Border to Hel VIII


Event & Creative Direction: Tempo
Art Direction: Joy Studio
photos: Katarzyna Milewska
 Border to Hel is a 466 km team relay race stretching from Poland's northern border to the Hel Peninsula. Teams of six — one running, one biking — cover the entire distance with no support, no stops, and no quitting. Joy Studio was responsible for the complete art direction and visual identity of Border to Hel VIII.

Year by year, Border to Hel has grown into one of the most distinctive endurance events in Europe, attracting international participants for whom the Polish countryside feels exotic, unfamiliar, and full of character. The brief was to build a visual identity that reflected that — not another urban running aesthetic, but something rooted in the landscape and culture the race passes through.








Most events in this space draw from the same pool of urban references. Border to Hel runs through the Polish wilderness — it made sense to go the other way. Folk culture was the obvious answer.

We built the BTH logotype using old folk-inspired typefaces — letterforms that carry their own story and mythology. Each letter references Polish folk art and symbolism, turning the logo into a visual narrative rather than just a wordmark.

 To keep the system from feeling purely archaic, we paired the folk references with a neon green. The contrast brought contemporary energy to the identity and made the materials unmissable in the field — on a runner's back at 3am, or on a YETI cooler at a checkpoint.

The letterforms were also built to grow. Each edition of Border to Hel can carry new meanings, symbols and references within the same system — the identity evolves with the race.


























The visual identity system included the BTH logotype, a full typography and colour system, sticker pack, and a complete set of event materials. The identity was extended through a merch capsule designed in collaboration with Adidas — apparel and accessories built as real objects of the BTH world, not giveaways.

We also designed coffee labels for HAYB, one of Poland's best specialty coffee roasters, who joined as a partner — another physical touchpoint that carried the BTH identity beyond the race itself.








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