Earlier this month, Liverpool hosted the inaugural World Boxing Championships.<\/p>\n
The event, which drew athletes and fans from across the world, marks the first elite-level global championships staged by World Boxing, a federation formed in 2023 after the International Olympic Committee suspended recognition of the previous governing body.<\/p>\n
With the future of Olympic boxing under scrutiny, the Championships are designed to provide a credible international stage for amateur athletes, ensuring the sport retains its Olympic status. Simultaneously, the tournament positions amateur boxing as a discipline focused on skill and fairness, distinct from the showmanship of pro boxing.<\/p>\n
To bring it to life, World Boxing turned to Continuous<\/a> to build a brand that could carry the weight of a prestigious global competition, while blending the character of the host city as well as the international appeal of the event.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of our main asks was to ensure the brand represented Liverpool and the values of the city, while also introducing the event as something new, clean, and different from what\u2019s gone before,\u201d says John Muddeman, event director at World Boxing.<\/p>\n As a Liverpool-based agency, Continuous was well placed to tap into the city\u2019s spirit. This local insight helped them land on the cultural truth that anchors the brand and its central message \u2013 \u201cWelcome to our corner.\u201d<\/p>\n Continuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships<\/p>\n \u201cLiverpool gives a welcome like no other city. You do get that real sense of community when you come here,\u201d says Mike Walsh, design director at Continuous. \u201cWe wanted to make sure that was translated into the visual and the verbal identity.\u201d<\/p>\n This message also spoke to where the sport of boxing wants to be right now.<\/p>\n \u201cAmateur boxing, as an institution, has gone through a period of change and uncertainty. So that idea of \u2018welcome\u2019 started to work on multiple levels,\u201d says Walsh.<\/p>\n The scale of the World Boxing Championships demanded a core idea that was as simple as it was powerful, and flexible enough to cut across contexts.<\/p>\n The message needed to appeal to many different audiences, \u201cfrom die-hard boxing fans to event-goers and the people of Liverpool,\u201d says Jen Falding, head of major sports events at Liverpool City Council. \u201cIt had to speak to the local community, while also being outward-facing enough to connect with a global audience.\u201d<\/p>\n That same balancing act shaped the identity, calling for a measured mix of consistency and distinction. Continuous intentionally decided to borrow certain visual codes of World Boxing\u2019s identity \u2013 such as the Figtree typeface used in the wordmark and the colour palette \u2013 to ensure the two brands felt part of the same family, and could sit side by side with confidence.<\/p>\n Continuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships<\/p>\n At the same time, they introduced a distinctive visual device, turning the word \u201ccorner\u201d into a graphic system of four lines, a nod to the ropes that frame a boxing ring.<\/p>\n The lines, which are used as a recurring motif throughout the identity, were designed to be flexible. \u201cIt can allude to the ring, but then we can also flip it and hang text and graphics from it, and it turns into a medal,\u201d says Walsh.<\/p>\n Building on this, the typographic palette \u2013 with Figtree, and Neighbor Bold, chosen as the headline typeface for its classic sporty aesthetic \u2013 adds character to an otherwise pared-back visual system, whose restraint is deliberate.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kept the system intentionally simple \u2013 literal, even \u2013 so it could flex while staying consistent across a wide range of applications,\u201d says Walsh. \u201cThe goal was to hand over a brand that others could activate seamlessly, since we wouldn\u2019t be running every roll-out ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n This considered approach also reflects the prestige and calibre of the Championships, giving it a refined, premium presence that reinforces its status as an elite event.<\/p>\n In this exercise, Continuous was able to define an entirely new visual language for amateur boxing.<\/p>\n Continuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to set this event apart from what you expect to see in pro boxing, particularly around the tone and the language,\u201d says Muddeman.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sport\u2019s very adversarial. All the language revolves around \u2018showdown\u2019 or \u2018knockout,\u2019 and visually, you see images of blood going everywhere, and someone getting their head knocked off.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what Olympic boxing is about. The brand helps us deliver that message that this is about the skill, the power, the dynamism, and the quality of the athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n The identity ultimately set the tone for the event, and was adopted cohesively across touchpoints \u2013 from the arena to street banners.<\/p>\n According to Falding, the branding has been met with enthusiastic approval across the city. \u201cLiverpool always has banners up for different events throughout the year, so for people to notice these and say they look brilliant is a real testament to the strength of the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n Continuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships
\nContinuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships
\nContinuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships
\nContinuous\u2019 brand for the World Boxing Championships
\nThe identities of World Boxing and the World Boxing Championships, seen together<\/p>\n