Mubadala Citi DC Open Logo Redesign
In early 2022, the Citi Open tournament underwent a rebranding to better capture the essence of Washington, DC, and the sport of tennis, moving away from a more generic logo that resembled the Citi Field logo. I collaborated closely with Citi Bank, providing design feedback and direction to their upper management and design team. We ultimately developed a fresh and unique logo that incorporated a tennis ball into the Capitol building’s dome and replaced the Statue of Freedom with a serving player.
In 2023, following the addition of Mubadala Investment Company as a co-title sponsor alongside Citi Bank, I was solely responsible for redesigning the logo to incorporate both sponsors. The challenge was to seamlessly integrate two corporate logos with vastly different fonts and color schemes. My goal was to create a clean, modern design that would be versatile across digital and print materials, scalable for various applications, and capable of conveying an American color scheme while being suitable for apparel and other tournament branding needs.
Starting with the 2022 logo, I centered and balanced the Capitol building, ensuring the pillars were symmetrical and slightly separated from the outer circle. I moved the tournament name outside the icon to give the design more space and allow the logo to breathe. Considering the tournament's long history since its establishment in 1969 and the many logo changes over the years, I chose to include the establishment date in the new design. This was intended to help fans connect with the updated look and strengthen the association between the tournament and Washington, DC.
Given the challenge of differing corporate logos, I opted for a clean, neutral font that satisfied both sponsors and ownership, rather than using their individual logos. To further emphasize the Washington, DC connection, I incorporated three stars from the Washington DC flag design as text spacers, enclosed the logo in a clean circular shape, and added a red, white, and blue color scheme.
The three logo designs shown below the brand presentation showcase the evolution of both the one-color and full-color versions of the event’s branding over the past twelve years. I am proud to have contributed to this project, creating something meaningful that will represent the tournament’s identity for years to come.
