Branding

Narrow-Format Criterium Championship

Developing a brand system for a new, exciting form of racing never-before-seen.

Timeline
Jan. 2023–May 2023
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
Figma
QGIS
Google My Maps
Adobe After Effects
Course
ARTD 471 Graphic Design Capstone
Advisor
Stacey Robinson, Professor

Overview

The Narrow-Format Criterium Championship is a new, unique form of road bicycle racing that uses college campuses’ walkways and bikeways as closed racing circuits. It challenges participants to strike the perfect balance between speed and control while refining their racecraft to overtake the competition.

Developed as an undergraduate capstone project, the first phase of this venture aimed to produce a proposal comprehensive enough to present to partners and stakeholders. This phase focused on three key aspects: branding and marketing, sport regulations, and logistics.

The second phase would focus on feasibility, funding and recruitment. The third phase would focus on organizing the inaugural race.

Background

The Narrow-Format Criterium Championship blends the concept of criterium racing with the characteristics that define Formula One and other motorsport series.

What is Formula One?

Formula One is widely regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport. The series takes twenty drivers across ten teams racing at 24 purpose-built and street circuits across 21 countries and five continents. The “formula” in the name refers to the set of regulations to which all chassis and engine manufacturers and constructors must conform.

What is criterium racing?

A criterium is a road bicycle race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit. It is the most common type of bicycle racing in the U.S.

The shape and features of criterium circuits are constrained by the ubiquity of grid street plans in U.S. cities. Circuits tend to feature an abundance of straight lines and right angles.

The proposition: a unique opportunity.

Our campus’ networks of winding and intersecting sidewalks, bicycle paths and shared-use paths are uniquely fit to temporarily host street circuit races.

Street circuits — in contrast to purpose-built tracks — are composed of temporarily closed-off public roads. These circuits often use waterside roads that follow the contours of the shoreline to create more varied and challenging turns.

Branding

Typography

It’s common practice to limit the number of typefaces used, but the NFCC brand aims to break the rules. The multi-typeface approach delegates distinct typographic functions to different typefaces.

Noka — designed by Daniel Sabino for São Paulo-based foundry Blackletra — is a geometric sans serif typeface with a unique personality.

The letter S showcases the typeface’s subtly sporty structure. The way that the diagonal strokes of the letters Y, K and X meet is reminiscent of the way that campus walkways intersect.

Numbers are front and center in sports. Readability takes priority over aesthetics when selecting a typeface for numbers.

T.26 Carbon — designed by Anuthin Wongsunkakon for T26 Digital Type Foundry — is a monospaced typeface. Native to digital, its structure is a departure from that of typewriter typefaces.

Minion Pro is an Adobe Original serif typeface designed by Robert Slimbach. Inspired by classic, old style typefaces of the late Renaissance, it stands in contrast to the strong personalities of the typefaces it’s paired with.

Source Code Pro is an Adobe Original monospaced typeface designed by Paul D. Hunt and Teo Tuominen. Designed for coding environments, it’s the perfect typeface for annotative and technical information.