Great North Run Culture 2010

Bupa Great North Run Culture explores the unique partnership between art and sport, using the world's largest-half marathon as a starting point for commissioning exciting, innovative and accessible projects.

With the 30th anniversary of the run, 5th anniversary of the GNR Cultural Programme and a new name, a new visual identity and website redesign was launched at a time of great significance, and the brand had to reflect this sense of achievement and ambition.

The logo form is constructed of 13.1 components to reflect the 13.1 miles of the event, a subtle nod to the run without having an overtly sporting aesthetic. Each component is part of a sweeping gradient which references the great symbitotic effort of organisers, runners, supporters and artists combining to create the whole experience. The colour palette was selected to align with the Bupa umbrella branding and is distinct in single colour print and on small scales. The form also affords an illustrative quality which was wrapped around programme covers, folded business cards and pop up banners to create a very simplistic but recognisable motif.

With the old site archived, we worked to redesign from the ground up, exploring more visually spacious layouts and bolder use of typography throughout. An automatic archiving system ensures that current and previous programmes are always accessible and display the swathe of media in a clear and importantly shareable manner - users can cross post favourite content and events into their own social networks without leaving the GNRC site.