An Official Update to a Premier Brand

Longtime client Official Sports wanted to update its signature U.S. Soccer referee uniform to a modern, clean look using premiere materials and addressing some of the limitations of their previous shirt. As a trail and ultra runner, Studio 23 owner Lee Willett had some strong ideas about what a referee would want in a performance shirt and set to work. While the company could have worked with a standard clothing designer, they understood the importance that the shirt had as a cornerstone of their brand and wanted to make sure that whatever the new design was, it would maintain a visual link to their current shirt.

The core branding element of the previous uniform was a repeating pattern of a pair of thin and thick stripes running the length of the shirt from shoulder to waist. Among other things, this meant that each component of the shirt was die-sub printed separately so that the stripes aligned but the process of imprinting altered the base material performance capabilities. Since, regardless of the design, we knew the shirt needed to perform like a champ, we looked for alternatives that would allow us to retain the stripe but limit the printing. We developed over a dozen alternative designs showing different collars, pocket openings, shirt closures, and stripe details. In the end, Official Sports and USSF decided to implement a design with a half zip front, slim spread collar, ventilated side panels with subtle chevron design, and an inset stripe detailing on front, back, and sleeves as a nod to the original shirt.

The final design is cleaner, looks more athletic, and has been well received by referees throughout the country. It retains the signature double stripe as a graphic element and thus insures continuity of the brand. But as for how it looks, you make the call. See it at OfficialSports.com

Linking Cultures Through Visual Iconography

Visual Identity for a Cultural Institution

Connecticuti Eesti Kool, the Connecticut Estonian School, a learning institution primarily devoted to passing on Estonian cultural traditions to school-aged children throughout Connecticut, wanted to build a brand that was professional but not stuffy, traditional but playful. Though the school had been founded in 1951 several years after the second world war as a place to share and promote Estonian culture among recent emigrants and their children, there had never been a formal identity developed, no previously-conceived iconography to work with.

So, our first task was to research commonalities between Estonia and Connecticut—iconography, colors, visual forms, plants, and animals. Early on, we saw that the white oak was an important icon in Estonian culture and the state tree of Connecticut and this gave us our start. We developed a number of sketches including whole trees, acorns, and leaves and, ultimately, arrived at a solution that combined a series of leaves of various sizes to represent the growth of the students in the program. Colors were chosen to mirror the Estonian flag and a shield icon was used as a way to communicate tradition and education. A number of lockups were created that could be used in horizontal formats, vertical formats, on shirts and other promotional items, and an official seal that would be reserved for ceremonial and institutional purposes only. In addition, social media badges and email graphics were rolled out for the school to use on all of its accounts and emails.

While the school is just implementing the system now, they’ve been pleased with the reaction they’ve received from their audience. We here at Studio 23 think that’s very Kool.