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British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

Creative agency Bear London have created a new logo for sporting body British Gymnastics that's designed to capture the movement of somersaulting gymnasts.

Bear London collaborated with photographer Giles Revell and CGI artist Ben Koppel to create the new identity and moving graphics.

British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

Motion-capture technology was used to plot the movements of gymnasts as they performed flips, tumbles and somersaults.

British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

The data was then transformed into an animation of colourful ribbons that leap across the screen.

British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

Typographer Rob Clarke created the logo. The connecting t and i in both words is intended to look like a gymnast's finishing pose.

British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

The new brand identity was launched at the British Championships in Liverpool last weekend, where Olympic hopefuls were hoping to impress judges ahead of the Team GB selection.

British Gymnastics logo by Bear London

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Here's more about the project from Bear London and British Gymnastics:


“Celebrating human movement is imperative to British Gymnastics. We felt passionately that our new identity should convey movement and freedom of expression. BG should look fresh and dynamic. To achieve this, we collaborated with photographer Giles Revell and CGI artist Ben Koppel to create our own set of unique images. Each image is ‘motion captured’ from real gymnastic movements including twists, somersaults, flips and tumbles”. Eddy Edwards, Bear London

British Gymnastics – London legacy drives new brand

Arriving in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games and ensuring the sport of gymnastics is appropriately ‘dressed for the party’, British Gymnastics (BG) will launch its new brand at this weekend’s Men’s and Women’s Artistic British Championships, heralding a new era for gymnastics in the United Kingdom.

Following a revision of strategic priorities in early 2011, British Gymnastics has prepared a fresh and exciting new brand that takes its inspiration from the movement of the gymnast. Designed by London based creative design agency, Bear, the new brand includes a new logotype and supporting motion graphics.

The unique logo incorporates subtle hints of the beauty and precision of the sport supported by a series of original motion graphics that have been created from an actual gymnast’s movement.

British Gymnastics CEO Jane Allen is excited about the sport’s new look and its future potential, “A lot has been said about the legacy of the Olympic Games. British Gymnastics has been driving a marketing and communications strategy for over 18 months to ensure our membership is ready to take advantage of the promotion our sport will receive throughout the UK. BG’s new brand is a major component of that strategy and will reach out and excite existing members whilst inspiring a new generation of participants and fans.”

The new brand will be officially launched this weekend at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, where the nation’s artistic gymnastics Olympic hopefuls will be out to impress selectors ahead of the Olympic team announcement on July 4th.