European U23 Swimming Championships Dublin 2023
Dublin’s first European U23 swimming championship had no history to borrow from, but it didn’t have to look new.
Sector:
Type of Organisation:
Deliverables:
Sport & Events
International sporting event
Event identity, logo system, venue graphics, banners, baffle walls, lanyards, digital event assets.
Timeline:
Collaboration:
2023
Swim Ireland, Branding Sport, nmcDesign
Giving a brand-new international event enough presence for the venue, the broadcast and the city around it.
A bit of context
The first European U23 Swimming Championships in Dublin had to do two jobs at once: launch a new competition and make it feel established from day one.
Swim Ireland and Branding Sport had already shaped the strategic direction. Our role was to build the visual identity system that would carry the event across venue, broadcast and digital environments.
The Real Challenge
Inaugural events can easily feel provisional. Like they are asking for permission rather than taking their place.
The challenge was to create a brand with enough authority for international competition, enough visibility for television and venue use, and enough character to make the event memorable. It needed to feel future-facing rather than ceremonial.
The audience had to believe this championship mattered before the first race began. Otherwise the whole thing risked looking like a test run in good lighting.
The Shift
The shift was from event identity as decoration to event identity as stage-setting. The identity had to make the competition feel like a major moment in the swimming calendar. That meant building a system with speed, confidence and host-city presence, rather than relying on generic aquatic cues.
Digging In
Creative development focused on how to balance Dublin location cues with the energy of elite swimming.
The strongest route used references to the city skyline and Poolbeg Towers alongside lane-marker-inspired graphics to create an identity that felt rooted and fast.
The system had to work across broadcast, large-format venue graphics and digital hype without losing coherence.
The System
The final identity combined bold typography, strong contrast and event graphics designed for impact at scale. It was built to stand out on banners, baffle walls, lanyards and digital comms, while still feeling distinctive on screen.
The result was a brand world that felt contemporary, athletic and properly international.
Roll Out
The rollout covered venue graphics, event materials and digital assets designed to build anticipation before and during the championship.
Every application had to perform under pressure: on camera, in the arena and across social coverage. The identity was designed to hold the room and hold the screen.
Outcome
The championship launched with a brand that gave it instant credibility. Peak sessions reached full venue capacity, the atmosphere was widely described as high-energy, and the event gained strong digital and broadcast visibility through streaming platforms and international broadcast partners.
More importantly, the identity helped a brand-new competition arrive looking like it had every right to be there.
