In September 2023 Cardiff City officially opened its £8million Academy in the heart of the Welsh capital.
Morgans Consult, and its creative design agency Andco Studio, worked with the team at Cardiff City to design, manufacture and implement a full branding and signage solution for the complex site. A scheme that would showcase the club’s values, playing philosophy, and promote the club’s proud history in an engaging way.
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This high-footfall facility is home to young Cardiff City academy players, the staff that work with them day-to-day, and a steady stream of parents, visitors, and opposing teams. We needed to create a motivational environment for those players, one that nurtured their physical and emotional development, while elevating staff and engaging visitors.
The Space:
The 16-acre site features a tier-two 3G football facility, a floodlit 3G IRB-standard rugby pitch and a floodlit FIFA-standard 3G pitch.
In addition, there is a two-storey structure with offices, classrooms, lecture theatres, a canteen, changing facilities, analysis suites, player care rooms and a 3G indoor pitch.
This is a redevelopment of the structure that used to house the BBC’s ‘Doctor Who Experience’. A structure that Morgans Consult knows well, having worked on that brand and signage scheme on behalf of the BBC.
The Brief
The brief was, initially, to help Cardiff City Academy define the type of space they wanted to create. We worked closely with the CCFC team to help define their values. Answering key questions like what messaging did they want to communicate to their players? What would motivate staff? What would impress parents so much that they would entrust their child’s development to the club?
Once we had a good understanding of who the academy was and how it wanted to represent itself, we worked with CCFC to define the different areas within the space, and how each would be used by the various stakeholders.
Following numerous site walkthroughs, and with an understanding of how the space would be used, our creative design studio, Andco Studio, got to work on creating a look-and-feel for the site.
“I like to see children turn up to a workplace that they’re proud of, our staff to turn up to a workplace that they’re proud of.” Gavin Chesterfield – Head of CCFC Academy
Finding Inspiration
How do the biggest football clubs, with elite facilities, use their academy space? We reached out to some Premier League clubs, arranging visits to their academy facilities, to experience what has or hasn’t worked for them.
We spent an inspiring day at Carrington with Manchester United, understanding how they communicated the club’s history and heritage, and how they used the space to celebrate the academy graduates that had gone on to become legendary United players – Beckham, Neville, Giggs, Charlton.
“I think the mood boards that were provided, the, the level of background work that was done in terms of visiting other sites, gaining some additional insights and knowledge from other places, really helped stimulate some discussion in the office.” – Gavin Chesterfield – Head of CCFC Academy
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Our Approach
With a clear understanding of the facility’s zones, the stakeholders that would use each space and how, and knowledge of the club’s communication objectives, the Andco team worked up some stylescapes with initial thinking on how the space could be transformed.
Using these stylescapes, the team were able to gauge the type of aesthetic the client wished to achieve. We then started to create a look and feel for each zone, proposing types of messaging, image treatments and concepts. Ensuring the client was happy with the audiences we were targeting in each space, and ensuring the function of each zone was enhanced by the branding.
Zonal Approach
The space is separated into 4 main area types:
Motivational
Playing changing rooms, gym, pitchside boards. These areas are all about motivating players to perform to the best of their ability. Much of the messaging is subliminal.
Educational
These areas are important as the students have a long dwell time, so we designed a calm environment where students have the time to read and absorb complex information. AA great example of this type of space is the Analysis Suite where students are educated on the club’s game-model.
Visitor Engagement
From the external large format branding to the reception kit history display, these areas are about engaging visitors and communicating the proud history of Cardiff City FC. Upstairs, there is a relaxation area for parents to enjoy while the academy players are training. This area includes references and quotes from past graduates. Again, this is an area where visitors have a long dwell time, where they will read more complex messaging that may influence their decision to allow their child to sign for CCFC
Administrative
While academy players are the primary audience for the site, their development is dependent on the coaches and staff that work on the site day in day out. It’s equally important that those staff are motivated and communicate a consistent message to the players. The administrative zones are branded with values-based messaging, with descriptions of what each value really means. The boardroom is slightly different, it is the most prestigious, serious space within the facility, where players sign contracts, where meetings are held with parents. We created a brushed metal effect CCFC badge as a backdrop for contract signing photos.
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The Result
“I’m keen to get across that, working with the guys (Morgans Consult / Andco Studio) was an absolute pleasure because they brought things that we didn’t think of.
“I think that what we’ve done together is create a space that is really engaging for all its users.
“But more than anything, it’s a space that really hits the brief from a cultural and a feel, if you like. And, and that’s the bit we’re most proud of”.
– Gavin Chesterfield, Head of CCFC Academy
If you’d like to find out more about any of the products, services or processes featured in this article, just reach out to us on info@morgansconsult.com / 02920 672828. Diolch.
