The Design Decision Behind Werder Bremen's New Identity That Every Creative Should Study

About the Design System

Werder Bremen and Munich design studio Societas have spent the past year building a complete visual identity system for one of Germany's oldest football clubs. The result is a thoughtful exploration of heritage, geometry, and place-based design.

Typography

Bruckmeyer Neue is a bespoke serif typeface developed exclusively for the club, named after Günther Bruckmeyer, the commercial artist who drew the first Werder W by hand in 1924. This W became the design origin of the diamond at the center of the club's identity. Societas took the geometry of that original letterform and built an entire typeface around it, ensuring every character carries the proportions and spirit of pre-digital craftsmanship. The typeface will appear on shirts, scoreboards, digital platforms, and all club-owned surfaces.

Color System

The expanded palette features tones named after Bremen geography and culture:

• Werder Grün – the primary color.
• Wesernebel Grau – Weser mist grey, a cool Hanseatic neutral.
• Weserlicht Grün – a vibrant tone for energy and digital applications.
• Legenden Gold – reserved exclusively for moments and people who shaped the club's history.

Naming colors after their place of origin transforms the palette from arbitrary to specific, grounding the system in local identity.

Core Identity

The diamond remained untouched as the benchmark of the system. Its clarity and timelessness guided every design decision—from sharpening Werder Green to structuring the entire visual language around it. This approach distinguishes evolving an identity from replacing one, a distinction worth studying beyond football.