BRENTFORD FC

We’ve been working with Brentford FC for over 10 years, and have been fortunate to be part of the Club’s journey from League One to the Premier League, as well as moving from Griffin Park to The G Tech Community Stadium.

During this time, the club has made some bold decisions that fly in the face of common footballing wisdom. Across the whole business, the culture is to innovate and maximise everything they do, in order to gain an edge on the competition. So we put this mantra at the centre of our most recent brand engagement with the club.

'Forward Thinking Football' speaks to the exciting future that lies ahead. It’s a progressive philosophy that encourages innovation across the entire club, even if this means taking calculated risks.

In 2016, as part of our ongoing work with the club, we completed a comprehensive project to redesign their crest, creating a more striking, simple and recognisable design that stays true to The Bees’ heritage.

Updating a club crest is never taken lightly. Over 18 months we engaged the owners, fans and stakeholders through interviews and focus groups — hearing a wide range of views, but finding broad appetite for change. 

Drawing on historical crests for inspiration, and testing options with fans and leadership, two things became non-negotiable: the bee, as the most direct expression of who the club is, and the year of foundation, a source of genuine pride. The result draws its strongest inspiration from the 1972–75 crest and the 1960s Brentford Supporters Club badge.

Unlike the previous version, the new crest works effectively in a huge range of digital and physical applications — from app icons to above the entrance on their new stadium, in full colour, single colour and as a standalone graphic element.

For the wider brand, our idea was to make the bee from the crest central to the new identity, whilst creating a more dynamic look and feel that aligns with the excitement and energy of 'Forward Thinking Football'.

We developed a series of patterns inspired by the bee's wings, sting and stripes. Each pattern has the flexibility to be used in a number of ways, giving internal teams plenty of creative scope when developing assets.

To add another dimension to the patterns, we wanted to give each individual element the potential to move like it's part of a swarm of bees.

The bee also informed the bespoke typeface. Each character has sharp edges to reflect the design of the bee, while negative spaces within the letters have been designed to replicate the shape of the bee’s sting.

We also rethought the clubs hospitality offer ahead of their stadium move. While choice in London is plentiful, many premium offerings look and sound the same. To stand out in this crowded marketplace, we wanted to frame Brentford's premium packages in a way that only they could. Hospitality. The Brentford Way.