Designing the Orkney 2025 Island Games.
Elevating a grassroots sporting event look & feel to a professional level.
Over the past two years, I collaborated with Twelve 01 Events to deliver a bold and professional look for the Orkney 2025 Island Games. While the Games are rooted in grassroots community sport, the ambition was clear: to give the event the same level of branding consistency and visual excitement as a major international competition.
We delivered an exciting look across 12 sports, towns and venues. The design direction aimed to energise participants, spectators, and the local community, raising the profile of the Island Games as a festival of culture, sport and legacy.
Athletes competing at Orkney 2025 Island Games Athletics venue with professional branded look & feel.
Football venue with Orkney 2025 branding sequence banner applied across field of play surrounds and arena
Bespoke branded handheld signs for the swimming presentation ceremony
Concept & Modular Design
The starting point was an existing Island Games brand, which required a new level of flexibility and consistency. The solution was to create a modular design system—a scalable approach that allowed the Games’ identity to adapt across different sports, towns, and venues while remaining cohesive and cost-effective.
This modular system came from a simple logo, colour palette and pictograms, made into a comprehensive visual toolkit, ensuring every sport and location was part of the same bigger story.
A gif animation with a quick demonstration of the modular design system
Orkney 2025 modular design system applied across multiple sports visuals, like event flags
Orkney 2025 modular design system applied across multiple sports visuals.
Orkney 2025 modular design system applied across multiple sports visuals.
The implementation of the Look of the Island Games
Turning the design into practical event solutions was at the core of this role. I created a Kit of Parts (KOP) to guide production, ensuring the brand rolled out seamlessly across look elements, wayfinding, and functional signage. Athletes, volunteers, and visitors could navigate the Games clearly while experiencing a unified and striking visual identity.
Modular templates - Creating standard elements such as flags, scrims, posters and scalable modular templates that could be adapted to any venue.
Venue Look & Feel – Dressing arenas, competition spaces and ceremonies with banners, wraps, and large-format branding.
Wayfinding & Functional Signage – Clear, accessible and consistent design systems to guide athletes, staff, volunteers, and spectators.
This scalable design approach gave organisers a practical toolkit to implement across diverse environments, from sports halls to community gathering spaces.
Mountain Biking arena dressed with Orkney 2025 event dressing  banners, towers and branding flags.
Young athletes taking a picture outside a branded venue façade Orkney 2025 at Pickaquoy Centre, Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland
Wayfinding signage totems designed for Orkney 2025 Island Games venues and town centres.
Community Engagement
The Island Games are not just about sport, they are about local engagement. 
To reflect this, I designed kits of collaterals for local communities and businesses. Bunting, posters, flags, and branded assets extended the celebration beyond the venues, transforming Orkney into a festival of sport and community pride.
Residents and spectators  engaging with Orkney 2025 branding through flags and event dressing banners.
Orkney streets decorated with Island Games Orkney2025 bunting and flags.
Local Orkney businesses displaying Orkney 2025 Island Games branded posters., pull-up banners and buntings
The impact
The Orkney 2025 brand roll-out proved how strong design can elevate grassroots sport to a professional standard. It gave organisers efficient tools, created memorable experiences for participants and visitors, and rooted the Games in local identity while projecting a world-class image.
Sporting venue with Orkney 2025 branding applied across seating and arena.
Sporting venue with Orkney 2025 branding applied across seating and arena.
Arena interior dressed with Orkney 2025 branding.
Let’s bring your event to life
From grassroots initiatives to global sporting events, I specialise in transforming identities into memorable experiences. If you’re looking to elevate your brand, event, or community project, let's chat!
Get in touch to collaborate on your next project.
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