Helping Vancouver celebrate with the Home Turf Toolkit

Entered by Destination VancouverWhen Vancouver was selected as one of the 16 Host Cities for the 2026 World Cup, local businesses recognized a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Vancouver thrives on its visitor economy, and seven matches on the world's biggest sporting stage would bring thousands of new visitors to the city.However, strict intellectual property guidelines created a significant challenge. Memories of the legal disputes surrounding the 2010 Olympic Games—including the widely publicised case of family-owned Olympic Pizza receiving legal threats over its name—left many businesses hesitant to engage. The Host Committee, responsible for managing FIFA's intellectual property in the city, issued a Community Activation Playbook, outlining rigid restrictions on the use of FIFA trademarks and official branding, leaving businesses uncertain about how they could celebrate without risking infringement.For example, businesses were not permitted to use terms such as "World Cup," "FIFA," or even "We Are Vancouver." For many small businesses, creating original campaign assets or navigating complex brand guidelines wasn't feasible. Yet these same businesses play a vital role in shaping the visitor experience and creating the welcoming atmosphere that defines Vancouver.In short: Businesses in the city wanted to celebrate, but didn't know how to.StrategyDestination Vancouver’s objective was simple: to remove barriers for businesses while creating a consistent visual identity that would make Vancouver feel unmistakably united during the FIFA World Cup 26™. The strategy centred on creating a flexible, digital toolkit of legally approved assets and editable templates that businesses of all sizes could easily adopt. Achieving this required close collaboration with the Host Committee to establish clear design parameters around colours, language, and graphic elements that complied with FIFA's intellectual property requirements, while still allowing businesses the creative freedom to make it their own.Rather than relying on generic football imagery, every graphic element was intentionally rooted in Vancouver's identity, allowing businesses to celebrate a global event through a distinctly local lens. At the heart of the visual identity was the "Waving Flag" motif, symbolising the nations coming together through football while evoking celebration, movement, and civic pride. Supporting textures and icons drew inspiration from Vancouver's defining natural and cultural assets, including the ocean, rain, mountain peaks, forests, BC Place stadium, and an orca. The toolkit colour palette blended the Host Committee's event colours with Destination Vancouver's established brand palette, creating a visual language that felt both globally connected and unmistakably local. The system was intentionally designed to scale across physical signage, digital channels, public art, wayfinding, and events while maintaining a consistent visual identity.The result was a flexible design system that enabled hundreds of unique applications while ensuring the city presented a cohesive, unmistakably Vancouver experience throughout the tournament.ImplementationThe Home Turf Toolkit was a publicly available visual identity system providing the creative direction and practical guardrails needed for businesses to create cohesive, impactful marketing celebrating World Cup in Vancouver while respecting tournament brand requirements. Hosted on a dedicated microsite, the Toolkit provided:Colour palettes – PMS, HEX, RGB, and CMYK values, along with guidance on colour combinationsTypography – Downloadable fonts and recommendations for hierarchy and spacingGraphic elements – A library of icons and patterns and the signature Waving Flag motifMessaging guidance – Tone of voice recommendations and clear guidance on FIFA trademark and languagerestrictionsLayout principles – Design guidance to ensure consistency and flexibility across applicationsEditable templates – Ready-to-use templates in Adobe InDesign and Canva, making the toolkit accessible to organisations regardless of their design capabilitiesInspiration gallery – Real-world mockups demonstrating how the identity could be applied across posters, signage, merchandise, digital assets, and moreAdoption was supported through member webinars and presentations, direct promotion via Destination Vancouver's member newsletter, and close collaboration with local Business Improvement Associations. To further reduce barriers, Destination Vancouver partnered with local print suppliers to ensure businesses could reach out to them to produce professionally printed signs, banners, and promotional materials. By combining an accessible design system with practical implementation support, the Home Turf Toolkit enabled organisations of every size to confidently participate in creating a cohesive, city-wide celebration. The best way to understand everything in it is to check out the Toolkit itself.ResultsThe Home Turf Toolkit successfully created a unified visual identity across Vancouver, helping businesses, attractions, and public spaces collectively celebrate the World Cup. Combined with the Host Committee's city banners and wayfinding, the shared design language transformed the city into a cohesive, welcoming environment for residents and visitors.Organisations across multiple sectors adopted the toolkit. Yaletown, the neighbourhood district next to the stadium, utilised the Toolkit for wayfinding, celebratory messaging, and public art installations, including giant soccer cleats. The Bentall Centre integrated the design system throughout its "Pitchside Patio" viewing party with event signage, banners, and vibrant graphics across their property. The West End neighbourhood brought the toolkit to life by producing custom flags for activations, while West Coast Sightseeing brought the Toolkit into the city streets with branded bus signage. Many other businesses adopted the toolkit across their websites and social media channels.The toolkit's accessibility was a key driver of its success. One participating business described it as "very easy to use, and made my life easier," while member organisations noted that "it was great to see the city come together and feel unified," ultimately demonstrating its success in creating a shared sense of civic pride across Vancouver.

Helping Vancouver celebrate with the Home Turf Toolkit

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