Visa Global Sponsorship Branding & Activation
Category: Sponsorship Branding · Global Activation · Experiential Design
Role: Global Design Director · Internal Creative Lead
Scope: Visual Systems · Creative Direction · Global Toolkits · Activation
Properties: Olympic Games · FIFA
Agency Partner (VIS): BGO
One global brand,
many cultural expressions
01 · OVERVIEW
Visa’s global sponsorships connect the brand with audiences through some of the world’s most visible sporting events. As Global Design Director, I led the internal design effort across sponsorship branding and activation, working with agency partners and regional teams to create cohesive visual systems that could extend across campaigns, environments, hospitality, digital experiences, and client programs.
Each sponsorship needed to feel unmistakably Visa while reflecting the energy, culture, and character of its host city or sporting property. The systems also had to work at very different scales—from global campaigns and onsite environments to local-market promotions and client activations.
Global Campaign
Onsite Experience
Local Market Activation
One brand foundation,
distinct Games expressions
02 · THE CREATIVE APPROACH
Each Games expression started with Visa’s core brand elements, including the brand mark, core blue, typography, and brand principles. The key decision was what should remain consistent and what could change. From that shared foundation, we added colors, imagery, and graphic devices inspired by each host, giving every Games its own character while keeping it clearly connected to Visa.
Consistent Visa foundation
Visa brand mark
Games-specific expression
Foundational Visa color
Core type system
Core brand system
Expanded color palette (RIO example)
Custom graphic devices (PyeongChang example)
Host-inspired imagery (Tokyo example)
Distinct overall expression (RIO example)
Three Games, distinct expressions
03 · OLYMPIC GAMES EXPRESSIONS
Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, and Tokyo 2020 shared Visa’s master-brand foundation, but each introduced its own palette, imagery, and graphic language to reflect a different host culture, location, and event experience.
Rio 2016
A vibrant expression shaped by Rio’s movement, warmth, and energy, with a Games-specific palette and graphic language layered onto Visa’s core brand foundation.
PyeongChang 2018
A distinct expression shaped by South Korea’s winter landscape and cultural character, using its own color expansion and graphic devices while retaining Visa’s core brand elements.
Tokyo 2020
A distinct expression shaped by Tokyo’s energy and visual culture, using a Games-specific palette, host-inspired imagery, and graphic devices while retaining Visa’s core brand elements.
Extending the approach to FIFA & NFL
04 · BEYOND OLYMPIC GAMES
FIFA shows how the same approach extended beyond the Olympic Games. Visa’s core brand elements kept the work connected to the larger identity, while a football-specific visual expression made it relevant to the property. The system also gave markets and partners a practical framework for campaigns, onsite experiences, hospitality, and digital activation.
From creative expression
to global activation
05 · ENABLEMENT & SCALE
As the internal design lead, I guided creative development and led the creation of global playbooks, templates, and guidance. These tools clarified what needed to remain consistent, where teams could adapt, and how the systems should extend across different applications.
Across the Olympic Games, FIFA, and other sponsorship programs, the approach kept Visa recognizable while giving each property, culture, and market room to feel relevant.
