London-based graphic designer Alfie Wheatley has transformed his passion for Brighton & Hove Albion into an innovative typographic publication that chronicles the football club's entire 2024/25 season. The project represents a unique fusion of sports fandom and experimental design, turning each match into a creative exercise that celebrates both victories and defeats through bold visual storytelling.

Wheatley, who has been a Brighton & Hove Albion season ticket holder for nearly eight years, was born in Brighton and grew up on the South Coast in West Sussex. After studying at the University of Brighton, he has followed his beloved club across the UK and throughout Europe since his early teens, traveling to cities including Athens, Amsterdam, Marseille, and Rome to support the team known as the Seagulls.

Last season, Wheatley decided it was time to merge his two greatest passions – football and graphic design – by creating an experimental, typography-focused publication that would document the emotional highs and devastating lows of each game throughout the season.

Wheatley openly admits that the 2024/25 season wasn't particularly memorable from a sporting perspective. Brighton missed out on qualifying for European football competitions, suffered two painful defeats to their fierce rivals Crystal Palace, and had to watch those same rivals go on to win the FA Cup. However, these disappointments didn't diminish his enthusiasm for the creative project.

"The project became an exercise in experimental type layout as well as celebrating the ups and downs of the season in my own way," Wheatley explained. Despite the team's mixed results on the pitch, he found the process of documenting each match to be deeply rewarding and creatively fulfilling.

The publication also served as a personal creative outlet for Wheatley, allowing him to work on something purely for his own enjoyment without any external brief or client demands. While he established certain rules and parameters for consistency – much like the structured rules of football itself – he also wanted to leave room for moments of unexpected creative brilliance that could go off-script, similar to an overhead kick that wins a match or a risky slide tackle that changes the game's momentum.

Each match received its own dedicated two-page spread that meticulously documented the game's starting lineup and final results. The layouts paid creative homage to both Brighton's visual culture and that of their opponents, creating a unique visual narrative for every fixture.

To maintain consistency with his chosen club's identity, Wheatley kept the publication's color scheme primarily to blue text on white backgrounds, reflecting Brighton's traditional colors. However, he strategically broke this pattern by featuring cup matches on predominantly blue backgrounds, creating visual distinction between different types of games throughout the season.

Structurally, most spreads feature team formations and pitch markings on one side with experimental typography on the other. However, Wheatley occasionally allowed the typography to completely dominate the layout, superseding all other design elements. Notable examples include the spreads for Brighton's matches against Leicester and Ipswich, with the latter featuring the starting lineup completely taken over by large, bubbly typefaces that create a playful, almost carnival-like atmosphere.

The typeface selections came from multiple sources of inspiration. Some were directly influenced by the visual elements of football itself – LED stadium screens, official stadium typography, and match-day graphics. However, many others were drawn from Wheatley's extensive personal collection of fonts that he has accumulated over years of professional design work.

"Some I've never had the chance to use, or some are from projects that didn't make the cut," Wheatley noted. "This project was a great excuse to have a play with typefaces that I really admire."

According to Wheatley, the most successful spreads were those that drew direct inspiration from Brighton's opponents, creating unique visual connections between typography and team identity. Some connections were straightforward and literal, such as his use of Johnston – the iconic typeface used throughout London's Underground system – for Brighton's match against Fulham, a London-based team.

For the match against Bournemouth, another seaside town, Wheatley selected a charming cursive font that deliberately mimicked the nostalgic feel of vintage holiday postcards, creating a visual connection between the two coastal communities.

Some spreads went beyond simple team representation to reflect Wheatley's personal experience of attending the matches. For Brighton's away fixture against Newcastle – the longest journey of the entire season – he incorporated Margaret Calvert's iconic British road signage typography as a visual symbol of the exhausting travel involved in supporting the team.

Since the project was created purely for personal enjoyment and appreciation, Wheatley took full advantage of his creative freedom to experiment with unconventional approaches. For Brighton's devastating away loss against Crystal Palace – which he describes as "every Brighton fan's worst nightmare" – he intentionally selected a typeface that was extremely difficult to read.

"I intentionally used a typeface that's difficult to read, so I wouldn't have to be reminded of the result!" Wheatley admitted with characteristic humor about the painful defeat.

The project showcases how personal passion projects can serve multiple purposes: documenting meaningful experiences, experimenting with creative techniques, and finding positive outlets during disappointing periods. Wheatley's publication demonstrates that even when a football season doesn't deliver the desired results on the pitch, it can still provide rich material for creative expression and artistic exploration.

For Wheatley's sake – and for the legibility of future publications – Brighton supporters will be hoping that next season brings better results so he won't need to resort to any more illegible typography to cope with disappointing defeats. The project stands as a testament to the creative potential that emerges when passionate fandom meets professional design skills, turning a mixed football season into a compelling work of experimental graphic design.