Brand Check with Heinrich Paravicini: Heinrich is an award-winning branding expert. In this series, he weighs in on the industry’s biggest rebrands. Keep an eye out for more in the series coming soon.
Ever since my son became a soccer fan and started playing video games, there’s been an annual fall ritual that he and his friends celebrate. Whenever the new “FIFA” comes out – it’s been called EA FC since 2023 – they lock themselves away for an entire weekend and game, for 48 hours nonstop.
This year, the whole thing turned into a real extravaganza – something was different, better, faster, more thrilling: it was the new EAFC27. Indeed it’s more than just a game. And it comes with a brand design that breaks boundaries. Karun Agimal — Creative Director at DixonBaxi, the agency behind the new look – puts it this way: EAFC is a brand that isn’t simply played. It’s lived.
The London- and LA-based studio DixonBaxi have become famous as the masterminds behind the brand identities of Formula 1 (F1), Roblox and, more recently, Everton FC (among other great projects). In their brand design for EAFC27, they have now combined their precise understanding of gaming and sports culture in a single project (conmpare it here to the other great rebrands of the decade so far).
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But first things first
Until 2023, the world-famous soccer game with 1 billion (!) active users was still called FIFA. When EA Sports’ partnership with the FIFA organization ended after 30 years, a comprehensive rebranding and renaming to EAFC took place, supported by London‘s Uncommon Creative Studios. The triangular logo used since then is reminiscent of the floating cursor that has appeared above the controlled players in gameplay for decades.
Building on this strong branding concept, DixonBaxi has now created a holistic and customisable brand universe that leaves traditional TV sports conventions far behind – a look straight outta TikTok & Twitch. As part of the redesign, the triangle was transformed into a free-form shape capable of taking on a wide variety of context-specific visual interpretations. The new visual identity combines an iconic symbol with a graphic treatment that creates an immersive experience and becomes part of users’ cultural interpretation. And that interpretation is as diverse as the world EAFC plays in.
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From campaign to culture
Agimal points out: »FC couldn’t just belong to the players already inside it. We needed an identity that reflected the different playstyles, ages and backgrounds that make up the game today. One that could lead the conversation around the most loved sport on the planet. The world’s game. We built a brand system that could move from campaign to culture. Not a fixed identity, but a system designed to move. Giving us the licence to pull harder on culture, respond to it and become part of it.
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A brand people can make their own
The new EAFC identity is a prime example of how branding should be conceived and implemented in 2026 — because it answers one of the most important questions brand managers must ask themselves today: How can I enable my users to make my brand their own and view their very own personal version of my brand as part of their culture? As far as the gaming and sports communities are concerned, this has truly been achieved. My son approves.
Heinrich was raised in Paris, studied and graduated at Muthesius University in Kiel and is the co-founder, chief creative officer, and managing partner of MUTABOR. MUTABOR grew from a design magazine to become the largest owner-managed design agency in Germany. As CCO, he is responsible for the agency's creative output. To date, MUTABOR has won over 700 design awards, including the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany in gold, the Red Dot Agency of the Year Award, and medals of all colors at competitions such as Cannes Lions, ADC, Red Dot, etc. Heinrich Paravicini has served on national and international expert juries and was on the board of the Art Directors Club of Germany for eight years, including two years as president.