World Rowing

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The Soul of Rowing - Our new brand identity

Our new brand identity is launched. Thank you to the many hundreds of people who contributed to its creation. This short film briefly explains the thinking behind its development and the values it symbolises.

Developing our new brand identity

The process started with a reassessment of our values, our personality and what makes rowing different. We consulted a wide cross section of stakeholders, rowers, coaches, administrators and long standing commercial partners. This is what rowing stands for…

Rowing develops the important life skills of self-discipline, focus and commitment. It develops physical and mental strength and all –round wellbeing.
Rowers are close to nature, fresh air and water.
Rowers put traditional sporting values far above commercial gain.
Rowing is far more than a physical experience. When rowers talk, it becomes clear that rowing has a soul.
Rowing is respect for nature. It is the boat, the body and mind working in harmony. It is mutual respect and a belief in the human spirit.
In essence, rowing can be described in two words. TRUE SPORT.

So how do we capture this energy in a visual?

In the Far East there is an art where the quality of the brushstroke is said to reveal the depth of enlightenment. It is called sumi-e.

The artist, the brush and the ink work in perfect harmony to create the perfect brush stroke. In the same way as a rower strives for the perfect oar stroke.

There is one brush stroke which symbolises mental strength, wholeness, globality, elegance, inclusiveness, simplicity and harmony. It is called enso.

Creating the image

Our brand identity has been created by Cravens – a creative marketing agency in Newcastle, England. The enso was illustrated by Shoho Teramoto a master calligrapher from Japan.

Shoho began studying traditional Japanese calligraphy at the age of six. Her mother before her was a master of the art and through University Shoho developed a particular skill in the Ryo-kan art style of Zen - the roots of sumi-e and enso. Shoho teaches calligraphy and has won numerous awards. Her work is exhibited at many prestigious locations including the Tokyo Wonder Wall.

Shooting the film

The film was shot on location at Dorney Lake, Eton, the venue for the London Olympic Games in 2012 and at the Minka House at Kew Gardens in London.

The featured rower is Frazer Brent, a member of Team GB. Frazer raced in the men's eight at the 2010 World Rowing U23 Championships in Brest, Belarus winning a bronze medal. Three months earlier he won gold in the men's four at the Duisburg Regatta.

Frazer was inspired to take up rowing through the 'Sporting Giants' Scheme. With fellow athletes from the Molesey Boat Club the boat pre-qualified for the 2008 Henley Royal Regatta.

In 2009 Frazer was part of the Molesey men's eight that won the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley.

Frazer is Lottery funded through UK Sport.

The enso artist is Shoho Teramato wearing traditional cherry blossom Kimono and using the age old tools of the enso artist; brush, water and black ink ground from charcoal.

For further information or to feedback on our new brand identity, please contact us.

Next story: Entries announced for the first stage of the 2011 Samsung World Rowing Cup, in Munich (GER) Previous story: Knapkova and Cop capture Challenge Cup

Comments

Kevin Scott

2011-05-18

Thanks for explanation. Good comparison, well done !
Dirk

2011-05-18

Dear sir,

The new logo looks like vodavone only in blue... Further more i find the new logo boring and dull. I don't see what it has to do with rowing.

Please bring back the old one!

Cheers!
Don

2011-05-18

Sorry,

It is boring and does not capture the essence of rowing at all. If you have to go into such a long and complex explanation then you have already failed. You are trying too hard.

Sorry...but bring back the old look or find something else that actually says rowing...and don't think to hard about it.....you are putting me and my athletes to sleep.
Yuriy

2011-05-18

I don't know much about Zen, but the new logo seems to have some deeper symbolism to it, possibly something pertaining to Zen philosophy. If this be the case, I don't see much connection between rowing and Oriental-Zen kind of spirit you were trying to convey. If I were working on the new logo, I would go back in history to the true source of rowing as we know it and draw images, values and spirit from there.

But when I think how much time, money, imagination and their very hearts people have invested into creating this logo, I want to respect it and keep from criticising.
Doug

2011-05-18

Maybe it takes a while to sink in but my first impression is that missed the target. I think the logo has lost it's professional touch. The old logo was fine, why the need for a change?
Nick Bunting

2011-05-19

Well I think it looks pretty cool...
Rie

2011-05-19

I like the new look of the website and a logo- very clean, simple, yet meaningful. Very, very cool.
Jo

2011-05-19

I think the new logo looks great.....
Bernd Bangel

2011-05-20

The new logo misses the connection to rowing apart from the word "rowing". For someone not into rowing, this completely misses the trick. The color scheme is odd as it only really matches a white background plus it is a "modern" color which agencies like to suggest as they know this is going to look outdated relatively soon and they get a new order for changing it again.

Why were my previous comments not published? Is there some kind of censorship going on?
Michael Edwards

2011-05-20

I take it you haven't watched the movie above Bernd.

I'd just like to say I love the new logo and branding, brings it much more up to date.

We need to embrace some change in this sport.

Great job all.
Margi

2011-05-21

Shouldn't the site have been tested first before launch?

There are incorrect links. When attempting to advise of the errors via the Contacts page, that errors too!

Maybe if the web administrator is reading these comments he/she can deal with this:-

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Notice

Message: Undefined index: Missing link

Filename: contact/plugin.php

Line Number: 125

Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 300 seconds exceeded in C:Serverwwwlocalhostpublic_htmlworldrowing.comhtdocssystemcodeigniterlibrariesEmail.php on line 1839
Darryn Van Der Sandt

2011-05-21

I like the logo and although I was a bit bewildered when I opened the new site and didn't know where I was, I really really like the design.

The immediate connection between the CI and the brand isn't immediately apparent, (I think) I get it. From the comments above, unfortunately this kind of clean, elegant design does not cater to all tastes, but during your research and execution I'm sure you bore this in mind.

I think it's a massive step forward in terms of design, and I can see myself spending much more time in this space as the previous design hurt my eyes.

Peace

Darryn.
Geoff

2011-05-22

Like any change - some aspects are better, some of the old were better. Overall the look is professional and identifiable. Lets get behind it rather than compare with the past.

One aspect of new website that I hope is unintentional and will be fixed quickly is that almost all the images on the main rowing page are male athletes. Perhaps an unfortunate thing - but lets get a balance established to reflect true values of rowers.
Marlyse Siegrist

2011-05-24

ein fantastischer Film und der Vergleich von Rudern und Kalligrafie könnte besser nicht sein! Das Logo passt bestens!
Gareth Gruenbaum

2011-05-25

Sorry, I think the new brand identity is ridiculous, and even more so after watching the video, and reading the blurb.

It really made me cring.

There is another Japanese wrod/concept, which is MURIARI, which I think translates best as "forced" or "unnatural" or "tring too hard", and that is how I feel about the links made between rowing and Japanese calligraphy.

My understanding of Japanese calligraphy was that while practioners do strive to improve, rather than the "the quality of the brushstroke is said to reveal the depth of enlightenment", the resulting work (Japanese characters) is supposed to reflect the character of the practioner, lifetime experience, as well as his/her mood at the time, etc etc.

I think we now have a brand image which even if it does correctly encapsulate the characteristics of rowing, will not be understood by non-rowers, and more incredibly, by rowers, unless they have watched the video and read the blurb.

I guess I was never going to agree with the logo, as I am not even sure about the idea of a perfect rowing stroke.

I like the look of the website, especially the colour scheme.
Bernd

2011-05-27

I like the new logo and the overall design of the website. I do agree, it´s diffucult to associate the logo with rowing without having seen the film. Personally i like the link to Zen - itá all about focus. For a single sculler it fits perfect. What i´m really missing is the team aspect - up to eight focussed rower, beiing one team focussed to win. But even this aspect can be covered with the new logo - one sign linked with the next one.

Bernd
Thomas

2011-05-28

Branding is about taking the essence of a groups values and beliefs, not getting someone to else to guess what they are and force them on to other people. The marketing garbage is rich in this "branding". For a start, to even use the word means you've missed the point.

I don't see the Coke website say "here is our brand and the marketing guff that follows it".

Likening one of the toughest endurance sports with painting is ludicrous

Equally, the purpose of creating a branding document is to find your key messages - and there should not be many.

For me the branding of rowing should be about self development, community and the environment. Even a recreational rower should look to improve, be involved with their club and region and respect the weather, river and nature around them. Surely this means more than the rubbish about Chinese writing.

The Logo is harmless but nothing special.
Andrew Hodge

2011-05-28

Good Branding is about letting the product speak for itself, Rowing has just been smothered! Apparently a core rowing value is "Rowers put traditional sporting values far above commercial gain"; then why has our governing body just become a brand?

FISA really need to think about improving what they are truly responsible for; providing the best and fairest platform for the best rowers in the world to compete at, putting the rowing before anything else, so that the essence of our poignant sport can be seen clearly, and made available to all by any mean necessary and available.

And FISA have still not answered my question; how much did all this cost?
Anonymous

2011-05-28

Mr Andrew Hodge, you do raise a very good point about branding speaking for itself. World Rowing and it's website had remained largely unchanged for a great deal of time. The changes made, visually to the eye, seem drastic. Sometimes, a new look, a new approach is a positive however.

As an ambassador of international rowing you resemble what some would recognise as the brand of world rowing. People aspire to you and your fantastic achievements. Not all branding has a 'commercial gain' to it. We are lucky enough to be apart of a sport, as yet, not ruined by the temptations of money, but a sport valued on achievement and determination

Your latest twitter rants seem unprofessional for the sizeable part you play and the influence you conduct to those who admire you. World rowing and the technical problems of the new website experienced on Friday were unfortunate but your displeasure with World Rowing seems to be with 'change', whether it be the new logo, website or time trial format.

Why don't you positively communicate and support World Rowing privately with your personal views (which I'm sure World Rowing would hold with high regard), instead of publicly 'slag' them off. To which, the cost of the website has no relevance. World Rowing made the website alterations in an attempt to achieve a change for the better.
Zac Purchase

2011-05-29

World Rowing seem to have got the right information relatively easy to find (once you get used to it!) but my issues are that the site and its new 'logo' are bland. Yes they are inoffensive, yes they can not be compared to a specific country logo, but by stripping it right back we have been left with boring rather then simplistic.

My other issues lie with the website and it implication. I wholly support testing new technologies, however they aren't designed to cope with hugely fluctuating visitor numbers, as I suspect the World Rowing website receives. The fact that it obviously hasn't been subjected to full cross browser testing (or if it has, the developers have very low standards of what they consider a suitable level of functionality). Maybe a better time to release the new brand would be during the winter months when things are quieter and then have the time to fully test a live site and iron out all the problems before getting to a stage where non-rowers who want to stay up to date with news get out off by visiting a governing body's site which has limited or functionality during the busiest period - during racing.

I hope all of the problems are rectified soon, and even if FISA don't bow to pressure to change the logo they fix the website!

Zac

p.s. Amazing how the colour scheme matches up with the new sponsor! Does that mean that in a few years time, we will be going through this again?!
Steve Fry

2011-05-29

Every company/organisation needs a strong visual identity, but this whole 'look at our new brand' thing is definitely trying to hard.

I can see the meeting now when your marketing agency presented the idea. Marketing agencies are masters at selling their ideas to clients, but they often need to be brought down to Earth a little to ensure what they are doing is fundamentally delivering against the brief you gave them.

This now brings me on to my final point. What exactly was in your brief to the agency, as an agencies work is sometimes only as good as the brief you give them. Did you mention that rowing is a minority sport and therefore this identity needs to be something that works both for Rowers and non-Rowers alike I.e. It needs to be obvious not take working out.

Personally I'm now confused, are you now FISA or World Rowing, and if I see the identity in isolation I have no idea who it represents.
Moanes Elsarky

2011-06-06

Congratulation I think the new look is very good and the new logo if we see it as in the vedio like the waves coming out of the blade which push the boat forward so it well be the soul of rowing simply as the thing which push you forward it must have all what has been explained . SO FISA GO A HEAD
Ann Broderick

2011-06-26

I just want to read about the last tour & the specific on the next rowing tour - all the info there is seems to be a generic explanation of rec rowing.
William Henry Borst

2011-07-06

When questioned about what specific sport this new logo relates to, 99.9% of the atheletes questioned guessed everything but "Rowing". "Bicycling" or round-ball sports were the quick and obvious answers. Actually, it is a great "ROUND" sport logo. But for rowing, this idea simply misses the boat. As you know, from the many posted comments, World Rowers need and deserve a modified symbol that clearly identifies their Association with Rowing.
Old Judge

2011-08-29

Re: the new logo. Not so difficult to like, really. Reminiscent of the puddle coming from under the blade, blue like sky and water, start and finish connect as in rowing cycle. It should endure.
William H. Borst

2011-09-26

We all agree. The "puddle under the blade" stands as the perfect BACKGROUND scene for the new World Rowing logo. This is the most symbolic BACKGROUND of our sport, just as a diamond is for baseball, the basket is for basketball, etc. We cannot disregard this. The puddle, as we all know, is the view behind the rowers' oar / oars. But, a puddle doesn't really stand alone as the most significant symbol representing the sport of rowing. Does it? An added "rowing foreground" above, or in front of, the "puddle under the blade" is Obviously needed. The current blue sky and water puddle setting would be a very recognizable rowing scene and a meaningful symbol, not so difficult to like or understand with a rowers' oar, or traditional "crossed oars" in the foreground. This is the rowers' symbol of actually connecting with nature. But our oar blade connection is completely missing in the current "Sky, Water, Rowing" logo. It's that rare Human Connection with-Nature-Through-Sport that we are all trying to convey here, through an enduring logo. And, as we've all learned in World Rowing: Let's Work Together and get this done.
Rowersouthafrica

2011-10-08

Hi,

I think the new logo and brand identity brings a whole new meaning, It shows the true sole that is rowing... It also brings a modernization to the sport as a whole, congratulations on the new logo and fantastic work! I hope there are more beautiful videos which will capture rowing's true beauty.

Thanks!
Alcantara

2011-11-12

hola ¿entonces han echo por fin una película de remo? ¿cuando se puede ir a ver o donde me la puedo descargar? por favor constenme
Menelom

2012-05-21

Yes ... the design is clearly needed to be changed :)
What would be brighter , nebudu (