DesignStudio creates global women’s rugby campaign, celebrating its “diversity, community, and unstoppable momentum”

Women’s rugby has received an “energetic” rebrand with a new campaign from DesignStudio, which aims to build on its momentum as one of the fastest growing sports and help the game break into the mainstream. Working for Women In Rugby and World Rugby, the creative agency collaborated with LA-based, Argentinian-born illustrator Xoana Herrera to create a “team” of original characters for Team Powered, “highlighting the athleticism, power, and diversity found across the sport,” explains TJ Rees, campaign director at DesignStudio.

The illustrated team of players – including Nurma, Dolores, Petra and Kenesha – appear across the graphics and visuals for Team Powered, moving as one unit. When they come together, they “become a brilliant representation of the team and the women’s rugby community,” DesignStudio’s design director David Moloney explains. As well as capturing the collective spirit that drives the game, DesignStudio sought to create something that didn’t look, sound or feel like any other sport with its new campaign.

“We set out to create an optimistic, energetic celebration of diversity, community, and the unstoppable momentum of women’s rugby, the result is Team Powered,” explains Elise Santangelo-Rous, creative director at DesignStudio.

Team Powered comprises a brand launch film, made alongside Whisper Films and Chapter 3 Graphics, and a hyper-flexible graphic system, allowing Herrera’s illustrations to work on homemade flyers or wrapped around international stadiums – something the campaign is gearing up for soon. After launching on social media earlier this year, Team Powered is soon to be seen on pitch-side banners around the game in real life, across the 2022 World Cup, 6 Nations and beyond.

Wherever the campaign appears, in any language, DesignStudio highlights that it is made to be “visually unmissable” and “a million miles from the often-clichéd way women’s sport is marketed”.

According to senior designer Daisy Grice: “Community was always a key part of the campaign for [DesignStudio]. It was crucial we developed a way of connecting to the existing fans, whilst grabbing the attention of newcomers. Our goal was to inspire the world to take notice and celebrate this incredible, inclusive sport.”