When Qatar's FIFA 2022 poster was revealed, viewers saw a vibrant black and white image depicting traditional headwear (Ghutra) thrown playfully into the air with a football. Furthermore, La'eeb, the fun and adventurous national mascot, was created entirely from traditional headwear with both designs paying tribute to Qatar's cultural identity and heritage. Whether a graphic designer creates a culturally significant poster or logo, an architect builds a sustainable and dismountable stadium, or even a fashion designer makes waves with the latest Air Jordan's—the role of design in sports is prominent. How has design been used to shape a certain sport or team identity? And how is design in sports responding to global concerns such as pandemics, sustainability, and inequality?
The theme for our second issue of Al Journal is 'Sports and Design', a look at how design has been used to push the game to new levels. Discover the remarkable stories between sports and design, from stadium design to poster, logo, fashion, and tech and how design in sports has been used to bring global and local communities together.
