THIRTY YEARS AT BAT.

For over 30 years, we’ve been developing brand identity programs that meet the expanding needs of a growing list of stakeholders.

Pencil in hand as designer sketches a logo.
A wall of design for an MLB All-Star Game brand identity program.
Several logos from various years for the NHL Winter Classic brand identity program.
Tickets and lanyards for sporting events, emblazoned with custom logos from various brand identity programs.

Building brands that connect with fans from the opening whistle.

 

STUDIO LEGACY

Our roots here at Fanbrandz began to grow in 1987, when Bill cofounded Frederick & Froberg Design Offices. Our studio started with a mix of work, including corporate brand identity programs, annual reports, brochures, posters, paper promotions and catalogs. 

Then, in 1989, we partnered with Adidas USA to produce in-line catalogs for the sports apparel giant. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this turned out to be a pivotal opportunity as Adidas creative director, Anne Occi, was recruited several years later by Major League Baseball to spearhead the establishment of a creative services department. As we worked on MLB, the trajectory of our firm would become deeply involved with the professional sports industry from that point forward.

In the following years, we quickly found ourselves transitioning from traditional graphic design to working with clients who were brand owners and licensees. That experience led us to develop some of the first "style guides" for special event brands during the pre-digital early-90s, when the only comparable style guide examples were created for the Olympic Games. In fact, we later designed the logo and style guide for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Official Licensed marks.

These days, the style guides we create are technology-based. For instance, we created the asset management websites for Major League Baseball in 2000, and relaunched the newest generation of sites in the Spring of 2013. We also designed NHL's Brand Asset Management site, which launched in June of 2011.

With a client roster that has expanded from MLB to work with the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS, WNBA, NASCAR, USTA, and others, we've developed true "tribal knowledge" and specialized skills unique to an industry woven together by brand owners, licensees, broadcast partners, and sponsors — as well as the most passionate and invested consumers on the planet: the fans. 

Having grown with a range of sports, lifestyle, and entertainment clients over many years, we chose our firm's 25th anniversary to rebrand ourselves, launching Fanbrandz to focus exclusively on sports-related work and StyleWorks Creative to focus on lifestyle and entertainment branding.

Today, Fanbrandz operates out of its headquarters in downtown Montclair, New Jersey, in a studio known as “The Church.”

Jersey with a logo from sports team brand identity program.
Two hockey jerseys with logos and other elements for the Bulldogs brand identity program.
A WNBA player wearing a uniform with a Dream logo.
A WNBA player wearing an Atlanta uniform.
A jersey with a fire-breathing dragon logo from the Saint John Flames brand identity program.
Four pages of a print brand book for the NASCAR brand identity program.
Several pages from a NASCAR style guide in print.
More open pages from a style guide for a NASCAR brand identity program.
WNBA logo emblazoned on a basketball court.
Hockey player wears an NJ Devils jersey with a Stanley Cup logo on the right shoulder.
Pages from Green 17 brand identity program.
Shelf of basketballs, each with an All-Star Game logo.

Our studio today.

THE PEOPLE IN THE STEEPLE

In June of 2012, Fanbrandz moved into a new studio at Hillside Square, otherwise known as “The Church.”

This innovative renovation of a 22,000 sq. ft. church followed green and sustainability methods and complies with LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification. Amenities include a charging station for electric cars and handy plug-ins for iPads and iPhones. The building has since won multiple awards acknowledging the innovation in retrofitting the former home of First Church of Christ, Scientist into modern office space.

For more information about the renovation, visit HillsideSquare.com.

The words "Hillside Square" emblazoned on a front door.
The pillared front entrance of "8 Hillside Square."
The studio's brick facade and church steeple.
A round meeting table in a rotunda.
A colorful office hallway adorned with a baseball bat and baseball hats.
An office area opposite a sitting room with a red couch.
Wall adorned with baseball hats, each from a different sports brand identity program.
Wall of framed jerseys, each from a different sports team brand identity program.
A hallway wall adorned with large frames containing various brand identity program marketing materials.
"Say a Prayer for the Home Team" emblazoned on a wall near the Fanbrandz wordmark next to a baseball bat.
Another view of the studio and its church facade and steeple.