Yonex Legends' Vision

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.

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.

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.