Yonex Legends' Vision

ROLE
Creative Direction, Art Direction, Strategy, Web Design, Copywriting, Development
DELIVERABLE
Website Redesign and Development
DATE
Apr 2020

As one of Japan’s leading sports brands and the global leader in badminton, Yonex has been the driving force behind badminton's global growth for decades. A key initiative is the Legends’ Vision. A programme that brings together the most legendary athletes in badminton. At the start of 2020, the Legends’ Vision initiative shifted gears and it was time to redesign the website to reflect the high ambitions Yonex had for the new phase of the initiative. monopo London was asked to take charge of the strategy, design and development of the new website.

Telling the story beyond the Legends

While the Legends’ Vision initiative was relatively well known among badminton players, it was mainly famous for the legendary players that represented it. The challenge for the website was to show all of the valuable work that was being done beyond the simple fame of the Legends and the exhibition matches they put on. The real impact of the Legends’ Vision programme lies in the various legacy initiatives that create real value to badminton players of all skill levels and backgrounds. It was time to focus more on the Vision than the Legends.

ART DIRECTION

A vision for the future of badminton

The ambition of the Legends’ Vision initiative is big. It represents a vision for the future where badminton is a staple of mainstream sports, fully supported by wide-spread leagues and club systems. We wanted the art direction to reflect this level of ambition. In our eyes, this was a chance to indirectly rebrand the entire sport of badminton. We wanted to depict badminton as a sport like no other and celebrate the elements that make the sport so exciting: speed, deception, power, technique and sophistication. Badminton had to feel like a rich, modern, multi-faceted sport you want to be part of. And Legends’ Vision should feel like a powerful initiative that is making a true impact on achieving that vision for the sport.

To bring out the powerful and impressive side of the game, we play around with numbers and data visualisation that represents the lightning-fast decisions that need to be made on court. 3D-generated wire graphics add a sense of vision and insight. For this project, we also commissioned a set of four custom artworks created by Hashmukh Kerai, to introduce the four pillars of the Legends’ Vision project. The artwork shows badminton in an abstract, almost futuristic light. They are designed to make people excited about where the game is headed.

TECHNOLOGY

WordPress stripped to its bare bones

A very custom build for this project seemed mandatory to match the standard of the design. This is why we made the choice of building a bespoke API system on top of a WordPress CMS stripped to its bare bones. The template system has been disabled as we instead built the front-end entirely from scratch, coupled with an API relying on the use of several custom fields. This allows a lightning fast experience on both ends of the website. The non-repetitive patterns across all pages and illustrations required meticulous work to ensure reliable compatibility across all screens and devices. We also enhanced the SEO through Server Side Rendering and Vue.js.

CREDITS

CLIENT
YONEX
ROLE
Creative Direction, Art Direction, Strategy, Web Design, Copywriting, Development
THE TEAM

Creative Direction + Art Direction
Melanie Hubert-Crozetmonopo London

Graphic Design + Web Design
Melanie Hubert-Crozetmonopo London

Graphic Design + Web Design
Mai Takanomonopo London

Producer
Fred Mouniguetmonopo London

Strategy, Account Management & Copywriting
Mattijs Devroedtmonopo London

Front-end & Back-end Development
Florian Cordillot

3D Visuals
Hashmukh Kerai