Chiefs reveal new visual identity

By Mark Stevens
27/1/22

Times are changing and so are we – now is the time to move forward!

Exeter Rugby Club have today made the decision to launch a new visual identity, moving away from its previous Native American-themed brand, and introducing a brand icon that is a poignant and significant nod to the past.

The new Exeter Chiefs logo, which will be launched in July 2022, draws inspiration from the Celtic Iron Age Dumnonii Tribe, which encompassed a unified area covering Devon, Cornwall and parts of Somerset for many hundreds of years before the Roman occupation from 43 AD, as well as the later ‘Celtic Kingdom of Dumnonia’, which was established around AD 410 and continued for almost 500 years

The change in identity comes in the wake of the Exeter Rugby Club’s board undertaking a full and informative review process over the past two years.

In launching the new imagery, detailed submissions, together with extensive historical research from leading professionals, have been undertaken to ensure the Rugby Club have a brand that not only recognises our traditions but, more importantly, identifies with our supporters and the region itself.

“We are excited to welcome in the next era of rugby within Exeter,” said Chairman and Chief Executive, Tony Rowe OBE. “Exeter has and always will be the most important term in our overall identity. The term Chiefs, however, is equally entrenched in our make-up, going back to over a century ago when teams in this region would regularly call their first teams that of the Chiefs.

“We are Exeter, we are the Chiefs!

“As a Rugby Club we have been willing to listen, we have consulted far and wide, and now we are ready to invoke change. This is a new direction for our great club, but equally it’s an exciting vision that I’ve no doubt will propel us onwards and upwards over time.

“Our new imagery will bring to life the pride our supporters have to support their club, unifying us all under one brand that underlines all of our core traditions.”

The new Exeter Chiefs logo is made up of elements which represent the region’s Celtic history, as well as its links to the Iron Age Dumnonii Tribe, whose presence in the local area mirrors our own, ever-expanding supporter base. The helmet is based on the Celtic helmets known to be worn in and around 300 BC with a hammered design in the style of La Tène art that was popular in Britain in the last few centuries BC.