Copa America Logo – The Journey from Argentina 2011 to Chile 2015

In the year 1916, American Cup or COPA América was played for the first time. It is the oldest international soccer tournament, conducted every four years. It is played in different countries of South America from team members of the continental governing body of association football in South America, CONMEBOL. Since the year 1993, the game hosts 10 cities from the native continent and 2 teams are invited from other countries like Canada, Mexico or the U.S. As all soccer lovers know that this year, i.e. in 2015, the game is hosted in Chile and brand identity has been created by Brandia Central who designed a suite of graphic solutions that is inspired by Chilean Culture. Brandia Central has developed an interesting niche in game events like this.

The premeditated work culminated in a strong proposal: COPA América’s this edition would be the beginning of something new, being the 1^st with a “host- enthused brand”. In place of presenting an “institution- based brand”, this year it is spotlighted on the tournament of COPA America. Similar to the previous ones, this edition’s brand presents Chile as the proud host, reflecting its influence on the brand’s visuals.

Now, let’s look into the logo of Copa America, Argentina, 2011. It flashes a blue and white flag, the official flag of Argentina, and a soccer ball represented as a globe, showing North America – continent, in blue.

Whilst it was good to have consistency all through the earlier tournaments with some type of flag followed by a ball structure, all those logos are tales of the past, have become clichéd and uninspiring to the present day context. Now, like large-scale sports events such as FIFA World Cup, with considerable amount of time space between two editions, the Copa América also has a host-oriented identity with added flavors, potential engagement and relevance.

The new logo has a plethora of components, implications and references –may be too many – and has been presented in the signature gradient style of Brandia Central. It makes for an exciting symbol that calls for further discovery and exploration. The logo showcases a four player icon which works if the premise is more-is-more. There are six elements in the logo – Triunfo, Pasion, Estrella 8 puntas, Superacion, Fiesta, Estrella 5 puntas.

The search for the creative solution was difficult. The question was – how to fuse so many influences and culture in just 1 symbol, engaging all South American football fans, the fans from Chile and the super heroes – the players. The answer was found after a long game of balancing and resuming.

The typography “Copa América” is great and inconspicuous, on the other hand, the “Chile 2015” grabs all the attention. Some disconnection can be found between the hard angles of the logo and a little-bit overly scripted typography. However, in application, it is apparent that there is a maximalist way that prop up the combo of all types of visuals.

The icon set is lovely, especially the “chilena” placed in the far right position. The second one shows 2 players bumping crotches. The identity, here, has become far too diverse, with the prologue of this kind of styles that gives an overly trendy appeal. According to some, the logo shouldn’t be this trendy, omitting the traditional charm and some opine that tuning to the trend of the current scenario is the best idea.

All together, with all the different and apparently bright elements, the logo came up quite energetically as a whole and one cannot resist appreciating the overall great texture poured into the work. Although, at times you will be scratching your head thinking why there are so many stuffs and what do they mean, but, this flashy and colorful logo design offers a solid catalyst for upcoming sports events identities.