Our mission was to brand Emirates Team New Zealand’s racing helmets in a design that complemented the boat livery, whilst also meeting safety guidelines. One of those requirements was to have a minimum of 125mm² of reflective or a bright colour on top for on-water visibility during racing. To continuously push the boundaries of creative design, we sourced a stunning reflective chrome blue, showcasing the Emirates Team New Zealand brand colour. Although the chrome was conformable, the spherical shape made the application tricky. Each wrapped section took two skilled technicians to heat and stretch the vinyl.

 

Another enhancement was the oilslick glitter vinyl to catch the light, which was applied using knifeless tape. The lower section of the helmet was a digital print matching that of the race boat. The swish designs were vinyl cut and each laid individually by hand to conform to the rounded shape, then the sponsor logos were applied to the front, back, and sides. Once wrapped, the helmets were put into the spraybooth, masked up and sprayed with clear 2-pot automotive in a light coat so it didn’t soak into the vinyl, puckering or lifting it. This was left for 48 hours, then two medium coats of clear were applied on top to fully seal the graphics and give the helmets a high-performance finish.

 

The helmet graphics were designed in-house on two-dimensional software which then had to be translated into the three-dimensional shape. Our prepress department spent a great many hours manipulating artwork and creating mockups on real helmets. ETNZ were presented with three options on the helmets to choose the most effective design. The measurements of each associated logo were calculated with precision to ensure they were in accordance with the sponsorship agreement, giving each entity the greatest visibility on the water and the correct hierarchy in relation to each other. The final result looked spectacular on the water, especially on the day of victory.