Having designed the F1 logo for the FIA Formula One World Championship we didn’t expect to get an opportunity to create another great motorsport identity. But sometimes experience really does matter.
Silverstone, the UK’s foremost motor racing circuit, approached us to create a new iconic identity. And being inherently British, it made sense to look no further than our own Union Jack for inspiration.
A bonus for us as designers is that our national flag is made up of four vanishing points; a visual device we felt worth exploring for its dynamic appeal alone. From this a logo was developed that had both movement and energy: precisely what the client, and ourselves, wanted to achieve.
Listening to your audience sounds obvious, but sometimes it can lead you along an unexpected path. Having discovered that the majority of requests for Activity Day vouchers came from women, we ditched the usual macho racing car cover shot in favour of a more engaging and personal approach. To tie in with our new copy line “You always wanted to drive...”, we sourced photos of wannabe champions at the wheel: images that covered every activity from go-karting, to motorbikes.
To counterbalance the emotive childhood photos, dynamic images were taken “straight from the driver’s seat” - shot by good friend, and daredevil photographer, Johnny Millar.
Imitation, or downright plagiarism: we always view it as the sincerest form of flattery.