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WorkGraphic Design

New logo for GB surfing by FORM Brands Studio captures the perfect wave

A good logo catches the eye, sums up a brand in seconds, and evokes an atmosphere. Here's a great example for the national body taking charge of elite surfing.

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Back view of a person wearing a white t-shirt printed with a circular GB Surfing logo in blue and red on a black and terracotta background

When you think about surfing, images of sun-drenched beaches in California and Hawaii come to mind. But true surfers don't care about picture-postcard weather: it's all about the quality of the wave. And so it's not surprising that the island nation of Britain has developed a passionate and successful surfing community.

GB Surfing is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to developing exceptional British surfing talent. Its role is to select and manage all competing GB surfing teams in preparation for Olympic qualifying events and the Olympic Games.

Until this July, the body was actually called British Surfing. It worked with FORM Brands Studio, a London-based design and branding agency, to create a new brand identity aligned with its ambition to make Great Britain a great power in international surfing.

GB Surfing logo featuring white letters GB with a wave motif and red text on dark blue background
GB Surfing branded box featuring the new logo and "Welcome to the new era of surfing" text on cream and dark blue background
GB Surfing logo in dark blue and red displayed over a photograph of a surfer riding a green wave with white foam

FORM Brands Studio is relatively new on the scene: it was founded by creative director Alex Andlaw and communications director Beth Andlaw in 2022 and describes itself as a creative agency with "big hearts, bright minds, and bold ideas". The elite sports organisation chose to work with FORM following a competitive process as it looked to elevate its brand as the home of British Olympic surfing.

Brief and concept

FORM worked closely with the GB Surfing team and athletes to create a logo that would resonate with the surfing community while standing strong in the Olympic world.

Currently, around 50 million people surf worldwide, and over 1.1 million of them are in the UK. The new look had to lend longevity and feel fresh and exciting for the announcement of the first progression squad of potential Olympic competitors in October, ahead of the games in Paris 2024 and LA 2028.

GB Surfing's new logo designed by FORM Brands Studio showing the letter G and B in various styles alongside curved wave motifs and action photographs of surfers on ocean waves
GB Surfing logo badges in navy, red and white featuring hexagonal and circular designs with Olympic rings on a textured blue background

The brief set the challenge of keeping the red, white and blue of Great Britain while delivering a sense of waves and beach shacks alongside a highly-skilled, adrenaline-fuelled professional sport.

After in-depth research into industry, culture and governing bodies, FORM developed multiple initial concepts. They looked at symbols and wordmarks and explored a range of ideas, typefaces, forms and styles before refining a design that was tested among the athletes.

Shape and form

"We surf ourselves," explains co-founder and creative director Alex Andlaw. "So we loved the idea of getting the perfect wave carved into the logo. We looked at the shapes of breaks, cutbacks and tunnels of waves to find inspiration: every line, curl and curve was carefully considered to create the final design.

Hand holding a navy blue tote bag with pink handles displaying the GB Surfing logo in white and red text
GB Surfing magazine floating on rippling water, featuring surfers in action and the tagline "A new era on the waves
White and navy blue hoodie with GB Surfing logo displayed on the chest, shot flat lay against a concrete background
Navy GB Surfing t-shirt floating in shallow, rippling seawater with white and red logo text visible on the chest

The result is a fresh new logo, beautifully crafted with letters that embody the form of a wave. The idea is a simple one, and yet the execution is original and inspired, marking it out as an eye-catching and atmospheric piece of branding work. "It was a great honour to work on this, and we can't wait to see the team ripping it up at competitions and the Olympics," says Alex.

"We empower our athletes to perform on the world stage and needed a powerful new brand to match our drive," says Victoria Gosling OBE, GB Surfing chair. "We're delighted with the work Alex and the team produced. The level of detail and research that went into the design showed they fully understood our brand and what we were after."

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