In June 2019, the 50th annual Rund um die Kö (“Around the Kö”) cycle race took place in Düsseldorf. Previously, the race was almost exclusively seen as a sporting event – providing few points of contact with its high-end shopping street surroundings. The ambition of the new generation of race organizers was to take advantage of the races’ prestigious surroundings and blend tradition with the here and now by adding a pinch of spectacle and novelty to the race. Today, bike race culture is much more than just spectators lined up to watch athletes – it also means good food, market stalls offering the latest in bike accoutrement, and pulsating beats blasting as athletes whiz by. Our task was to develop a striking new look for the new race concept.
The race is always a sensory experience. Athletes rush past Gucci, Chanel, and Dior stores accompanied by frantic pedal clicks and the euphoric roar of the crowd. We translated this stunning scenery into dynamic, typographic sound collages: Allez, bling, klack, chic – the sound when high-end luxury meets cycling. We applied a visual system based on this concise guiding principle to posters, merchandise, and all of the official race communication as part of the brand identity.
More about this project can found at g31.
