HC Dynamo Moscow, the professional ice hockey club based in Moscow, uses a visual identity rooted in the emblem of the broader Dynamo sports society. The club was founded on 22 November 1946 as part of that society, which was created in Moscow in 1923.[1][2]
Design and History
The core of the HC Dynamo Moscow identity is the letter “D” (the Cyrillic “Д”) enclosed in a diamond shape. This emblem was created in 1926 by Alexander Borisov, a forward on the first Dynamo football team, and was approved as the society’s flag and uniform emblem in the same year.[2][3] The white diamond with the letter “D” inside became the shared mark of Dynamo clubs across multiple sports.
In 2016, to mark the club’s 70th anniversary, HC Dynamo Moscow presented a special season logo for the 2016/17 campaign. The club clarified at the time that this anniversary emblem was not a replacement for the traditional letter “D” mark.[4][5]
In 2017, the design studio Quberten carried out the first restyling of the hockey club’s logo and also designed its game uniforms.[6] Quberten described the work as a “neat restyling” rather than a tectonic change, noting that the previous logo had accumulated shortcomings over years of point changes. The studio identified two key problems with the earlier version: the letter had acquired an extra contour that created a moire effect and obscured the calligraphy, and the shape of the letter and its curve quality were not professional enough. The restyle restored geometric accuracy to the letter.[7]
In 2020, Quberten’s collaboration with the club expanded beyond game kits. The studio created new letterings, sub-logotypes, a merchandise line, and worked toward visual integrity across the identity. This included refreshing the wolf mascot sub-logo by removing unnecessary detail and linking it to the main letter “D” through geometric rhymes.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The letter “D” and diamond emblem function as the unifying symbol of the Dynamo sports society, connecting the hockey club to Dynamo organizations across other sports. The society’s history page describes the 1926 emblem as a white diamond with the letter “D” enclosed within it.[2] Quberten, in its design commentary, describes the letter “D” as a classic element of sports design recognized around the world and one of the most elegant elements of sports design despite its age.[6]
Typography and Design
Quberten’s 2017 restyle extended beyond the logo to typography used on the club’s uniforms. The studio removed geometric collegiate fonts and replaced them with a new lettering style that adopted the plasticity of the emblem. A new font for player numbers was also created, replacing faceted digits that conflicted with the smooth strokes of the logo.[7]
For the 2020/21 season, Quberten developed a new calligraphic lettering completely identical to the letter “D” from the club’s logo, used on merchandise and game uniforms, with the inscription “Moscow” drawn in the same style.[6]
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