Michel's Desk S1E7 – Allez les bleues 🇫🇷
The Women France football club is now qualified for the qualification phase. I think it is the best time to speak about the Design of the Women's World Cup
On est champion
On est tous ensemble
C'est le grand jeu
La France est debout
♪
– Tous ensemble by Johnny Halliday
Welcome to this new edition of Desk, where design, creativity, inspiration, and my personal journey and reflections converge. Desk will soon evolve (I hope), and I'm thrilled to present what I've been working on for the past two months.
This month, I've started to work on multiple projects that are all exciting and motivating for me! However, this newsletter is not about them, so I will present you the theme of this month: the Women's World Cup.
I'm not a fan of football, or sports on television in general. I prefer to practice or use that time to do something else. However, I think this year is crucial for Women's Sport.
For instance, I lived in Paris for many years and was unaware until two days ago that the last Women's World Cup was held in France. However, in contrast, it is super obvious that the next Olympic Games will be held in Paris. I find this strange.
Now that I am in Auckland and everybody is talking about the World Cup. Why? Is there a cultural difference or a new desire to highlight women in sports? I don't know. But I believe it is important to discuss about women's sports and value them just as much as men's sports.
Today, let's dive into the world of the Women's World Cup and examine it with a certain design flair.
✹ The Women’s World Cup
► History
The 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup was a significant event in the history of women's soccer. It was the first-ever edition of the tournament, and it took place in China, from November 16 to 30, 1991. The inaugural tournament was participated by 12 teams from different countries, including 🇨🇳 China, 🇳🇴 Norway, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇳🇿 New Zealand, 🇺🇸 USA, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇧🇷 Brazil, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇹🇼 Taiwan, and 🇳🇬 Nigeria.
In the final match, Germany and the USA faced off in a thrilling game that ended in a 5-2 victory for the USA team.
The 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup was the second edition of the event and a highly significant moment for women's soccer. Three new teams, namely 🏴 England, 🇨🇦 Canada, and 🇦🇺 Australia, joined the tournament, acknowledging the growing popularity or a demand for women's soccer.
Sweden hosted the tournament, becoming the first country to host both the men's and women's World Cup, maybe a major milestone for this sport.
The final match, held at Råsunda Stadium, was a battle between Norway and Germany. Norway emerged as the victors, marking a historic moment for their team and the entire sport of women's soccer. The decisive Hege Riise's goal is still considered one of the most remarkable goals of the Women's World Cup history.
Since, the objective of this edition is not to explain all the history of Women’s World cup so let’s make a quick recap.
The FIFA Women's World Cup USA 1999 was hosted in the United States and welcomed new joiners: 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇰🇵 North Korea, 🇷🇺 Russia, and 🇬🇭 Ghana. In the grand finale, China faced the United States and the USA was victorious, winning their second FIFA Women's World Cup title. The final in 1999 attracted a record audience of 90,185 spectators.
In 2003, the USA hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup for the second time. The event saw the participation of new teams such as 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇦🇷 Argentina & 🇫🇷 France. The tournament more competitive than ever with strong performances especially in the semi-finals where the USA and the Norway (previous winners) were eliminated, but in the end, Germany emerged as the victors.
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup was hosted by China. One of the most notable matches of the tournament was the game between Germany and Argentina, which took place in Shanghai. Germany achieved a record-breaking 11-0 victory over Argentina.
The final match of the tournament was between Germany and Brazil, held at the Hongkou Football Stadium. Germany, again, was the victor, becoming the first team to hold two consecutive championship titles.
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in Germany. The tournament featured two new joiners, 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea and 🇨🇴 Colombia. Japan won the final against the USA.
n 2015, the FIFA Women's World Cup took place in Canada. The event welcomed new participants including the 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast, 🇨🇲 Cameroon, 🇨🇭 Swiss, 🇪🇨 Ecuador, 🇪🇸 Spain, and 🇨🇷 Costa Rica.
The Grand Final featured a rematch of the 2011 final between the United States and Japan. The United States emerged victorious with a 5-2 score, becoming the first country to hold three World Cup titles.
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was held in France (Cocorico!). The tournament saw the participation of several new teams, including 🇿🇦 South Africa, 🇯🇲 Jamaica, 🏴 Scotland, and 🇨🇱 Chile.
The final was played at the Stade de Lyon between the Netherlands and the USA, with the United States winning the match 2-0 and retaining their title as champions of the world.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia, is perhaps the most important tournament to date. It has received significant media attention and aims to create greater equality between men's and women's soccer. This can be seen through the number of sponsors and events created around the tournament.
This year, the new joiners are: 🇭🇹 Haiti, 🇲🇦 Morocco, 🇵🇦 Panama, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇮🇪 Ireland, 🇻🇳 Vietnam and 🇿🇲 Zambia
If you want to learn more about the competitions, I recommend visiting FIFA’s website, where you can not only get an overview of the competition, but also rewatch every match.
Now that you're up to date, the goal of this brief history was not only to familiarise you with this sport, but also to introduce the next section, which is more related to design.
Before diving into this year's design, take a look at the logos of each edition and try to analyse them. There is a lot of valuable information to learn from the competition's history.
One element that stands out is the trophy. The Women’s World Cup Trophy is highly recognisable and distinct from the men's trophy with its spiral shape and narrow, tall design. It was first introduced in 2003 on the logo.
The next three editions reused the trophy's form, but in a highly branded manner. It was placed on the right side inside a circle with a trail, and the FIFA logo was included in the corner. It is clear that the trophy was new because China also used it as their logo, as if it were made with a calligraphic tool.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9ae30011-8b49-4007-b087-35b8058652fb_150x150.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F32511aa1-0821-4937-aac3-6794fd010efe_150x150.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4921c80a-024c-4d00-bc92-c677ba8d47af_150x150.png)
After the trend passed, the trophy remained in the logo. In France, it was placed in the centre because it was the logo itself. However, for this year's competition, the outline version is back, but integrated in a unique way in the branding.
► Design Analysis
Context is essential when analysing a design, the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 takes place in Australia and New Zealand, with 32 teams participating together for the first time. The theme for this year's competition is "Beyond Greatness". I think this slogan is a testament to the fact that this event will be much more than just a football championship. The theme encapsulates the idea that this event will go beyond what we have seen in the past and will be a celebration of the growth and progress of women's football on a global scale. And we can feel it also in the branding.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe9645c3d-c971-4ac4-ab54-9fc1b353e29f_2560x1440.png)
The identity was created by studios Public Address and Works Collective, with the help of New Zealand type designer Alistair McCready.
The logo itself is a visual representation of the passion and unity that football can inspire. It is made up of 32 coloured squares, each of which represents one of the participants. These squares are arranged in a circle around a football, which is the main focal point of the logo. The use of bright colours in the logo is intended to convey a sense of energy and excitement, which are both key components of the sport itself.
The graphic language of the identity features overlayed squares in different colours and patterns. The colours are bold and vibrant, while the patterns represent the Aboriginal cultures of Australia and New Zealand, conveying a blend of tradition and modernity.
With the square-shaped font created by McCready, I think the design is very iconic and shows the world that the Women's World Cup is now a serious event and has moved into a new class.
While I can't predict the future, I believe that this identity could become as iconic and important as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. It will undoubtedly leave its mark on the history of design, or at least the history of the Women's World Cup. We can already see its impact in the graphic design world, as evidenced by the hypothetical 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup brand created by Franco Smit.
Additionally, I recently came across an article about the branding created by FIFA, which explores Aboriginal inspirations. It might be worth a read. You can find the article here: The Story Behind the Story of the Tournament's Brand Identity.
► Design Analysis: France
I watched some matches - honestly, only those where France played - and studied the history of the competition. I noticed that the jersey has evolved and modernised over time. We've come from the oversized jerseys of the 90s to the minimalism of the 2020s.
However, France has a unique approach. Obviously the women's jersey is not the same as the men's. But I think that with the French jersey, we have taken differentiation even further.
Firstly, the colours. Why use a light blue instead of the royal blue used for the domestic jersey? Is it because the colour looks more "feminine"? If so, why was our classic blue used for the Euro and the last World Cup?
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5153ae3a-a88b-471b-9a75-fa4a8e34dc75_900x900.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa60af1b0-349b-4cf9-8c51-b34a23b76cbe_900x900.png)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb1f3bb59-cc74-4d93-b9e3-551ca3ff857f_900x900.png)
Secondly, let's talk about the rooster. I noticed that the women’s rooster has more white spaces, making it seem more detailed and defined than the men’s. But I think, what's most noticeable is the white shield, which has a modern yet vintage look, like something coming from the 1940s.
Ooh! Could it be that the light blue colour cames from this vintage approach? What are you thoughts about it?
✹ Feedback
I am constantly looking for improvements. So, you can make any feedback or comments at this email address. I'll read it every month & try to upgrade the experience you have with this Newsletter.
This month, William Chatspear, the AI Poet, weaves a tapestry of words with grace and finesse. His beautiful poem sings of the strength and passion of women in sports, breaking down walls and paving the way for future generations.
They run, they jump, they score, they win,
They break records, they push limits, they begin
The fight for equality, for recognition,
For the right to play without inhibition.From the fields of soccer to the courts of tennis,
They show the world what female strength and finesse is.
With every game, they break down walls,
For the future of sport, for the next generation's calls.Though often overlooked, they persist,
Their determination and passion cannot be dismissed.
For every young girl who dreams of playing,
They pave the way, their legacy staying.So here's to the women in sport, to their grit and grace,
To the strength they show in every race,
May their voices be heard, their stories told,
As they continue to make history, bold and gold.
✹ Bye
I hope you enjoyed what I had on my desk this month. Have a great month where I will have plenty of things on my desk for you! See you next time for the next one.
Wishing you a great & productive month!
Michel