Leo Messi

The Lionel Messi identity was a joint effort between several U.S. and European adidas design teams that took place in 2010. The work was completed on a compressed timeline, starting with all of the participants submitting 3-5 concepts each. After lengthy critiques, my concept was chosen as the foundation for the mark.

Phase Two consisted of roughly 30 adidas Designers supplying their own iterations of my initial three stripe "M" concept. Below you can see some of the first sketches and the initial clean-up phase.  I was pleased when this concept advanced to the final round.

The global identity team took over the closing phase to finalize the mark and establish the system standards.

1. This mark integrates three visual components into a single design. It incorporates the adidas Three Stripes. It takes on the simple silhouette of a traditional soccer crest. It can be read as an "M" for Messi.

2. The mark needed to feel somewhat explosive, like Lionel Messi's playing style. Serifs were extruded from the top left and top right to add outward movement to the logo.

3.  Interior notches were cut into the serifs to make the "M" more legible. Every angle plays off its corresponding angle to eliminate tangents and ensure balance. 

4. The global identity team finalized this concept. They brought out the fluidity of Messi's game by rounding the corners and smoothing any aggressive angles.

These mock-ups were created to help others envision how the mark could be implemented on products.