FM Brand Identity

The Football Manager brand had looked largely the same for the past two decades, but with FM26 being the first edition of 'a new era' built with the Unity game engine, an opportunity arose to modernise its identity.

The brand had evolved considerably since the early Football Manager branding in 2005 - from a niche PC game to a global football management franchise played across Console, Tablet and Mobile devices. But each product and platform looked slightly different from the next. We needed a new suite of assets that would not only make link better to product and provide a premium feel, but one that would also aid the creation of marketing materials for our new content strategy for the cycle.

Every potential touchpoint was scrutinised in partnership with our design agency, Nomad, collectively reviewing fonts, typography, logos, brand marks, icons, colours, graphics, photography, and key visuals.

As part of the review, we also wanted to create an FM symbol, a short-hand visual cue that could live in isolation without a wordmark and be instantly recognisable. The FM Symbol, was created to pay homage to the brand's connection to football and the traditional football many clubs have included within their crests - as outlined in the official reveal of the FM branding and lovingly recreated in real ball form by @Jonpaulsballs (see below).

This, alongside the new bracketed 'Technical Area' graphics (the place where you as a manager define your destiny) give the brand a distinctive USP and merchandisable identity alongside a revamped product and bring the Football Manager brand into the digital age with mass appeal.