Fitness First is an international network of fitness centers headquartered in Poole, United Kingdom.
The first club of the network started working in 1993 in Bournemouth, UK. In 2000, the brand appeared in Australia.
What is Fitness First?
Fitness First is the name of a British chain of gyms, which was established at the beginning of the 1990s. Today Fitness First has more than 350 fitness centers located in 17 countries across the globe, including Australia, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, and other counties in the Middle Eastern region.
The oldest version of the Fitness First logo on the list looks more elegant than sporty. The glyphs come from a cursive script but aren’t connected with each other, except for the first two letters in each of the words, the “F” and “I” combinations. These combinations form a visual rhythm adding some motion to the logo. The fact that the glyphs are tilted (like in a typical cursive script) also produces a dynamic effect.
The refined, rather thin letters can be described as “feminine” and “slim” rather than “strong” and “muscular.”
The updated version appears to have a wider appeal as it doesn’t use the “feminine-style” cursive.
To begin with, the logo is dominated by a large red glyph, which is both heavy and dynamic. What’s even more important, the glyph combines the number “1” with the letter “F.” Both of them have a vertical line, which is used as a shared axis. The emblem gives the brand a bright, energetic, and instantly recognizable identity.
Yet, if the brand is unfamiliar to you, you’ll be unable to decipher its name using only the logo. That’s why the company places its full name under the “F” or next to it. This is where you can trace the connection with the previous logo.
As a result, the updated logo projects a more “strong” and “powerful” image (due to the “F”), while preserving some of its elegance (due to the wordmark below).
The new brand identity was developed in collaboration with MercerBell, a customer experience agency, and Ogilvy PR Health, a global network providing solutions for brand building.
While the wordmark is black and features an italicized type, the glyphs appear simpler. This partly results from the disappearance of some of the decorative curves and tails. Also, the more minimalist look results from the fact that the thickness of the strokes is almost the same now, while in the previous version, the variations were very apparent.
Red is the color associated with energy and passion, so it is only natural that it was used in the Fitness First logo. The 1999 version, where the wordmark was dark blue, looked calmer and more “intellectual” (as blue is often associated with mental activity).