Olympic sport given a bold and brash rebrand

With the Olympic Games whizzing by a flurry of medals and smashed records, it's understandable that some headlines might have flown underneath your radar. We've already looked at 4 things you didn't know about the Rio 2016 Olympics logo, but it seems that some of the sports themselves are grabbing a slice of the rebranding action.

In an effort to make table tennis more appealing and accessible, the International Table Tennis Federation has teamed up with Brand Union to create a balls out rebrand for the game.

While there's an undeniable skill involved with table tennis, sometimes it can come across as either frustratingly tedious or disturbingly impressive depending on who's playing. It's a way off being an Olympic Games headline event but maybe the rebrand will change the fortunes of the game.

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Dubbed TTX, because initials are always that bit cooler when an X is involved, the rebrand hopes to get younger players picking up their paddles and giving table tennis a go.

Tasked with designing the marketing and equipment, Brand Union also found themselves in the unique position of adjusting the set up of the game. Rules were slimmed down, skill gaps were closed, and new balls and rackets were created by the studio in order to make the game easier to play.

It's a rare example of design leading sport, but if it turns people on to table tennis then perhaps we could see other games finding a surge of popularity in the future.