It was clear that the website could be improved on many levels so our core focus was to engage fans, be commercially attractive and to best reflect the brand and its' status within sport.
The introduction of a coherant and well managed visual system further enables the business to augment the success on the ice.
The Devils have strengthened an their online presence and our fans are knowledgeable and experienced in online communication and social media. We worked to provide a brand that not only is pleasing to the eye but delivers content and conveys the adrenaline of the sport in a much fresher way, giving corporate partners and fans alike more ability to interact, engage with and form networks.
Users can customise the home page and Elite League data is fed through, putting all the latest stats at the fingertips of the fans. Pages have been designed to give the Devils management complete control over promoted messages via sidebar widgets through the site's backend, promoting seasonal messages and driving ticket sales. Most of all, the site now graphically joins up with the rest of the visual identity and provides the final piece in the jigsaw, placing the Cardiff Devils brand at the forefront of regional sports entertainment.
Visit www.cardiffdevils.com
