NASCAR is racing

NASCAR came to RARE Design in 2016 with a problem. After decades of growth from regional sport to global league, the NASCAR ecosystem had become cluttered and confusing. The brand lacked a clear story and had a dated, clunky visual identity that had gone mostly unchanged since the 70’s.

Pairing NASCAR’s storied history with its contemporary needs, we positioned the brand’s identity to be bold and authentic yet relevant and functional. We updated the NASCAR logo, developed a systematic visual identity, and produced a brand book to guide the brand ecosystem. By maintaining the chiseled forms and racing stripes unique to the iconic bar logo and utilizing a cleaner presentation and simplified color palette, the new NASCAR logo strips away excess to get at the heart of the sport—the need to race.

I joined the RARE team right after the NASCAR logo update was completed, but I quickly became a lead designer on all things NASCAR. I helped design & update the brand book, a task ranging from developing NASCAR ad guidelines & sub-brand structure to building out logos, styling and positioning for the 3 national series and everything in-between. I helped design and elevate the Daytona 500, NASCAR All-Star race, & NASCAR Championship identities to become the league’s 3 crown jewel races, each taking on their own unique styling and personality. I also assisted in building out many NASCAR brand extensions, allowing the league to enter into unique categories while still feeling consistent with the NASCAR system, and developed visuals for events and initiatives like the NASCAR Hall of Fame Ceremony, NASCAR Kids, NASCAR Champion’s Week, the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum Race and more.