Objective
Winning the "Best Graphic Design" Hashtag Sports award for our 2024 Throwback Package motivated us to push even harder during Throwback moments in 2025. We challenged ourselves to evolve the system without compromising our very firm commitment to 1966 era-specific historical design accuracy. We found inspiration in mid-20th-century creative movements such as Bauhaus, Pop Art, Googie architecture, and of course, Swiss Design. This manifested throughout our design package, but also influenced our photography and field design details. From Game Day to Retail Launches, we photographed with film. And we brought in more details to the stadium, to make it even-more dressed up in the 1960s aesthetic. By digging deeper into the past, we pushed the visual identity of the 2025 Throwback package forward.
Strategy
The closer we get to our roots, the closer we get to our community. Our fan's nostalgia empowers our pursuit of historical design accuracy; knowing that the more authentic to the 1960's era our creative feels, the more it will resonate with our fans.
Execution
Prioritized Film Photography
From Game Day to Creative Days, we captured every major throwback related moment on film. After all, there is no better way to recreate the aesthetic of the 1960's than photographing on film. Whether it was images of our city, shots of our retail collection or game-action, we never hesitated to use film photos in our design.
Elevated Our Retail Collection
We leveraged unique retail silhouettes to create a collection unlike any we had previously executed. Incorporating hand illustrated 60's inspired football character, we shot the collection using vintage filters as well as film to give it an authentic mid-20th century feel.
Illustrated Game Posters
We contracted illustrator Eoin Brady to create art inspired by historic Falcons posters.
Field Design
In 2024, we unearthed an archived photograph from the Atlanta History Center that allowed us to recreate the 1960's field. In 2025, we combed through even more archival imagery to find opportunities to make our field design even more historically accurate. This search led to us improving the field design by adding new wall bunting and field goal padding based on the vintage photographs we discovered.
Stadium Presentation
We worked with our stadium presentation team to transform Mercedes-Benz Stadium prior to each throwback game.
Results
The 2025 Atlanta Falcons Throwback design package was an overwhelming success. Our unwavering focus on accurately representing the era that defined the Falcons' outset created a wholistic design system that fans adored. Positive fan sentiment was palpable. Throwback graphics consistently over performed on social media while retail sales soared.
Credits:
Larry Luk - Vice President, Creative Tucker Brooks - Associate Creative Director Jackson Sipes - Creative Design Manager Jack Ozmer - Senior Graphic Designer Josh Kluchka - Creative Operations Manager Abbie Jackson - Graphic Designer Laramie Diestlekamp - Graphic Designer Grace Eberhard - Graphic Designer Brandon Magnus - Senior Manager, Photography and Digital Asset Management Jay Bendlin - Team Photographer, Atlanta Falcons Taylor McLaughlin - Team Photographer, Atlanta Falcons Emily Hendrix - Digital Asset Manager Serena Brown – Digital Asset Coordinator Shannon Joyner - Chief Marketing Officer Parker McGlone - Senior Manager, MBS Turf and Grounds Greg Beadles – President, CEO Atlanta Falcons Nisha Schmitt - Vice President, Retail Ryan Delgado - Director, Digital Platforms Jackie Kinney – Senior Social Media Manager Kabrione (Coleman) Cummings – Director, Brand Experience Julia Chongarlides - Senior Director & Executive Producer, Stadium Production Taylor Thorne - Senior Motion Graphic Designer Morgan Cowen - Senior Manager, Brand & Digital Partnerships Laura Lanier - Director, Brand Strategy Roshni Hariharan – Manager, Digital Products and Platforms Connor Richter - Senior Video Producer Mohamed Diomande - Motion Graphic Designer Trey Caldwell - Motion Graphic Designer Erick Black - Senior Manager, Video Conten