Bath based branding agency Thisaway creates standalone brand for the Randox Grand National.

The Grand National is the world’s greatest steeplechase. It is watched by 10m people in the UK and 600m people around the globe in more than 140 countries. It’s racing’s greatest asset, attracting both race lovers and fun lovers.

The Grand National is staged by The Jockey Club at its Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.

After two years of racing with no crowds due to the pandemic, Thisaway were asked to create an iconic brand that welcomed race lovers from all walks of life back to this iconic event.

The race is an event of grand proportions and nothing is done by halves. From the length of the course, to the height of the fences and the size of the field, to the capacity of the crowd; everything feels epic. The names and reputation of the course fences are iconic and are known throughout the world. Thisaway’s approach was to give the brand a bold typographic feel with the aim of reflecting this stature.

To communicate the populist, accessible nature of the race, Thisaway developed a bright pastel colour palette complimented by a rich racing green. In a sport where many brands use darker tones, Thisaway adopted a brighter approach to capture the energy of being at the event and the vibrancy of its host city, Liverpool.

To work alongside these colours, Thisaway developed a range of textures to reflect the grit and endurance needed to take part in the race. These ranged from mud splats, the effect of dirty riding goggles to typographic ‘debris’ effects that aim to replicate the impact of the horses jumping over the iconic fir covered fences.

The new brand will be rolled out ahead of the Randox Grand National Festival which takes place at Aintree from the 7th to 9th of April.