Why football is the perfect canvas for design creativity

Ever since the inception of the beautiful game, football has welcomed creativity on the pitch. As someone born in the late 90s; I think back to Ronaldinho’s elasticos and no look flicks, Messi’s inhuman ability to always be thinking three steps ahead of his opposition, arriving at that point in the most elegant way imaginable and more recently, the sheer creative arrogance of a Jude Bellingham. But over this same period, football has acted as the ideal canvas for meaningful creative expression off the pitch. As everyone in the office is sick of being subjected to relentless football chat (especially in the midst of an iconic three-way battle for promotion out of the Championship this season), I’m instead using this newsletter as my opportunity to unload my views on the timeless bond between the world’s sport and design, as a tool to express identity and make meaningful change. I’ll be highlighting some of the standout projects in recent history that have created moments bigger than what’s on the pitch.

?I believe the rigid and wholly unchanging framework of football allows it to provide the perfect dependable canvas for creatives to build upon. I always find it easier to design when you have rigid consistencies within your deliverables, allowing you to shape what you deem to be the variables in any way you see fit. It’s always harder to push the boundaries when there are no boundaries to push. The almost comforting familiarity of the dependable elements of football provide the viewer with an automatic expectation of what they will see. A football shirt, traditional scarf or fanzines.

?This familiarity with a rich element of warming nostalgia running through it attracts a new audience to activism. Communicating progressive ideas to a size of audience few other segments of culture could reach, let alone capture the attention of.

Corbin Shaw is a multimedia artist whose practice addresses issues of toxic masculinity and heteronormativity. Shaw has reappropriated banners and flags commonly seen on the terraces of football stadiums across the country. Corbin says: “My flags aim to subtly get my message across by speaking in a recognisable visual language that doesn’t alienate its audience.”

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Three and Wonderhood Studios recently went viral with a campaign starring Vinnie Jones. Seeing him deliver a rousing team talk to the Chelsea men’s stars on the importance of speaking about their mental health. This came after Three conducted research, finding over two-thirds (67%) of football fans have struggled with their own mental health, whilst one in three has never spoken to anyone about it.

Climate change design duo Adapt have launched a scarf collection called Protest Gear, taking the aesthetic of football scarves, and using it to champion and call action to various causes. The duo saw a similarity between football fans and protest crowds, hoping to hone their passion and bring together opposing groups, unified against a greater rival.

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In response to the horrific level of negligence on World Cup projects in the build up to the World Cup in Qatar, Ico Design formed the Humanity FC campaign, bringing together 32 international creatives – including designers, illustrators, studios and architects – before asking them to contribute an illustration. Each artwork forms one of the football’s 32 hexagonal panels, shining a spotlight on the corruption and exploitation in football.

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As with so many of the projects above, football provides a space for creatives and brands to make real change. Reaching audiences they otherwise might struggle to interact with, all with a rich palette of design history to build upon. All of which is bought to life by the beautiful game itself.

Do you have a favourite project where sports and design have worked hand in hand, in aid of something greater?