Pace® — Sports Coaching Branding, Art Direction & Web Design

A coach who deserved a brand as serious as his coaching.

Damien came to us through the endurance community — the same world that connected us with Pyrene® and Ultra Bike France®. He'd been coaching triathletes in Toulouse for years, building his reputation through athlete results, not marketing. The kind of coach people recommend to each other at the start line.

Pace® already existed as a name and a following. But the identity had been built early on, in a rush, and the business had since outgrown it. This was a rebranding. The coaching was excellent — the brand just needed to catch up to match the founder's vision.

The art direction started with a simple question: what does endurance actually look like? Not the glossy, sponsor-covered version. The daily reality. Early mornings at the pool, solo rides before dawn, interval sessions in the rain. That raw, unglamorous texture became the visual foundation — honest images of what it means to train seriously, not stock photography of finish lines.

An icon for a coaching brand has to work everywhere — on a jersey, on a watch face, as a social media avatar at 40 pixels. But before solving for size, we had to solve for meaning. What does Pace® stand for when you strip away the words?

1. Performance — The triangular form carries the DNA of triathlon: three disciplines, three edges, one shape. Swimming, cycling, running, held together.

2. Progression — The upward and rightward orientation signals the feeling of building week after week. Not a static badge, but a direction.

3. Clarity — Clean geometry, no ornament. The same focus Damien brings to his coaching: keep what matters, let go of the rest.

The proportional system is derived from the icon's height (x), which defines every spacing and letter-spacing value in the logo. This modular grid ensures geometric consistency across all touchpoints. The logo needs to hold at every size, whether it's embroidered on a coaching jersey or sitting at 16 pixels in a browser tab.

The typographic choice was just as deliberate. Inter Tight — a neo-grotesque typeface, modern and geometric — carries the brand's voice across every touchpoint. Its condensed proportions feel dense and athletic without being aggressive. Clean letterforms that read perfectly on screens, from a desktop dashboard to a training plan on a phone. A typeface that belongs in the sports world without borrowing from it.

The colour palette sets the tone: deep black (#111111) as the base — the quiet hours, the focus, the early starts. An energetic purple as the counterpoint — the race-day intensity, the moment you decide to push. That tension between calm and effort runs through every visual asset.

The typographic system extends beyond the logo. Headings use Inter Tight at heavier weights for impact; body text drops to lighter weights for readability in long-form coaching content. When an athlete opens a programme PDF or checks their weekly plan on the site, the hierarchy guides their eye before they consciously read a word.

Built on Framer, the Pace® site was designed around two questions: what does an athlete need to know, and what do we want them to do next? The answer shaped every UX decision.

Strict grids, clear typographic hierarchy, restrained interactions. The homepage explains the philosophy. The programmes show the method. The booking flow removes friction. From the first scroll to the final click, the site follows the logic of a good training plan: each step leads naturally to the next, with one constant goal — getting the athlete to book a free call.

Training recaps, race previews, tips for athletes preparing their first half-Ironman. Before the rebrand, every post was a blank page. No templates, no visual consistency, no system. Now there's a framework he can use.

The content system is built around three pillars. Inspiration — race-day visuals, athlete stories, finish-line moments. The emotional fuel that reminds followers why they train. Information — training tips, technique breakdowns, recovery protocols. Content that proves there's depth behind the brand. Marketing — coaching offers, programme launches, booking prompts.

The templates are flexible enough to cover all three while maintaining visual consistency. That's the goal: create repetition to build recognition as a brand.

The brand also lives on fabric. The triathlon kits and training apparel were designed to carry the identity in motion — on a bike at 40km/h, in a peloton, crossing a finish line. Sublimation printing imposes its own constraints: colours shift, fine details bleed, contrast drops in direct sunlight. Every graphic element was tested for legibility at speed and at distance. The result is apparel that athletes are proud to wear, not because it's loud, but because it looks like it belongs to something they trust.