When watching MotoGP, one quickly realizes it is more than just a sport. The competitors demonstrate exceptional skill, physical fitness, and mental toughness, requiring a brand identity that clearly positions it as the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing worldwide. MotoGP approached the Pentagram team to evolve into a digital-first and impactful entertainment brand. Partner and creative director Angus Hyland expressed that the project perfectly aligned with their expertise in creating flexible and future-proof branding systems.
One of the main challenges faced in this design work was ensuring future-proofing while honoring the brand’s heritage and simplifying MotoGP’s complex brand architecture. Hyland emphasized the importance of close collaboration with the MotoGP team and iterative design processes in overcoming these obstacles. Despite having worked with high-energy global brands in the past, this was his first venture into motorsport. With MotoGP, the focus was on simplicity, motion, and storytelling to cut through the clutter of logos in the motorsport sector.
Capturing the essence of the sport – speed, adrenaline, precision – was crucial to the strategy, as was creating a flexible system to accommodate MotoGP’s evolution into a global entertainment brand. The visual identity reflects the motion, angles, and dynamism of the riders, with the logo referencing the lean of the bikes and their geometry through rounded forms. The design system works across all touchpoints, with a bespoke wordmark and typeface developed for motion and energy.
Changes were made to the color palette in a nuanced way, with the master brand remaining „color agnostic“ to complement the vibrant colors of teams and sponsors. The flexible color system allows for consistency while embracing the sport’s variety and vibrancy. The verbal identity seeks to capture MotoGP’s energy, passion, and inclusivity, with a tone of voice that is direct, bold, and celebratory, embodying the spirit of the riders and fans.