The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) is Germany’s top professional ice hockey league. Its visual identity has undergone several significant changes since the league’s founding, most notably a major rebrand in 2011 that introduced the red color scheme and ice rink motif still present in the current mark.
Design and History
The DEL’s current logo dates to a redesign announced in February 2019 and introduced on May 1, 2019. The league described the update as a “modern re-design” intended to give the brand greater clarity, modernity, and legibility across all media. The redesign was prompted by changes in communication and media consumption habits over the preceding years. According to the league, the ice rink continues to shape the logo, with the “basic DNA” of the known trademark preserved, including its form and color worlds.[1]
The 2019 update was a refinement of a more substantial rebrand introduced in April 2011. That earlier redesign replaced the previous blue logo with a red one, a change the league said was intended to signal “passion” (Leidenschaft). DEL managing director Gernot Tripcke explained at the time: “We want to reposition the sport of ice hockey, which also includes a dynamic, clear brand presence.” The new logo was first used during the 2011 championship finals series beginning April 15, 2011. The 2011 identity was developed by the Cologne-based creative agency buergerclever.[2]
In July 2020, the DEL secured its first-ever title sponsor, the discount supermarket chain PENNY, and the league was renamed PENNY DEL. The agreement, which ran through the end of the 2023/24 season, included a new joint league logo that would appear on player jerseys and be placed centrally under the ice in all DEL arenas starting with the 2020/21 season.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
When the 2011 identity was unveiled, the league stated that the new logo “visualizes the brand core” by drawing on unique features of ice hockey: the playing surface with rounded corners, the boards, and the puck. The DEL lettering was rendered in a deliberately “passionate red.”[4] The logo was described as modeled on a stylized ice hockey rink, with red chosen as “one of the strongest signal colors” to carry the mark.[2]
The 2011 rebrand also introduced the slogan “Die eiskalte Leidenschaft” (The ice-cold passion), derived from the three letters DEL.[2] The 2019 redesign preserved the ice rink motif and the existing form and color palette, maintaining the mark’s recognizability and symbolic power.[1]
Typography and Design
The 2011 logo presented “DEL” as a three-dimensional-looking wordmark, with the letter surfaces raised in relief from the background. The raised surfaces taper to points toward the middle of the letters. The design also incorporated a high-end 3D version featuring skate marks on the ice surface.[4] The 2019 re-design retained the established form and colors while modernizing the mark for contemporary media use.[1]
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