Develop a brand identity for Rhode Island’s first professional soccer team.
AssignmentchallengeRhode Islanders are tough critics and the entire state was watching our progress with high expectations.
RESUltsThe club broke all USL Championship records in its first week of season ticket sales. The online store sold out of almost every SKU.
Rhode Island’s first pro team didn’t just need a crest. It needed a rallying cry.
Having seen the PawSox leave town, rising-star politicians indicted, and millions in taxpayer funds vaporize, this was a state whose heart had been broken too many times to count. So this wasn’t just the first professional team the state could call its own; it was a test to see if our state motto, “Hope,” still had any gas left in the tank.
With months of surveys and a statewide listening tour, we heard from Rhode Islanders from all walks of life. It was half market research, half therapy.
Then, we dug deep to find an identity that was unmistakably true to the history and culture of the state and was something all Rhode Islanders could be proud of.
We reimagined and re-energized the state’s most enduring symbol—the anchor. With the state colors tweaked and dialed up to 11, a ‘shield’ shaped like a ship’s bow, and crackling lightning bolts, the RIFC crest became more than a mark. It became a modern emblem of state pride.
Paired with a manifesto and anthem film rooted in local grit, the brand now lives proudly on scarves, kits, and hearts.
It’s not the answer to all the state’s problems, but go to a game and soak in the energy and the pride, and you’ll realize it might be a start.