Onwards rebrands England Rugby ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019

A new identity system embraces storytelling, from grassroots through to both male and female elite teams and at its heart is ‘The Timeline’ – a linear graphic system which visually represents England Rugby's core message – "The Game of Our Lives" – and houses different content types to create a rich and diverse design language.

The identity has been built to work flexibility everywhere from stadium signage to social media posts, prioritising coherence over consistency. To deliver on this, Onwards introduced a typeface with a huge range of weights and styles and created flexible layering options that can be used to create different textural effects within a single system.

With the identity in place, Onwards has been working closely with England Rugby’s internal team to roll out the brand across all its key touch points, including owned channels, matchday assets and stadium interiors.
 
 Onwards are also currently working on a participation campaign for the brand, followed by a World Cup campaign which will launch in 2019.

"Working on a brand with the stature of England Rugby was always going to be exciting for us," Onwards Co-Founder Graeme Cook told Creative Boom. "They have an abundance of amazing content, so our idea was to really bring this to the fore in the new identity and reflect all aspects of the game.

"With the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations around the corner, it’s a big year for the game and the organisation. We’re confident that the brand is now ready to help maximise the attention these events will create and attract new audiences to the sport."