--- title: "Potenza: A performance cycling brand, built from the ground up" description: "Culture Cartel created Potenza from scratch: brand identity, bicycle and kit design, a flagship retail store and ecommerce, from Johannesburg." canonical: https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/potenza language: en-CA publisher: Culture Cartel --- Potenza # Potenza A performance cycling brand, built from the ground up. - **Client:** Potenza - **Format:** Brand - **Industry:** Performance Cycling - **Location:** Johannesburg, South Africa - **Year:** 2020 ![The full Potenza performance cycling kit, jersey and bib shorts, with the Potenza wordmark across the chest](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/work/potenza/hero-wide.webp) Services - Identity design - Brand systems - Product design - Ecommerce Practice - [Strategy & Brand](https://www.culturecartel.ca/services#brand) - [Design & Digital](https://www.culturecartel.ca/services#digital) [Start a project like this](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=brand&ref=potenza) ## The brief Potenza is a high-performance cycling brand that did not exist before we built it. Culture Cartel led the full creative rollout: the brand, the bicycles, the technical kit, the flagship store and the ecommerce experience. Every touchpoint, product to pavement. ## The insight Performance cycling runs on heritage and technical scrutiny. A new name gets no benefit of the doubt. A logo was never going to be enough. Potenza needed credibility with serious riders from day one, which meant one design language that felt as fast and precise on a carbon frame as on a retail shelf or a phone screen. ## The work ### Bicycle and kit design We developed the visual DNA for the bicycles and the technical apparel, so the Potenza look signals performance at a glance. ### Flagship retail We designed the flagship store as a place built for cyclists: industrial precision with a premium boutique feel. ### Ecommerce A digital storefront as precise as the bikes, designed for a community of performance riders. ## The result Potenza launched as a complete brand, not a work in progress. Product, kit, store and site all spoke the same language from the first day, giving a new name the credibility to compete in a category built on heritage. Project highlights ![Potenza logo on an indoor entrance sign](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_1f130732cca143f3-2000.webp) 01 / Potenza logo on an indoor entrance sign ![Potenza cycling apparel and kit detail](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_cdafb3c2f3944418-1200.webp) 02 / Potenza cycling apparel and kit detail ![Potenza flagship retail store design](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_fe52debb574f449d-1200.webp) 03 / Potenza flagship retail store design ![Potenza brand identity applied to cycling product](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_65b29e8a05794020-1200.webp) 04 / Potenza brand identity applied to cycling product ![Potenza cycling brand visual](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_5200da76db2841e5-1200.webp) 05 / Potenza cycling brand visual ![Potenza retail environment and merchandising](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_aff34165400b4605-1280.webp) 06 / Potenza retail environment and merchandising ![Potenza ecommerce and digital brand imagery](https://www.culturecartel.ca/media/w/f79f2c_932d806ad2ba4833-2000.webp) 07 / Potenza ecommerce and digital brand imagery Results described qualitatively. ## Start a project like this. Positioning, identity and senior judgement that make you the obvious choice. Tell us where you are and where you need to be. [Start a Project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/start?service=brand&ref=potenza) [Ask about this project](https://www.culturecartel.ca/lens?mode=ask&ref=potenza) Related work - [Athletic Hearts](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/athletic-hearts): A sport lifestyle brand with an identity built to travel. · Brand / Sport and Lifestyle / Johannesburg / 2022 - [Finery Guru](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/finery-guru): Premium fashion retail. Built to look the part and convert. · Brand / Fashion and Retail / Johannesburg / 2021 - [The Lab](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/the-lab): A neighbourhood coffee shop, shaped into a lifestyle destination. · Brand / Retail and Food / Johannesburg / 2021 [Next project Africa Travel Week The tote bag heard around the industry. Keep scrolling](https://www.culturecartel.ca/work/africa-travel-week) --- Culture Cartel, 8 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 0A6. info@culturecartel.ca, +1 647 459 2154. Start a project: https://www.culturecartel.ca/start