I oversaw the World Cup branding project for which well over 1,000 assets were created including large-format wall vinyls. I spent two weeks in Rio delivering the branding for the team hotel and media centre while managing two Rio-based printers, three Rio-based staff, and seven team members in the FA Design Studio in London, as well as collaborating closely with key strategic partners across The FA.
I could write a book about the innumerable challenges that were waiting for me in Rio and how my four day sign-off trip turned into two weeks of firefighting. In one instance, several very large walls needed to be re-measured and artwork recreated after the printer had given us vastly incorrect dimensions (different people had measured different sections of the wall). Thankfully it’s all rather funny in retrospect.
In the end though, The England Media Centre, set at the base of the iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain, was acclaimed by the British and world media as the most outstanding of all the participating teams in Rio, and provided an exceptional working environment for the world’s press. We branded seven rooms at the England team hotel and another seven at the media centre.
Confidentiality prevents me from showing team hotel and training ground branding.