Murri Unveils RCD Espanyol de Barcelona Brand Identity
Murri designs a dynamic brand identity for RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, drawing inspiration from modernist Catalan poster design.
Founded in 1900 as one of the original clubs of Spanish football, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona needed a comprehensive identity to honor its deep cultural roots in Catalonia while speaking to contemporary supporters. Design agency Murri—led by Marc Blanes and Clara Faner—collaborated with brand strategist Miqui Cerdà to anchor the project in local artistic heritage. Instead of relying on generic athletic tropes, the studio turned to early twentieth-century modernist Catalan poster art to shape the club's new brand identity. This aesthetic direction channels the bold lines, expressive lettering, and architectural geometry of Barcelona into a visual language built around the club's blue-and-white stripes.
Modernist Catalan Heritage in a Contemporary Brand Identity
At the center of the identity system is Perico Type, an exclusive custom typeface developed in partnership with type designer Gerard Sierra. The letterforms draw direct structural inspiration from historical Catalan typographic traditions, transforming the club's signature vertical stripes into multi-line inline display strokes. These linear cuts construct letterforms with integrated ligatures, variable widths, and modular curves. Complementing the display cuts, the tabular numerals bring rhythm to matchday graphics, delivering immediate legibility whether printed on stadium signage or broadcast across high-contrast digital displays.
The brand identity expands across physical and digital touchpoints with systematic precision. On the pitch, the striped numerals define the matchday kits, accented by the Catalan flag tab on player jerseys. In editorial applications, Murri established a structured hierarchy of matchday team sheets, scoreboards, and Player of the Month posters rendered in electric royal blue and deep navy. Motion graphics reinforce the typographic rhythm through kinetic line animations set to sound design by Pere Joan Company, while the legacy parakeet emblem and slogans like Pell de Perico anchor the club's enduring spirit.
For more work from the studio, explore the RCD Espanyol de Barcelona case study by Murri.
