Mestis is the second-highest men’s ice hockey league in Finland, operating below the top-tier SM-liiga. The league’s visual identity has undergone two documented redesigns since its founding in 2000, most recently in 2019 when the league celebrated its 20th anniversary season.
Design and History
Mestis introduced a new logo in July 2015 as the first step in a broader brand refresh. The previous version had served the league for 15 years. As part of the 2015 update, the league adopted two separate logos: one for communications and advertising, and a “competition logo” (kilpilogo) intended primarily for apparel and textiles.[1]
The 2015 redesign was credited to the agency Whitestone, working alongside Mestis itself.[2] The new mark was part of a broader effort by the league’s internal brand and strategy group to strengthen Mestis’s image and help it stand out as a development league for Finnish top players.[1]
In September 2019, ahead of the league’s 20th anniversary season, Mestis unveiled another visual identity refresh. The redesign was carried out by the advertising agency Miller & Lean, with creative director Tuomas Kotialho serving as the lead designer and strategist Petri Matero contributing to the project. The league’s operational director Olli Aro said the goal was to update the visual identity to match the present day while respecting the traditional Mestis. The refresh also brought the slogan “Suomen Viihdyttävintä Lätkää” (Finland’s Most Entertaining Hockey), launched the previous season, into the new look.[3]
The 2019 logo, which remains in use, is documented as the league’s mark from 2019 onward.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2015 logo was described as featuring bold, italic uppercase lettering of the word “MESTIS,” with dark blue letterforms outlined in black. A stylized element was placed between the letters “s” and “T.”[5] The earlier pre-2015 logo included the word “Mestis” in white lettering alongside a hockey puck.[5]
For the 2019 refresh, the league stated its intention to bring the “Suomen Viihdyttävintä Lätkää” slogan into the updated identity, tying the visual mark to the league’s positioning as an entertaining and authentic challenger in Finnish sports.[3]
Typography and Design
The 2015 Mestis logo used heavy, geometric uppercase letterforms with a square serif character and slanted letters, a style intended to add energy and a sense of motion to the composition.[5] The 2019 redesign, led by Miller & Lean’s Tuomas Kotialho, updated the league’s overall visual system, including its logo, as part of a phased rollout that began with television advertising for the 2019-2020 season.[3]
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