DesignStudio’s BVB rebrand embodies the club’s relentless passion on and off the pitch

World-renowned football team Borussia Dortmund (BVB), revered for their players’ passion on the pitch and their fans’ enthusiasm off it, has undergone a comprehensive rebrand courtesy of international design studio, DesignStudio. The new identity aims to bring the club into a contemporary space whilst honouring its rich legacy. Working from the bottom up, beginning with their strategic positioning, DesignStudio presents BVB as the storied sporting icons they’ve historically proved themselves to be, led by the notion, ‘The Black and Yellow community, together we go all in’. As such, the brand begins to paint a picture of the team’s evolution from an underdog local club to today’s globally-admired squad, conveying an invigorating, relentless energy reflective of BVB’s devotion to sport and club through rigorous, systematic type, colour and form. 

Beyond the club’s ‘black and yellow’ motif inspired by their iconic stadium’s colours, BVB’s visual identity draws on material, textural and emotional moments found at their home ground, Signal Iduna Park – from the physicality of the brand’s variable, active logomark to the acute 34º angle of its bespoke typeface. Having been inspired by Signal Iduna Park’s standing terrace, the harsh, angular construction of the typeface, made in collaboration with Blaze Type, also embodies the electric fighting spirit of the club, informing the horizontal and diagonal forms of the surrounding visual language, whilst forming the basis of BVB’s already-iconic wordmark. The result is an enigmatic identity that ultimately characterises the club’s distinct character, setting new standards for contemporary sports brands and, in doing so, championing the necessity for responsiveness, potential and interactivity in the service of its audience. 

It’s not the first time DesignStudio has ventured into the sporting space – far from it in fact, having rebranded the entire Premier League in 2016 and crafted a powerful 2021 campaign for Women’s Rugby.