Nopinz, a British cycling brand built for competitive athletes, has come to be known for its obsession with speed and performance. It specialises in aerodynamic racewear and patented innovations that eliminate drag to give riders a crucial advantage.<\/p>\n
After almost a decade in the industry, Nopinz felt a rebrand was in order to better reflect where the company finds itself today. They turned to the London-based brand, design, and strategy agency Studio Blackburn, who delivered a comprehensive facelift.<\/p>\n
There were a few things the rebrand had to do. It needed to speak to Nopinz\u2019s technical edge, reimagine its tone of voice, and create an identity that could keep pace with the brand\u2019s growing success.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur fundamental DNA is that our kit can make you go faster,\u201d says Colin Hatfield, director at Nopinz. \u201cWe wanted to celebrate that, and that\u2019s what really drove the brief.\u201d<\/p>\n
Studio Blackburn\u2019s rebrand for Nopinz<\/p>\n
Hatfield explains how every detail is designed to make riders aerodynamic, especially in time trials, where \u201cit\u2019s just you against the clock, and you\u2019ve got no protection from the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n
This obsession \u2013 to make riders faster \u2013 sits at the heart of Nopinz\u2019s design philosophy.<\/p>\n
As Hatfield says, Nopinz\u2019s products are built to slice through the air. This commitment to the performance-driven, technical nature of Nopinz informed Studio Blackburn\u2019s creative decisions, as did the name of the brand itself.<\/p>\n
Nopinz is a nod to the brand\u2019s breakthrough innovation \u2013 a patented pocket that holds race numbers in place without the need for safety pins.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a negative in the brand name is a bit odd,\u201d says Hatfield. He adds that the team was unsure about the name for a while, until Studio Blackburn flipped the script, turning the negative into a positive, powerful statement.<\/p>\n
In the resulting brand language, the studio chose to strike out certain words in the messaging (For example, For Weekend Warriors), setting the tone for Nopinz\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat line through the word gives us the ability to communicate a message and cross out the words within it that aren\u2019t relevant to the brand,\u201d says Studio Blackburn\u2019s CEO and founder, Paul Blackburn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s branding in its primal form, in a way. It feels very specific and intentional. By clearly defining what Nopinz is not, the brand effectively establishes what it stands for, setting it apart from other cycling brands.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea instantly hit home with the Nopinz team. \u201cAs soon as we saw it, we knew that that was the way forward for us. It was a real eureka moment,\u201d says Hatfield.<\/p>\n
The brand language allows Nopinz to say things as they are, giving it a sense of confidence, which is also echoed in the minimalistic slant of the visual system. In their symbolic intent to \u201celiminate drag,\u201d the team leaned on precise, strong typography, using a custom cut of Greed by Displaay Type Foundry for the wordmark, with the slashed zero (\u00d8) logo mark built into the typeface.<\/p>\n
Studio Blackburn\u2019s rebrand for Nopinz<\/p>\n
For the body copy, Studio Blackburn handpicked a single weight of Basel Grotesk by Optimo Type Foundry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe chose to work with only one weight because we were confident we could push it and get variation through different type sizing, instead of using lots of different typefaces,\u201d says senior designer Will Cooper.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, that comes from the intention of stripping it back as much as possible, to keep things very concise.\u201d The minimalistic visual voice allows the brand \u201cto speak with confidence,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t do minimalism for minimalism\u2019s sake. We tend to pare things back to their simplest and most vital, and then we amplify,\u201d says Blackburn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve tried to do here; we\u2019ve given it a behavioral quality as well, which also represents that \u2018lack of drag.\u2019 There\u2019s something very simple and elegant about the way that the brand moves. It\u2019s quick and urgent, but never over-the-top.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another defining feature of the rebrand is the introduction of a singular, signature brand hue, the Nopinz Zone 5 colour, that punctuates the identity.<\/p>\n
Hovering between that line between red and orange, the rich colour injects new energy into the brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn endurance training, athletes work in different zones of effort. Lots of different training applications use colour to track what zone you\u2019d be in,\u201d says Cooper.<\/p>\n
\u201cZone 5, which is sort of that highest anaerobic area of performance, is usually marked by this color that\u2019s not red, nor orange,\u201d making it not just the perfect hue, but also a recognisable one for the competitive cycling community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had some feedback, and people seem to just get it,\u201d says Hatfield. \u201cWhen you\u2019re in a time trial, Zone 5 is what you\u2019re aiming for, so it just clicks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The larger rebrand has already struck a chord with the community.<\/p>\n
Bigger rollouts are on the horizon, but the initial reception has been \u201cvery positive,\u201d says Hatfield, adding that \u201cpeople really have an affection for the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps the reason the refreshed identity resonates so deeply is that it speaks to Nopinz\u2019s audience in their own language, while priming the brand for its next chapter.<\/p>\n
Studio Blackburn\u2019s rebrand for Nopinz
\nStudio Blackburn\u2019s rebrand for Nopinz
\nStudio Blackburn\u2019s rebrand for Nopinz
\nStudio Blackburn\u2019s rebrand for Nopinz<\/p>\n