A tournament for everyone
The YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships, or simply the YONEX All England, is the oldest and most prestigious badminton tournament in the world. Since 1899, athletes from around the world have competed for a chance to win the title of champion. Each year, 155 matches and 50 hours of live badminton are contested in front of a global audience of more than 350 million.
To introduce the exhilarating experience of live badminton to new communities, as well as bring together the sport’s global fanbase, Badminton England are proud to have redefined the visual identity of the brand.
Becoming a festival of badminton
The aim of the YONEX All England’s rebrand was to truly make the tournament feel like a festival of badminton. The inspiration for this came from the thrilling experience of attending the tournament itself: the lightning-fast speed of the shuttlecock (the world record badminton smash speed was set just this April at 565 km/h), the raucous cheering of global crowds that come together from countries as far away as Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and China and the bright lights that bring drama to the action over six days of intense competition.
Building on heritage
Badminton England invited creative agency monopo London to ensure the new visual identity felt exciting and dynamic, but also stayed true to the heritage of the tournament. The rebrand retains the tournament’s iconic roundel logo, but now re-energised for a digital-first identity that engages youth audiences. In the same respect, the new colour palette infuses the blue and green heritage colours of the tournament with a vibrant neon tone and accents of burnt orange, inspired by Badminton England’s brand colour, bring in a touch of warmth.
Deconstructing the logo
Harnessing the shuttlecock pattern in the centre of the logo, monopo created a versatile collection of graphic patterns that build powerful compositions. Additionally, playing with the repeated shuttlecock pattern and a masking technique, monopo crafted an ownable graphic strip for the tournament that speaks to the energy of the sport.
Get ready to experience All Of Badminton at the 2024 YONEX All England Open!🤩 🔥 💥 Get your tickets now: https://t.co/IXTfShyzho#makinghistory #ticketsonsale #getyoursnow #YAE24 pic.twitter.com/MEalJl6BtL
— 🏆 Yonex All England Badminton Championships 🏆 (@YonexAllEngland) September 15, 2023
Closer to the action than ever before
To mimic the raw power of live badminton, monopo adopted three copy statements across the key visuals that dial straight into the explosive action: “All the action. All together. All of badminton.”. Reading these in the updated bold italic sans-serif typography should feel as though you are glued to your seat, leaning into the action.
In addition, cropped graphic windows bring focus to imagery of the tournament’s most explosive moments, both of the athletes on court and fans in the arena. Each of these visual elements are further brought to life with motion design, creating a brand identity that is just as impactful digitally as it is in person.
“Badminton is one of the most exciting sports to watch live. It was important for us to create a visual identity that is as expressive in person as it is online, so that fans tuning in remotely from around the world can experience the tournament as if they were there in person.”
– Mélanie Hubert-Crozet, Creative Director
2024 and beyond
Within the broader objective of opening up the sport and connecting and growing the badminton community in the United Kingdom and around the world, the new visual identity also seeks to inspire a new generation to engage with and get involved in the sport. This digital focus seeks to elevate the YONEX All England beyond one annual tournament to become a brand platform that can host a spectrum of content all year long, online and offline, all around the world: A way for audiences everywhere to discover the electrifying experience of live badminton.
“We’re thrilled to launch the YONEX All England’s new brand identity. Live badminton is an exhilarating experience and the new brand identity really captures what makes the sport and tournament so special. We can’t wait to bring it to as many people as possible next March.”
– Jenny Clark, Badminton England Commercial Director
The 2024 YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships will be held from March 12-17 at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, England. For more information about the tournament and to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.allenglandbadminton.com/.
