Case Study
Kicker
Modernizing Germany’s Leading Football Magazine with a Scalable Design
Germany's leading sports magazine Der Kicker will appear with a new contemporary design– just in time for the World Cup. When the Kicker team first got in touch they wanted to clean up and modernize the current visual design of their bi-weekly and their special issue print magazine, neither of which have been touched for quite some time. They have a very strong and loyal community, so they were looking for an approach that would allow them to roll out changes gradually, so readers slowly acclimate to the new visual direction.
Therefore, we developed a modular visual design that kept and strengthened the identity of the magazine through revisiting the typography and adding a new side grid which allows for a wider variety of sports. New design elements have made the design of Kicker more structured yet spacious, while the depth of detail has been retained.
The benefit of the modular visual design is its scalability, i.e. the new design can also be played on all digital channels in the future.
Scalability and the introduction to digital channels were the keys for success in order to gradually introduce changes and take all the readers along for the ride.
Along with the visual design of the print issue, we worked on a refresh of the brand's image and developed a logo system as well as a shining vision of the website. This has created a clear division and cohesion of The Kicker products within its own brand cosmos and at the same time provides orientation for the readers.
The Kicker is an institution for football fans and one of the German sports magazines with the largest community. The conceptual work with the editorial teams and product teams in direct exchange with the users was the core and enabled acceptance of the new concept.Christian Hanke, Creative Director
To become a futureproof content platform and keep their leading position in the market, Kicker needed not only to revise their visual design, but to think about modern expectations for content experience, entertainment and extended website usage. We supported the team with workshops and helped them to develop new narrative formats that allow for a wider range of content and styles from fact-based to emotional.
The new formats were first developed in several workshops and then directly converted into prototypes that were extensively tested by 60 Kicker readers.
The intensive and open collaboration with Edenspiekermann resulted in a new, contemporary look which carries the Kicker DNA and can be transferred to other Kicker products. This brings us a good deal closer to our goal of a uniform brand presence on all channels.Bärbel Schnell, Publishing Director at Olympia-Verlag
The new modular design language was rolled out to the Kicker app just in time for FIFA World Cup 2018. This was a first step towards the gradual roll out to their digital channels.
Prior to the upcoming UEFA European Championships in 2020 the new web appearance launched in 2019, reaching a new level of digital format development. We looked at strengthening user engagement and to charging the brand emotionally through a digital lens, helping to maintain the base of the original community while also expanding readership.
The design thinking approach of Edenspiekermann enabled the team to develop ideas in a self-determined way during workshops, including an extended content strategy for an even broader narrative spectrum. The ultimate goal was to guide the user from substance to surprise within the scope of our digital era.
