An icon of Bilbao and one of the most revered fields in football, the new San Mamés stadium is a modern expression of club identity for Athletic Bilbao. Affectionately nicknamed “The Cathedral” and built in 2013 practically on the same site as the old San Mamés, the stadium embodies the club’s legendary values and connects the football team with the spirit and energy of contemporary Bilbao.

In 2015 we were commissioned to create a set of graphic idents to feed the outdoor digital screen of the stadium, a perfect platform for the club to communicate the passion for the game and maintain a link with fans and supporters, and not only on match days. The challenge was to develop a concept that would pay homage to the history and legacy of the club, while appealing to the sporting pride of today’s Athletic Club fans.

Brand communication on the large digital screen made it necessary to meet certain functional requirements in terms of the stroke widths, colors or legibility. The visual game achieved by drawing the pattern of the stadium’s façade inside the digital screen creates a striking trompe l’oeil.