UCI Logo PNG
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the global governing body of all cycling disciplines, founded in 1900 by the founding countries Belgium, Great Britain, Italy, and France. From its headquarters in Egle, Switzerland, the UCI oversees the work of national cycling federations around the world. The Union consists of two international federations: The International Amateur Cycling Federation – FIAC and the International Federation of Professional Cycling – FICP.
Meaning and history
The Union Cycliste Internationale, which is one of the oldest international sports associations, was established on June 14, 1900, to replace the International Cycling Association (ICA). Since then, the UCI has promoted and regulated cycling in all its forms and for all people as a competitive sport, healthy leisure, and environmentally friendly means of transport.
The UCI began as an alliance of just five countries that founded the organization. They were Belgium, Great Britain, Italy and France. But in 50 years after the founding of the union, it included cycling federations in 87 countries, and today their number has grown to 205. However, French is still the official language of the UCI. The Union exists on the annual membership fees of national cycling federations, income from international competitions, and professional cycling.
The UCI governs and promotes eight cycling disciplines: road, track, mountain bike, BMX racing, BMX freestyle, cyclo-cross, trials, and indoor cycling. Five of these are included in the Olympic Games, two in the Paralympic Games, and four in the Youth Olympic Games. Apart from the Olympics, the Union Cycliste Internationale promotes its own events, most notably the UCI World Championships in all disciplines.
In terms of visual identity, Union Cycliste Internationale follows all the requirements for a strong and memorable logo, using stable shapes and bright colors to create a minimalistic and professional concept.
1900 – 19??
The very first logo of the Union, designed in 1900, was super modest and simple. It featured a narrowed abbreviation written in bold dark-gray lines against a transparent background without any additions. The wordmark was set in a modern rounded sans-serif rule face which looked pretty stylish and stable.
19?? – 199?
After the first redesign, the UCI badge concept was completely changed. The new badge featured a pentagonal crest shape with a white roundel, where the abbreviation was written, set in the center. The pentagon was split into five equal segments in different colors — blue, red, black, yellow, and green.
199? – 2015
In the 1990s the logo of the Union Cycliste Internationale was redesigned again, gaining a more modern look and distinctive lines. The five colors from the pentagon turned into five horizontal lines, drawn on the left from the bold black abbreviation with the lowercase “I”. The black inscription was underlined by a solid black swoosh line.
2015 – Today
In 2015 the UCI logo was simplified, yet kept its style and color palette. The horizontal colorful lines were now making one figure, placed with no spacing in between. The swoosh was removed from the composition, while the UCI wordmark was enlarged and rewritten in the uppercase of a more geometric and strict font. The right part of the badge is now taken by the full name of the organization, written in three levels, also in black.
Font and color
The bold and strong lettering from the primary logo of the Union Cycliste Internationale is set in the uppercase of a modern geometric sans-serif typeface, which looks pretty close to such commercial fonts as Nexa, Posteramatrade, or Commuters Sanstrade.
As for the color palette of the UCI visual identity, it repeats the scheme of the Olympic rings emblem, having five main shades, to represent the global presence of the organization and the unity of 205 international cycling federations.
