Concacaf
Concacaf Mascot Design
Services Provided: Research & Creative Strategy, Character Art & Illustration, Design Elements Development, Product Design, Style Guide Design, Brand Design, Licensed Product Package Design, Retail Design
Concacaf, one of FIFA’s six continental confederations, engaged our design team to develop a mascot as the centerpiece of their youth strategy and ambassador to their 41 Member Associations throughout North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
With the purpose of educating the youth of the region about the Confederation and taking the lead in promoting the Concacaf brand messaging, “Love For Our Game,” the mascot needed to be reflective of the many cultures that comprise the confederation in a unified manner. It also needed to have the flexibility to visually adapt to various events, and the ability to become an evergreen IP that would build equity with fans, accommodate and transcend trends, and become an iconic asset associated with the Concacaf brand.
Once the mascot design was complete, we named him Volar (which means “to fly” in Spanish), then Marvel Entertainment wrote his origin story and created a 12-page comic book to tell that story to the youth of Concacaf. While Marvel worked their magic, our team developed Volar’s consumer product licensing program, which included a broad range of character artwork, composed graphics, patterns and icons, a standardized packaging and retail program, and product applications representing a variety of retail categories.
One Mascot to Represent 41 Different Nations
Our solution for Concacaf’s first-ever mascot is a powerful seabird named Volar, who represents the diversity, strength and values of the Confederation’s 41 Member Associations and their love for the game of football. More than a mascot, he is Concacaf’s ambassador and catalyst for change. Through his design, his origin story and his engagement with fans, he will inspire the entire region to embrace their uniqueness and curiosity, and instill a sense of pride in everything that differentiates them from all other football confederations.
Why a Seabird?
There are no landlocked countries in the Confederation, which means the ocean touches everyone, no matter where they live. It is crucial for climate regulation, as a food source, for economic development, and as a source of recreation and happiness. It is where the region gains its strength. We chose to represent that strength by depicting the mascot as a large seabird, which are among the most powerful animals in the world, with the ability to fly as many as 500 miles per day. As a powerful seabird, the mascot can effortlessly circumnavigate the vastness of the Concacaf region, from Canada in the north to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana in the south. With the gift of flight, it is a symbol of freedom, reminding everyone to break free from their limiting beliefs, and to be willing to fearlessly explore uncharted territories. Being able to spend months at sea without touching dry land, it is a symbol of endurance, and the Concacaf drive to work hard, go that extra mile, and never give up.
Why Volar?
We chose the name Volar for Concacaf’s mascot because it means “to fly” in Spanish, one of the Confederation’s four official languages. It is also a close representation of the word in two of the region’s other languages: Voler in French and Vlieg in Dutch. Volar’s ability to fly speaks to the Confederation’s ambition to reach new heights.
For a behind-the-scenes look at Volar’s development, watch the interview with Ted Mininni, our President and Creative Director.
Every Physical Attribute, Meaningfully Designed
Wingspan
We’ve represented the 41 Concacaf Member Associations within Volar’s massive wingspan, which is made up of the 41 diamond shapes from the Concacaf Unity Symbol, each containing a Concacaf Member Association’s flag. Much like the Unity Symbol itself, Volar’s wings symbolically represent the unity of all 41 nations as one confederation.
Uniform
Volar is wearing a football uniform in the Concacaf color palette of gold and black. The Concacaf Unity Symbol and diamond motifs appear on each shoulder, with the diamond repeating on his shorts and cleats. His wingspan attaches along the back of his arms and across his back with a harness. The harness wraps over his shoulders and anchors to a circular device at the center of his chest, which contains the Unity Symbol and gold football.
Appearance
We gave Volar a strong and muscular physical build, much like a super hero. And, his facial expression is fierce, yet friendly. The shape of his head and beak, along with the black brow detail above his eyes, depict the distinctive features of a heroic seabird.
Logo
The Volar logo combines bold, extruded typography in black and gold, with the circular device from his chest, which serves as the “O.” Its upward-sweeping arc suggests “flight.” And, if you look closely, you’ll find that we’ve cleverly embedded the number 41 into the “A” and “R” to represent the 41 Concacaf Member Associations.
Once Volar’s design was completed, we began the development of the mascot’s consumer product licensing program style guide. We created a broad range of character art poses that depict Volar in various scenarios – in flight, hovering, landing, standing heroically, and playing his favorite sport – to bring him to life.
We then established 8 different inspirational editorial phrases that convey the core Concacaf brand messaging while celebrating the uniqueness of the
Confederation and the collective mindset of its 41 Member Associations. These editorial phrases, along with the character art poses, have been incorporated into the Volar licensing program’s design elements, which include a variety of composed graphics, patterns, icons and type treatments.
The design elements are the foundation of the licensing program’s visual aesthetic – the primary components used in the development of licensed consumer products.
Our design team then applied the design elements to a broad range of product inspiration representing a variety of categories, including apparel and accessories, consumer electronics, back-to-school, home goods, fan gear, and even luxe categories such as collectible jewelry, travel bags and activewear.
These product concepts were included in the Volar licensing program style guide to inspire creativity among licensees, convey the proper visual aesthetic for product development, and turn the style guide into a powerful tool that can be leveraged to inspire new licensee partnerships.
The Volar licensing program style guide culminates with a comprehensive, standardized packaging program and a versatile retail display program to ensure that Volar licensed consumer products will generate excitement among fans throughout the Confederation through a visually-cohesive brand statement within the retail environment.
The packaging program addresses the blister card, box and hang tag formats, while the retail program features free-standing, end cap and boutique displays, with Volar and the Concacaf LOVE FOR OUR GAME brand messaging front and center. Both touch points highlight the fact that Marvel has written Volar’s origin story, and drive traffic to the Volar website through a QR code.
A special thanks to all who made this endeavor possible and Volar’s launch successful: to Athlife for establishing the promotional partnership between Concacaf and Marvel, and for connecting Design Force, Inc. with Concacaf,
