ESPN 30 for 30
Challenge
Since its debut in 2009, ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series has redefined the genre of sports storytelling. By supporting individual filmmakers to explore remarkable stories of the sports world, 30 for 30 has become synonymous with Academy Award-winning, culture-altering films.
The team at ESPN invited COLLINS to think about a new challenge: What does the next ten years look like?
The entertainment landscape is rapidly evolving and filled with new players. At the same time, the 30 for 30 brand has expanded to include podcasts, shorts, and events.
How should its leaders define its new future while remaining true to its original vision?
Solution
To imagine the future of the brand, we started by looking at the past to distill what makes 30 for 30 so meaningful. Through research and conversations with the ESPN Films team and with viewers, what we found was surprising. While each 30 for 30 film revolves around a human element, what leaves a mark in people’s minds isn’t only interesting events in sports history or newfound appreciation of an athlete’s life. It’s a deeper understanding of a unique moment in time, in culture and society—and what it all meant.
30 for 30 explores these diverse, unknown or often hidden stories and weaves them into daring, unforgettable films.
We used this as our foundation for a new way to convey the 30 for 30 brand for the next generation. Our idea weaves together inspiration from old scoreboards in legendary baseball stadiums to mid-century movie title sequences to 1990s football team uniforms—mixing different elements of culture as 30 for 30 does.
The new design system asserts itself more boldly, but never at the expense of the the story. The brand now can thrive across its new platforms and new technology formats. Digital shorts, podcasts, events, and the films themselves all work together to drive one strong, cohesive voice and presence.
With a new slate of films that promise to keep the world’s attention, we can’t wait to see what our friends at 30 for 30 will explore in their next ten years.
Team
- Jules Tardy
- Bryan Chu
- Tomas Markevicius
- Michelle Fonseca
- Scott Fogel
- Andy Liang
- Zuzanna Rogatty
- Tom Wilder
- Brian Collins
- ESPN 30 for 30 Team
- Chin Wang — Creative Director ESPN
- Eric Paul— Art Director ESPN