Witness the fitness: studio graphics and branding for London gym Lyceum Fit

The beginning of January is that awful moment when those of us who overindulged at the end of the past year glance in the mirror and wince, or try and pull on a pair of jeans that just won’t do up. It’s the season of parsimony, restraint and resolutions of dryness amid wet weather. Many will trudge through the icy darkness to their local gym, the doors of which have long been a stranger, and attempt to clamber onto treadmills and rowing machines. This is hardly a surprise – it’s the time of year when those in the health and training sector are not only bodily but marketing-match-fit. We’ve been working on such a project in recent months, creating graphics and branding for London gym and training studio Lyceum Fit.

It’s been a fantastic job, full of energy and innovation: here’s the story of what we’ve been up to.

Creating a new gym logo: collaboration and perspiration

As is often the case when we begin a project, we’re shown some initial logo design ideas that are the best ways of explaining what they like. In the case of Lyceum Fit, co-founder George had created an initial idea in Canva and wanted us to use that as a starting point.

With its sharp lines, the idea of using diagonals with the L and F characters seemed like a great place to start. We began by redrawing the type as a custom set of letters and ensuring all the angles matched across the set. In particular, we found a way of combining the L on the Y as well as the F and I as one shape, creating a sort of branded ligature.

During this process we realised that none of the letters had a ‘counter’, an internal shape caused by the typography, meaning a stencil concept could work. In fact the more we played with the logo, the clearer the idea of using stencils as a brand motif became. We started playing around with the idea that the logo could be  spray painted, providing an urgency and energy which seemed really ‘bang on’ for the project. It’s ended up being a great startup logo design.

graphics and branding for London gym

Defining and designing the fitness studio space

Lyceum Fit is based in Parsons Green and is contained within the 1950s ‘seed bank’ of South Park, a space that has become part of the estate of Sands End Arts and Community Centre. It’s a space I know well as we’ve been working with the centre for the past year on their branding – which is how I came to meet George, Robbie and Sabina as they were moving into the fitness studio last summer.

When the guys moved in, the space had been whitewashed and fitted out with the new benches and workout equipment, but needed some creative elements from the branding to make it more characterful. We pitched to the team the idea of expanding the stencil concept, which they liked. So, we drew up a set of graphics inspired by the logo to add colour and character to the studio.

These elegant, sharp, two-tone lines now run across the walls, adding smart ‘speed stripes’ to the studio, as well as logos as you arrive, on the door and the first wall visitors see. We went into the studio and spray-painted the logo and graphics to the walls and doors by hand. When creating the graphics and branding for a London gym you always want to do something distinctive, and the end result feels gutsy, exciting and full of energy, exactly as we were hoping.

graphics and branding for London gym
graphics and branding for London gym

Internal branding at the fitness studio, a central piece of our graphics and branding for London gym Lyceum Fit

Flexing the brand’s muscle with custom marketing materials

The central reason for our getting involved with Lyceum Fit was to help with their marketing. Ultimately, the graphics and branding for a London gym need to be visible and memorable which means they need to stand out and (quite literally) stand up. In addition to the logo and studio branding projects, we’ve also completed work on print design – two leaflets, a series of ‘feather banners’ and a banner that will wrap around the railings within Sands End Arts & Community Centre to guide visitors to the gym entrance.

The leaflets in particular have focussed on launching the company and getting people to know it’s there, then a more custom concept, focussed on kids and in particular helping teenagers with sports training and conditioning.

As the business continues to launch with a range of promotional campaigns, the project is ongoing. However the beginning of 2023 seems like a great moment to reflect on a few months of work building a strong identity for Lyceum Fit and building on all that’s been achieved since their launch.

graphics and branding for London gym

'Feather banners', an example of our graphics and branding for London gym Lyceum Fit

Leaflet designs, examples of our graphics and branding for London gym Lyceum Fit

Our new banner design, an example of our graphics and branding for London gym Lyceum Fit

Discover our graphics and branding for London gym Lyceum Fit

If you’re starting a new fitness studio, whether offering exclusive personal training or a more egalitarian approach, why not get in touch to discuss a range of different approaches to your marketing in the months ahead.

Whether it’s a case of starting simple or a more root and branch rework of your branding, we can develop designs from the creative to the more minimal and premium, depending on your brief and budget.

Take a look at our Lyceum Fit project portfolio

Get in touch to discuss your project

Lyceum Fit’s website