A Malevich-esque Russia 2018 World Cup

[FinsUp1214]

Hey all!

 

So this semester and last, I’ve had two different art history classes. Both have had (really fun) units on the Suprematist (NOT to be confused with supremacy!) art movement, founded by Russian artist Kazimir Malevich around 1913. For more on Suprematism and Malevich, check these out:

 

(Suprematism)

https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/movement/suprematism

 

(Malevich on Wikipedia)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimir_Malevich

 

The short of it is that Malevich’s most famous works ultilized basic geometry, with shapes placed in a particular harmony, space purposefully utilized, and color contrasted against a light background (usually white or an off-white of some kind).

 

Here’s a few of Malevich works for visual aid:

 

 

 

 

And perhaps his most famous one - Black Square:

 

 

 

I found Malevich’s work very fascinating and, with 2018 having been roughly a century since Malevich’s prime and with him being one of the foremost Russian artists, I was inspired to try my hand at a World Cup logo, in turn inspired by the Malevich style.

 

 

As simple as it may look, it actually turned out to be quite the challenge trying to get the shape of the trophy down while trying to still adhere to the Malevich style. I’d love to hear your thoughts on if it really works or not, or how I could get it to work better. 

 

The color is deliberate, with blue and red as an homage to the Russian flag (and in particular, the stripes serving as the “base” are blue top red bottom with some white space visible above as a purposeful nod to the flag’s composition), gold for the trophy, and black for Malevich’s tendency to use it for large blocks of contrast. 

 

As for the wordmark, I chose blue for contrast with thin bars of red and gold, and yes, the black square atop the “I” is indeed a deliberate reference to Black Square!

 

I plan tomorrow on finishing up some other graphics (scorebug, group tables, sleeve patch application, etc) within the brand identity as well.

 

Let me know what you think! Thanks for viewing and reading!

 

 

[n312rb]

This is good, really good.  I'd like to see a model of the trophy.  I think the actual branding will pale in comparison to this.

[raysox]

Love this, definitely nailing what you're going for. I would love to see the movement of lines on After Effects because this brand would lend itself to some great animation.

[FinsUp1214]

Thank you guys so much for the comments! Really appreciate them a lot! And I still need to learn After Effects, but that would indeed be a really fun first project to work with on there. Thanks for the idea, @raysox !

 

Got a few more brand applications done, didn’t quite get group tables done but I have a scorebug, sleeve patch, and sleeve patch application finished to show!

 

Scorebug:

 

 

 

Really wanted to go crazier with it, but I also feared that might get a bit too distracting, so I kept it a little simpler. There’s a small geometric design to the left of the bug, the score is separated by the black square, and there’s no gradients or textures to keep in line with the Suprematist solid color style. Kit colors are displayed in between the two gold lines near each team’s flag (and for yellow kit teams like Colombia, Brazil, etc, the kit color on the bug would be a brighter yellow for contrast).

 

Sleeve patch and application:

 

 

 

 

Not much to say here! Just tried to play around with a decorative border that would be fun up close but subtle in the distance, nothing too loud.

[vtgco]

The trophy could afford to be a bit taller and skinnier, IMO. Also, I'd prefer the patch to just be the shape of the trophy; since the square looks a bit empty.

 

Otherwise, a cool idea! I like that font.

[Pava]

Except he is Ukrainian artist everything else is great.

[FCMacbeth]

The real 2018 World Cup logo is said to look like an electric shaver. I praised your efforts for making a tribute to a well-known artist.