In order to achieve the branding objectives, our Paris and Belgium offices (Minale Design Strategy) had to think out of the box. To remain fully successful, they had to define a broader vision, a new philosophy and a powerful claim to support KATUSHA’s inspiring heroes. Basically, they had to bring KATUSHA beyond its Russian roots. It had to go from a Russian name to a global brand: Team KATUSHA.
After 7 years on the UCI World Tour, time had come to think different. Time had come for KATUSHA to develop business and generate revenue. Minale Design Strategy was one of the specialists invited to join the project. The mission: bring a strategic, conceptual and design driven approach to the table.
The “K” finds its origin in the “io” (Russian character) of the previous brand. In fact the “io” was not easily readable and pronouncing it was even harder. Moreover, it acts as an essential wink to all the historic and loyal KATUSHA fans. From now on, more than an integrated letter with a graphic accident, the “K” will behave as the emblem of the new brand.
The aim at using Roman font instead of a Cyrillic as well as Russian codes is to express the ambition to become more of an international team in the future.
The red colour also appears to be essential as it is not only a visually impactful colour but also because it refers to our roots. Beyond that, we did not want to work with a basic red. We wanted something unique, contemporary and highly luminous. We choose a CORAL red which is pretty different from what is usually seen in cycling industry but which also enables and boosts the visibility of the team once in the peloton. In order to strengthen the impact and contrast of the CORAL, we added a SANGRE red. They work perfectly together and it gives the personality we were looking for to the jersey and the heroes on their bike. Touches of blue are used to pump up the reds when necessary and to refresh the image.
Management Team
Creative Director: Jim Waters
Client Director: Gwenael Hanquet
Design team: Minale Design Strategy - Paris and Brussels offices
Digital team: Explose