Purmerend Barbarians
Forging a Modern Mascot
Role
Lead Designer
Scope
Brand Identity, Logo Design, Apparel
Platform
Merchandise & Digital Media
The Vision
The Purmerend Barbarians, a local flag football team, needed a visual refresh that captured their competitive spirit on the field. The design brief called for a total reimagining of their mascot: the new barbarian needed to look undeniably fierce while maintaining a clean, modern aesthetic. To honor the team's history, it was also crucial to incorporate the axe motif from their original logo into the new design.
The Design Execution
Creating a sports mascot requires a delicate balance between illustrative aggression and practical scalability. The logo had to be highly legible and striking as a small profile picture on digital social media feeds, but its ultimate test was its physical application.
Practical Scalability:
- Highly legible at small sizes for social feeds.
- Bold lines and distinct shapes.
- Print flawlessly on physical flag football uniforms.
The Outcome
The true measure of a successful branding project is seeing it live in the real world. The most rewarding moment of the entire process was bridging that gap between a digital design file and a physical product—standing on the sidelines in Purmerend and watching the team take the field with the new, fierce barbarian emblem proudly displayed on their chests.