event & brand design
the aer lingus college football classic
problem | Develop and execute the branding for Notre Dame Football's 2023 opening game in Dublin, Ireland as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. As the "home team" for the event, the goal was to bring a uniquely Notre Dame experience to both international and domestic fans.
solution | Merge the Notre Dame brand and Irish culture to celebrate the "ancestral home" of The Fighting Irish. We emphasized the green within Notre Dame's brand palette, found ways to take our traditional brand elements and give them a unique Irish twist, and brought American College Football culture to Dublin.
Our key message: The Irish Are Home
| the branding |
To bring “The Irish are Home” to life, Notre Dame’s alternate Kelly green became the focus of the visual direction. The brand elements intend to merge American Football and Irish culture, starting with two unique Celtic knot designs. The first weaves together symmetrically to create a football. The second is a re-imagining of the traditional Notre Dame endzone (known as the “Founder’s Lines”) into a Celtic rope knot inspired by the Irish Book of Kells. Lastly, throughout Dublin the Irish Language is a prominent fixture. Working with a Professor of Irish Language at Notre Dame, the brand design for the event includes Irish Language translations of all primary text.
above: the process and inspiration behind each Celtic knot
| design system |
A sampling of signage used throughout Aviva Stadium and Dame Street in downtown Dublin. The phrase “C’mon Irish,” featured on stadium signage and apparel, served as a nod to the Irish National Football Team, whose slogan is “C’mon Ireland.”
| the event: aviva stadium |
Around the upper ring of Aviva Stadium sat the full lyrics of the Notre Dame Victory March. In coordination with a Professor of Irish Language at Notre Dame, the full song was translated, and presented as alternating between English and Irish.
| fan zone: "notre dame street" |
Prior to the game a special fan activation in Dublin’s City Center temporarily renamed Dame Street “Notre Dame Street.” To celebrate the idea of Ireland as the ancestral home of "The Fighting Irish," the street heavily features the phrase "The Irish are Home" in both English and the Irish language. Deliverables included banners to cover key buildings, cross-street banners, photo props, light pole banners, signage, and more. The event drew over 10,000 guests.
a little more on how we did it:
Developed in close collaboration with Notre Dame's Brand Director Tim O'Connor; Fighting Irish Media and Notre Dame Athletics; University of Notre Dame; the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, and Davis Events. Dame Street illustrated backdrop by Boston Logan.
key aspects of my role: overall creative direction, project management, final logo designs, all graphic design shown above, the field design, and the creation of all required production files (I executed 96 production files in 1 month, amongst other projects for the athletic department).