The next chapter of the world’s game — EA SPORTS FC™ — launches with a new global brand identity & logo that’s been hiding in plain sight for the past 30 years
EA SPORTS FC™ partners with Uncommon Creative Studio to design & bring global brand launch to life across matches, clubs, fans, celebrities & players
EA SPORTS has revealed a first glimpse of the interactive future of football, with EA SPORTS FC unveiling its new brand vision, identity and logo designed by Uncommon Creative Studio. FC will become EA SPORTS platform to create, innovate and grow new football experiences, connecting hundreds of millions of fans through console, mobile, online and esports products.
The new global brand identity has launched and been embraced across matches, clubs, fans and players over the past week. British Rapper Dave features and narrates a short film that captures the energy of EA SPORTS FC on the pitch and in culture.
The new logo has been hiding in plain sight taking inspiration from the iconic player control indicator that appears above every athlete in every match.
THE DESIGN IDEA
The new brand takes its design inspiration directly from the beautiful game and a dominant shape in football culture that represents the sport in multiple dimensions, the triangle. The triangle has been waiting patiently on the bench for over 30 years and it’s time to finally unleash it.
It’s a shape that has transformed the game over and over again. From Cruyff to Guardiola. From passing patterns to set plays. The triangle has revolutionised the game as we know it. And it’s set to do it again — as the inspiration for the biggest football club on the planet.
The shape has also been woven into the DNA of EA SPORTS football experiences for decades; from the isometric angles of our very first 8-bit experiences and the triangular polygons that make up every pixel of our most modern games, as well the iconic player control indicator that appears above every athlete in every match.
THE GLOBAL BRAND LAUNCH
This weekend, EA SPORTS FC™ made a bold debut in more than 100 matches across the biggest leagues in the world to mark the start of the global brand launch. Football fans saw the new brand identity in the wild for the first time through EA SPORTS partners the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, WSL, NWSL and more.
Voices from across the world of global football are joining EA SPORTS to begin a new era for the game, with hundreds of leagues, teams, brands and athletes sharing the EA SPORTS FC™ logo through their platforms including Beckham and Zidane.
The new brand world also made a number of surprise appearances dominating its presence across games including: Tottenham v Brighton, Dortmund v Union Berlin, Liverpool v Arsenal and Real Madrid v Villareal.
Fans attending these games were fully immersed in the new identity with EA SPORTS FC™ tifos in their club colours displayed outside stadiums as well as limited edition merchandise from official stands outside the stadiums. Merch includes pin badges, scarfs, flags and stickers all in the according club colours.
The new brand identity inspired by the triangular control symbol has also been embraced by the internet — with fans mocking up FUT cards and brand collabs including the new logo.
David Jackson, VP Brand, EA SPORTS FC said: “Football comes in many colours, but only very few shapes. Through set pieces, formation design and elegant possession patterns, the language of the beautiful game is often communicated in triangles. The shape has also been deeply embedded in EA SPORTS football games for decades; from the isometric angles of our very first 8-bit experiences to the iconic player control indicator that appears above every athlete in every match — triangles play an essential role in the building blocks of EA SPORTS football experiences. We’re energised to bring this core symbol of football’s foundations to life through EA SPORTS FC.”
Nils Leonard, co-founder at Uncommon added: “Clients tend to approach the studio in a moment of change. The task of partnering with EA Sports to brand not only one of the most iconic games ever to exist, but also arguably the biggest football club in the world was irresistible. Without knowing it, the new logo had been in our hands for almost 30 years. Above the heads of our heroes. Between passes and the feet of legends celebrated the world over. Discovering the FC marque within the triangle so fundamental to the beautiful game was thrilling. To anyone that’s ever kicked a ball, with their foot or their thumb, we hope this does the beautiful game justice.”
MORE ABOUT THE NEW BRAND WORLD & LOGO
The new logo is set within a triangular grid system to reflect the shape’s prominence throughout the game and football’s history. The identity includes three versions of the logo, all inspired by the triangle, to ensure the new brand can be reflected across every conceivable touchpoint. This includes a primary logo, a two letter product prefix and an authenticity mark to be shared with a broad range of EA SPORTS FC partners.
The triangle doesn’t just inform the new logo — the shape has been deeply embedded across the visual DNA of EA SPORTS FC, with a triangular grid system as the foundation of the brand’s future design assets. This isometric grid has been made up of many triangles, highlighting the power of the new collective — because none of us can change the game like all of us.
Uncommon also developed a new photography style for the branding which puts fans in the heart of the game — this imagery will be rolled out across all brand touchpoints later this year.
TYPOGRAPHY & COLOUR PALETTE
The new brand guidelines include two custom, distinct and versatile typefaces each inspired by iconic playing styles created with partner F37 Foundry. The first font is inspired by the Cruyff turn — used to guide the structural forms of character stems, and construct ink traps that adhere to our triangular grid system.
The second typeface romanticises the style and flair of Brazilian footballer, Marta. This serif font will be used across editorial communications and elevated brand moments due to the simplicity of its typographic forms.
The fonts will include multilingual typeface settings, specially crafted to reflect multiple language specific scripts from Latin to Arabic.
EA SPORTS FC is a club for everyone, so the new brand colours have to have a broad significance and speak to fans everywhere — from Madristas to Cityzens to Flamenguistas. As such, EA SPORTS FC and its new colour palette includes colours that are truly universal in football, and act as a canvas for the multicoloured nature of tribal football fandom.
Monochrome leads the palette including Boot Black and Chalk White — as well as inspiration being taken from the field of play itself — including Pitch Green and Forest Green. This fixed palette will be used across the brand’s digital and physical assets.
MOTION DESIGN
The system was also extended into motion, design by BUCK, building upon the triangle shape which is central to the new brand identity, the motion system takes inspiration from the game itself. We see its energy, its dynamics, and its forward momentum become tangible through motion, expressed through holistic 2D animation and motion design and helps the brand come to life in a way that embodies the poetry, fearlessness, and foundations of EA SPORTS FC.
Jon Gorman, Creative Director, BUCK said: “We see the motion design system as an integral piece of the puzzle in the launch of the EA SPORTS FC brand. Our goal was to imbue the visual identity with the energy of the game itself — its structure, dynamics, forward momentum — to evoke how football feels, both as player and fan. A worthy embodiment of the poetry, fearlessness, and joy of EA SPORTS FC.”
Haider Muhdi, Design Director at Uncommon added: “For the logo we teased out a fundamental icon, rooted in all aspects of the beautiful game. A symbol of power that’s literally in the hands of those who control it. A distinctive form that’s been part of the gameplay (DNA) from the very start, right up to the present day. Hiding in plain sight for almost 30 years, the inverted triangle became our playmaker. Forging the EA SPORTS FC identity directly through it and then building a prolific design system around it. Viva FC.”
Fans can sign up at easports.com/fc to Join the Club and be one of the first to learn more, ahead of detailed product updates coming this July.
