How did Smörgåsbord rebrand one of football’s most revered clubs?

Amsterdam’s Ajax carries weight beyond football. In their 125th anniversary year, coinciding with the city's own 750th celebration, the legendary club enlisted local design studio Smörgåsbord to develop a comprehensive visual language around the reintroduction of their iconic classic logo. Rather than touching the sacrosanct emblem itself, the team used it as the catalyst for a broader design system built to engage both current and future audiences across Dutch and international markets. The philosophy driving Ajax’s success on the pitch became the foundation for Smörgåsbord’s approach. Where the team combines young talent with experienced players to deliver attacking, intelligent football infused with Amsterdam’s creative spirit, the studio translated this into what they describe as ‘total design’ – an adaptive system unified by consistent aesthetics and built for movement. Typography anchors the entire rebrand, developed in collaboration with CoType Foundry. The custom font family offers 15 weights and cuts, providing maximum versatility across all Ajax communications from broadcast graphics to wayfinding systems. “The logotype draws directly from the typography featured in the reintroduced ‘classic logo,’ refined with a contemporary edge,” Creative Director Dylan Griffith explains.