New Look for Absa Cape Epic

The Absa Cape Epic, the world’s most televised mountain bike stage race, unveiled their new logo, designed by the Cape Town office of The Jupiter Drawing Room, in Cape Town on 25th October 2011.

Says Kevin Vermaak, founder and director of the Absa Cape Epic: “Our original logo was designed when the race concept was still embryonic. In fact, I was still in London working in a very different industry to sports marketing, and had almost no experience in building a brand and it’s corresponding logo. It was a steep learning curve, but I soon realised that the logo we had designed could be improved upon for the many diverse applications required for an international mountain bike stage race.

“After using it for eight years, I therefore felt it was the right time to design a new logo – one which reflects the essence of the brand as well as facilitates sponsor integration. I also wanted a logo that could accommodate the many applications required. Our logo is used on everything from clothing and branded vehicles, to banners and posters. It had to be simple, yet effective. The Absa Cape Epic is no longer just a mountain bike race – it has become a globally recognised sports event brand. The new logo is a better fit for what our brand stands for and manages to epitomise the spirit and identity of the race. We’ve kept the African components with the use of colour. Our pay-off will remain the same. It still is the Magical and Untamed African Mountain Bike Race,” says Vermaak.

Joanne Thomas, Creative Director of Design at The Jupiter Drawing Room, adds: “Our company has extended its impressive list of design credentials with a new partnership with the Absa Cape Epic. As this truly South African race continues to command the attention of some of the world’s best athletes, the need arose for the logo and identity to be updated. This challenge rested on the design department of The Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town and we saw it as a huge opportunity to ensure that this was not just a development of a logo, but an identity that was at once flexible but also desirable.

“The many different applications that arise from putting on an event as large as the Absa Cape Epic, meant that we wanted this to be more than just a logo. We wanted the logo to become an instantly recognisable symbol whose key components could be used across branding and merchandise to create a brand as desirable as the race itself.”

Inspiration for the new identity came from bikes themselves. “We spent a lot of time exploring many different routes, but in the end the simplicity of bicycle chainrings just seemed the most obvious route to go. Add to that a colour palette of rich yellow, deep browns and black, we were able to use iconography that was relevant to the race, but most importantly had a feeling of African heritage without using very clichéd ethnic cues.”

The resulting identity scheme will be used across all media from TV through to merchandise and event branding.

www.capeepic.com