Need For Speed — Brand Identity Design

July 24 2017 // Edmonton, AB

It is 5:30am on Tuesday April whatever the what, dark, cold … and busy on the track at Scona Highschool in Edmonton, AB. It’s Need For Speed.

2021 Colour Update

Sonya did a screen print on a navy singlet, I had to do it. I mean, the original is nice, but this navy palette is so much more mature. Brought the orange back into the primary colour, and added in a darker grey to compliment white on the new navy colour.

With the newfound maturity in the Need For Speed identity, it seemed only fitting a business card should be used to showcase the new colours. I want to feel this on some ultra-thick cotton paper stock, with some part of the design stamped … Need For Speed OR just the back maybe???

Both?

That animation game is so hawt right now 🔥

It occurred to me that the NFS font feels like the Netflix logo font, so, let’s drop a Netflix’esq animation on the logo with the hawt new colours.

The Original Icon

How do you do an icon about a track group that meets on the track with no pre/post routine, no external meeting location, and the only geographic inspiration to draw from is a five lane main artery one way road headed straight the hell out of town?

You don’t. You simply find a way to make a new track logo, and go from there.

I do my research, scour the internet, and believe I have a completely fresh take on the same 3/6/7/8/9/10 ring interpretation of that sacred place where folks run in circles for no reason but to feel pain. To run around in circles faster than everyone else running in circles — in pain. How’s that for a circular inception-al argument.

I’m dizzy just trying to re-read that word soup.

In July of 2017, my junior design toolbox consists of gradients, flat-sharp-simple iconography, and bright colours. Fast forward to 2021 and ... consistency is a good thing? Right?
— Me

The heart of an identity ... the logo.

Maybe not always true, but it certainly is in this scenario some four years later and this same logo is still absolutely crushing it on merchandise Sonya and the team put out each year. More on that later.

I really really really love to build out flexible identities which results in deep colour palettes and simple line logos that can easy morph however they see fit. Combining a hot sauce logo, strong colours, and my story telling photography has never let me down, and it hasn’t here with Need For Speed.

The cutest little track family you’ll ever find at 5:30am.

I play with the logo often. These are some zoomed in versions I envision for a two or three colour poster series. Some soft thick stock and heavy ink feel. Mmmmmm. One day.