The Fly Teams

Giving four lacrosse teams their own unique identities

Four different team jerseys for The Fly teams on a grey background.

The first year of The Fly, a fast-paced national league by England Lacrosse, was all about getting word out. And it was a big hit. With the launch safely under their belts, the sporting body wanted to amp up the hype, level up the spectator experience, and drum up support for their players. That led them to their teams — and back to us.

A black and white photograph of an anvil.
The Forge 'F' symbol on a lime green background.
Black text on a lime green background showing the tone of voice for team Forge.
A black lacrosse helmet with green spray paint pattern applied to the rear.
Examples of Instagram story posts for lacrosse team Forge.
A close up photo of The Fly logo on the sleeve of a lacrosse jersey.
A close up photo of the Forge 'F' symbol on a pair of black shorts.
A female lacrosse player captured making a pass during a game.

Thinking

Supporters — and players — need teams they can get behind. And while we’d already named The Fly’s four league teams, the plan was always to flesh them out with a set of cohesive identities. 

We discussed each team with England Lacrosse to learn what made them special, exploring everything from playing style and sportsmanship to any stand-out characters on the squad. Then we used all of that to write distinct team stories and language banks that still fit The Fly’s action-packed tone of voice. Those narratives provided the foundation for our designs.

A paragraph of red text on an orange to red gradient background.
Two outdoor banners attached to a lamppost against a blue sky.
A selection of Instagram posts from the Rise team account page.
A player on the men's Rise team waiting for a pass.
A female player from team Rise lacrosse team jogging.
Bright purple and white text on a dark purple background.
A two-tone purple baseball cap with the Hustle logo embroidered on the front.
Examples of story posts from the Hustle lacrosse team's Instagram account.
Female lacrosse players in a huddle before a game.
A male player gets tackled running with the ball in a game of lacrosse.
A female lacrosse player preparing to pass the lacrosse ball.

Outcome

Using the stories as starting points we created a unique visual identity for each team, including a logo, colour palette, and ownable assets. 

We brought out the defiance of Forge, the league’s renegades, with spray paint and photocopy-style graphics and an anvil-inspired logo. Upbeat Rise are bright and peppy with a hidden sun logo in optimistic yellow plus soft, sunrise-red gradients. We captured the non-stop motion of rapid-playing Hustle with a split logotype and iconography that always seem to be on the move. And for Swift, a team that’s always super synchronised and light on their feet, we took to the sky with a bird-inspired logo, an angled font to represent speed and flow, and waved patterns that ripple like the wind. 

Now each team has its own identity while staying true to the feel of The Fly. Four teams, one league. Who will come out on top?

The silhouette of swifts diving against a clouded dusk sky.
A light blue abstract icon of a bird on a dark blue background.
Blue and white text on a wave pattern background.
Outdoor banner designs.
Post examples from team Swift's Instagram page.
The back of a male lacrosse players shirt showing the Swift team logo.
The Swift bird icon show on a pair of blue shorts.
A female player in a light blue jersey and dark blue shorts playing lacrosse.

Services

– Naming
– Visual identity
– Verbal identity
– Social media graphics
– Brand launch materials
– Jersey designs

Collaborators

– Naming and copywriting: Yarn
– Logo stings: Fee Sheal
– Match photography: Adam Scott

Similar projects

The Fly logo on a white jersey
A group of female British Lacrosse players smiling at the camera.
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