Football: designing the beautiful game

Design museum

★★★★ The Times 'This is a show that captures the thrills, pain and zeal of a game that grips us in our billions.'

Football: Designing the Beautiful Game at the Design Museum is the first exhibition devoted to tracing the rise of football to the world’s most popular sport, through the story of it’s design.

Split into 5 sections: Performance, Identity, Crowds, Spectacle and Play, and featuring over 500 objects, the show explores the design stories behind everything from balls and boots to stadiums and sponsorship.  
Highlighting the role of designers, architects and fans, the exhibition invites visitors to contemplate the complex culture and industry that made the game into a global phenomenon.

Beam designers took inspiration from football stadia, using light to convey the drama and excitement of a live football match. Bespoke lighting for showcases were created for some of football’s most iconic jerseys.

Images by Felix Speller