FlyQuest revealed a brand new logo on Tuesday. Their new visual identity is inspired by the team's commitment to environmental sustainability.

The new logo keeps the Q for Quest from the old logo while removing the F on top of it. Instead, the team has placed a leaf carved out of the negative space inside the Q. The whole design is finished with a bright, earthy green that matches the environmental theme of the brand. Their brand colors remain white and emerald green.

Overall the new design elevates FlyQuest's visual identity when compared to the outdated and visually boring logo the team was previously running with.

The story behind FlyQuest's new logo

Over the past couple of years, FlyQuest has made a name for itself as a socially conscious team that is engaged in a number of environmental sustainability efforts.

They launched the TreeQuest initiative last year, which planted a certain number of trees based on the kills, ocean drakes, and wins the team got during the 2020 spring playoffs. The team then ran SeaQuest last year during the LCS Summer Split, which then became the DeepSeaQuest during the Summer Split playoffs. Seaquest was a similar event but aimed at raising money for coral reefs. Most recently, the team launched BeeQuest as part of their #GoGreen initiative, this time raising money throughout the 2021 Spring Split for The Bee Conservancy non-profit organization.

The new logo design was explicitly intended to update FlyQuest's visual brand around their environmental advocacy. The logo was designed by acclaimed designer Clara Nguyen, who explained: "I was approached to rebrand the FlyQuest logo into a mark that encapsulated their mission of environmental initiatives, the dynamic nature of esports, and their inclusive and wholesome community."

Added Tricia Sugita, FlyQuest's CEO: “I wanted something that was more rounded and soft. It feels welcoming, inviting, wholesome, all of those things it brings you. The old logo did have a boldness that I appreciated, but it was just too sharp and edgy. If you get those shapes right, it becomes inclusive, and that’s really what I’m trying to go for.”

Verdict

9 / 10

The new FlyQuest brand design deserves a solid 9/10 rating for its thematic clarity, modern aesthetic, and elegant visual communication.

It is a visually distinct and modern logo while keeping enough of the old brand to still be easily identifiable for longtime fans.  Furthermore, the new design from Nguyen communicates the team's name and environmental mission in an elegant and self-evident way, which is one of the most difficult things to do in brand identity design. The logo gets extra points for its clever and confident use of negative space to communicate information.

The biggest drawback to this logo in my calculation is that it looks more like a non-profit's logo than an esports team logo. If you saw this logo with no further information about the company, you might assume it was for a recycling company or environmental advocacy group, and you wouldn't immediately think it was an esports team.

Overall, this is an absolute banger of a logo and the organization earned their usage of such environmentally charged imagery through their material commitment to sustainability efforts around the world. 

PROS

+ Instantly recognizable design

+ Visually communicates their commitment to the environment

+ More modern and visually interesting to look at

CONS

- Not immediately identifiable as an esports specific logo