Everyone hopes that their company’s name will attract attention. Music has nailed the brief. It’s a London design agency. Its portfolio includes work for Brit Awards, Manchester City Football Club, the NHS, London Fashion Week, Abbey Road, Dr Martens, Oxford University and a vibrant campaign for British Cycling. Music’s motto is We design British Culture. It is also an advocate of the power of design. CEO/CCO, David Simpson has a story to tell about that. Here it is:
The Importance of Design in the Rise of Messi
It’s potentially fair to say that RGB: 246, 180, 205, might become the most famous colour in football this year. That’s the Pantone Pink of Inter Miami CF, the new club of the GOAT, or as he is known more formally, Lionel Andres Messi.
It’s the colour already worn in an accessorised way by Kim Kardashian, LeBron, Serena Williams, and the Beckhams in the last week, as they attended the new church in Miami where Leo is already showing his goal scoring prowess. And as of this week it is also the colour of the most sold-out shirt in the MLS where orders are now being placed for the shirts return when more have been hastily made to match the demand of a previously underperforming MLS team.
But more importantly, it’s the colour that was chosen four years ago when Inter Miami CF and David Beckham started their journey to build the branding foundations for a club that hopefully would bring a refreshing perspective to the world footballing stage.
And for us at Music, that’s the most important point here. This is a great journey built on foundational design.
And that’s what sports marketing, and specifically football club branding has to be, and that’s what we have always strived for with the clubs or sports businesses we have worked for here at Music. From our Premier League football experience with clubs including Manchester City, Fulham and Everton on projects as diverse as badge and kit launches, memberships and stadium branding, or creating a branding story for Powerleague across Europe, we have always strived to create a look and feel that can capture the energy of today while standing the test of time for tomorrow.
Because that’s the win in sports. A club’s identity is to be both loved and to live beyond the boardroom, and to be something that every season, with every new player (maybe not as famous as the GOAT), captures the energy of that moment in time, and when looking at the work of Kimou Meyer, the design of the badge, in partnership with the club he definitely did that.
What was created in 2018 was a mark and design that captures the spirit of its geography and a melting pot of passion; a mark that gave a freshness to a category, the promise of what was to come next, something distinct that could live for the duration of the project and beyond, as all football badges and identities should.
It is also a design system built to adorn one the most famous names in football across its shirts that seemingly, like the Miami sunrise, captures the rise of a football club and a great of the game in a way that feels striking on a global stage.
I would suggest you look at the journey from four years ago of the club design work:
…and have a look at this a news report that captures the design momentum from the Drive Pink arena, to how the fans are already capturing their own style of Messi, and the Miami Pink.
So maybe there is a great learning here for all clubs and agencies like ours working in this arena to create great foundational thinking that has a fluidity to its use but ultimately understands the importance of how design can play a fundamental role in even the greatest club story.
