Designing a Naming Rights Identity for a $1.6B Sports + Entertainment Venue in Seven Days.

Clients: AMB Sports + Entertainment / Mercedes-Benz
Scope: Identity Design

Several months after New Atlanta Stadium's groundbreaking, the Atlanta Falcons sponsorship team had secured a long-term naming rights deal for the new high tech sports and entertainment venue. Mercedes-Benz signed on as the new naming rights partner, it was time to develop a new identity system that reflected the new partnership.

CHALLENGE

In the sports and entertainment world things move fast. Really fast. With the new partnership inked both parties were excited to celebrate the deal with an official announcement and reveal of the new cobranded identity system in 10 days.

SOLUTION

My team developed a modern and easily recognizable identity system that showcased the buildings unique architecture while maintaining the premium design aesthetic that is familiar to Mercedes-Benz.

RESULTS

A clean, modern, and iconic identity recognized as one of the most recognizable stadium logos in the world, setting the foundation for the entire design system for the $1.6B venue.

Research

We began our research with a deep dive into current stadium logos that had naming rights partnerships across professional sports and extended into logos for iconic architecture buildings.

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NFL STADIUM LOGOS

MLS STADIUM LOGOS

Stadium Identity Visualization Trends

Our research identified two distinct design solutions for stadiums and arenas with naming rights partners in professional sports.

Co-Branded Approach

A marriage between the naming partner’s logo and a visual representation of the stadium or an iconic feature from the venue's architecture.

Generic Approach

Utilize the naming partner’s primary or typographic mark and affix “Stadium,” “Arena,” “Center” or “Field” to the partner’s wordmark. Does not take any visual cues or inspiration from the architecture of the building.

» VIEW MORE | Stadium Logo Examples

CO-BRANDED STADIUM LOGOS

GENERIC STADIUM LOGOS

Current Mercedes-Benz
Naming Rights Venue Identities

Iconic
Innovative
Inspired Design
State-of-the-Art

We believe these common attributes made for a perfect marriage between Mercedes-Benz and the New Atlanta Stadium. These shared characteristics served as our north star for the identity design.

Three
Distinct Approaches

The world-class architectural provided an opportunity to underscore that Mercedes-Benz Stadium is an iconic landmark – the Atlanta skyline's crown jewel.

*Over the course of seven days the team generated more then 100 different stadium Icon Iterations.*

Leverage the Aesthetics of the Current New Atlanta Stadium Logo.

Refine the line-work and simplify the geometry to complement the sleek and sharp lines of the Mercedes-Benz 3-point-star logo and typestyles.

Breakdown the Stadium Architecture to its Basic Geometry

Develop a minimalistic mark that draws inspiration from the international Mercedes-Benz venues and others associated with luxury brands.

Shift the Perspective
to the roof of the Building

Highlight one of the most distinct stadium features-—-the oculus and video halo board from an aerial perspective.

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium logo marries inspiration from the venue’s geometric form and the iconic Mercedes-Benz brand aesthetic.

The sharply tapered line-work that forms the stadium icon’s horizon line references the points found in the Mercedes-Benz 3-point star logo.
The red triangles located at the base of the icon represent the doors and concourse access points. The red seats of the stadium show through this area, providing the color accent.

Primary Mark