Black Dragons

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/ About the project

Black Dragons is one of Brazil’s most established esports organizations, with a history that goes back to 1997. As gaming evolved from a competitive subculture into a global entertainment industry, the brand needed to evolve with it, expanding its relevance beyond teams and championships without losing the identity, passion, and community that had defined it from the beginning.

The rebrand marked the beginning of a broader transformation: from esports organization to a brand operating across gaming, culture, entertainment, content, partnerships, and new business opportunities. The goal was to create an identity capable of representing both sides of Black Dragons: the competitive energy of the team and the increasingly ambitious business behind it.

/ Credits

Client:

Black Dragons

My Role:

Design Director / Brand Designer

Services:

Brand Strategy, Visual Identity, Art Direction, Brand System

/ Year

2025

/ PROBLEM

Black Dragons already had something many brands spend years trying to build: history, recognition, a passionate community, and a strong presence within Brazilian esports. The challenge was not to replace that equity, but to make it relevant to a much broader future. The existing identity needed to move beyond the visual codes of a traditional esports team and become a more mature, contemporary and flexible brand, capable of speaking to fans, athletes, creators and global partners without losing its rebellious personality.

/ SOLUTION

The new identity was built around BD, the nickname already organically used by the community, transforming it into the central expression of the brand. The dragon remained at the heart of the symbol, but was reinterpreted through a simpler, more contemporary form that integrates the letters B and D. The broader system brought together bold typography, a more direct visual language and an attitude rooted in passion, courage and belonging, creating a brand that could live just as naturally in competition as in content, apparel, partnerships and culture.

/ RESULTS

The identity became part of a much larger repositioning for Black Dragons. By 2025, the organization was presenting itself as a full-service agency for endemic and non-endemic brands, expanding into strategic consulting, content production, influencer squads, media and branding. During the same period, BD also reported more than US$1 million in global sales of in-game items through its partnership with Ubisoft.

/ PROJECT OVERVIEW

The project started by looking beyond logos and esports aesthetics. The strategic work explored what Black Dragons represented to its community and what it wanted to become. Across the research, a consistent set of ideas emerged: passion, inclusion, performance, community, courage and belonging. The ambition was to create something closer to a gaming lifestyle brand, a place where different tribes could see themselves represented while maintaining the high-performance mentality that had always been part of BD.

That led to an identity designed for movement rather than nostalgia. Instead of treating Black Dragons purely as a competitive team, the system was conceived to support an expanding ecosystem of athletes, fans, creators, sponsors, products and experiences. The brand could still feel fierce inside a championship, but now had enough flexibility and maturity to appear on a collection, a campaign or alongside a global partner without becoming something else.