We designed the official logo system for the 2019 FIE World Fencing Championships held in Budapest.
Our mission was to come up with an arrangement that communicates the visuals and story the emblem represents across all platforms and regardless of size. The emblem is a structure which blends optics, the mask as the most iconic element of fencing, and the format of the world championships, which results in only one person emerging as winner. During the event, the logo appeared in forms smaller than 1 centimeter and as large as 5 meters. Due to this, we decided to design a responsive emblem that offers the same visual delight in all cases.
The official range of ellipses define the process of becoming a champion, and as such this is the fundamental point of the emblem. The circle/ellipsoid motif represents the world as well as the mask. The full circle inside of the emblem alludes to the champion. Only one winner, only one victor can come out on top at the world championships. The emblem is a visual reflection of the contest itself, its components depicting all the contenders who partake in the event.
Font: Galano Grotesque by Rene Bieder
Special thanks: Viktória Juhász, Marton Acs, Tamara Dozsa
Hungarian Design Award - Winner 2020
Visual Communication category
Official presentation video with english subtitles:
DISPLAY GRAPHICS SYSTEM
Planning design elements and layouts to be used in live TV coverage was also a pivotal part of the construction of the world championships' display appearance.
A central detail is the scoreboard, which plays an important role in the viewer's understanding of the given sports' current score. Fencing is a very fast-paced sport, and the viewers may not always see what type of score the winner achieved. But it also often stops abruptly, and we don't always know what the referees are reviewing. The new scoreboard is an informational board in one block. It encompasses, as compulsory, the fencer's name, country flag, score, the time, and on what half of the piste they fight on. The board is interactive, it is in touch with the actual contenders, therefore at every bout or review it informs the viewer with additional information such as which fencer made the touch, what is causing the halt in action, statistics, and any other information of interest.
Another medium is the tree diagram before a bout, which communicates to the viewer the phase of the World Championships that they're at, besides explaining the route the fencers took to get there. The introduction of the fencers about to fight is also part of the broadcast and takes place right before the match. During the broadcast, every hit is played in super slow motion on TV with the help of 7 cameras, which only record the hits. Because of this, we designed a dynamic transitional animation for the switch between live and slow motion recordings.
PATTERN SYSTEM
In order to keep the branding consistent, we developed a pattern system for use in marketing and advertisement materials. Based off of the form of the emblem, we designed an optically playful pattern that expresses the dynamic nature of the sport.
