Logo Redesign: Fulham Football Club

Fulham got their latest badge in 2001, riding the minimalist wave.  Thing is, it's so plain and uninspiring, I just don't get how it ever got approved.  Granted, they've historically had some pretty complicated badges, and almost always based on the Borough of Fulham's coat of arms, which itself is pretty complex.  In going for something completely different, I think they fell a little short.  The new badge isn't at all interesting on its own, nor does it reference anything uniquely Fulham.  It's new, but it's so dull.  I suppose the only thing about it that references the actual club itself are the colors.  Fulham's kit is primarily white and black, with red as the secondary color.

Fulham isn't a huge club, but it's an old club,  It was established in 1879, making it the oldest professional football club in London.  That's a pretty cool distinction.  Not as famous as neighbors Chelsea Football Club, Fulham still have history and a loyal fan base.

I took inspiration from their ground, Craven Cottage.  It sits right along the River Thames, and the ground was developed around (and gets its name from) an actual cottage, first built in 1780 by William Craven, the sixth Baron Craven.  That cottage became the pavilion for the football club when the ground was redesigned by the famous Scottish architect, Archibald Leitch, in 1904.  The red bricked main stand and cottage are architectural landmarks, Grade II listed buildings.

The gable of the cottage was my jumping off point for the new badge.   Gables are repeated on top of the main stand, as well.  The ground is old school, with four stands.  It hasn't been turned into a thoroughly modern, sleek stadium yet.  Fulham have played there since 1896, so it is a very important and historical part of the club.  While many clubs have moved to bigger and more modern facilities, or others have had a history of having played at many different venues, Fulham has the distinction of having played at Craven Cottage for almost their entire existence. So I definitely wanted to pay homage to Craven Cottage when I designed the new badge.

 I went predominantly black and white, with red accents.  And I stuck with "FFC" which is a motif repeated throughout the old main stand.   I put the founding date of the club, since it pays tribute to the fact that Fulham is London's oldest professional club.  Lastly, I added the wavy bands at the bottom of the badge to mark the club's proximity to the River Thames.

Logo Redesign: Leeds United Football Club

Lately I've been on a bit of a logo redesign spree.  I will be posting some of them in order to document them.

Leeds United Football Club has had its current badge since 1998 or so.  They have had various incarnations since the club's inception in 1919, but I find their current badge pretty uninspiring.  The team is generally referred to as "The Whites," though they have also been known as "The Peacocks."  Traditionally, they wear all white or predominantly white on the field. as their home uniform.  Secondary colors are yellow and blue.

Leeds is a huge city, and Leeds United has, at times, been one of the biggest football clubs in England.  They've been kind of off the radar for a while, but I didn't pick them for a branding update based on recent successes.  I picked them because I hate their lame badge.

As you can see, historically, they haven't exactly had the most awesome designs.  Badges on shirts really weren't all that big until later on in the 20th century.  But these days, a good logo goes a long way, especially in a global sport like football.  Leeds is located in West Yorkshire, and oftentimes they have had the Yorkshire Rose as their default symbol.  I decided to ditch that altogether.  And go back to the peacock theme of years past.  In truth, I should have gone for a completely new look and a completely new direction, but since I don't live in Leeds, and am not an avid Leeds supporter, I really wouldn't know where to begin.

I went with a stylized peacock for the redesign, a predominately white design, with an emphasis on blue and less of an emphasis on yellow.  I also liked the idea of going back to a round badge.  There aren't a lot of teams with round badges in English football.  The peacock seemed to fit nicely inside the circle.  I made countless variations, including many with a more traditional shaped English badge.  But for now, this is the one I have chosen to present.  "LUFC" is also the way the team has chosen to brand themselves, probably to differentiate from when they were known as "Leeds United Association Football Club."  For the purposes of this project, I stuck with "LUFC."

Overall, I am happy with my redesign.  I think the stylized peacock can stand alone as a logo, or work well with the club initials or full name.  I like the idea of a stand alone visual icon as the main representation of the club, though I recognize there might be a need for the club's name to be more prominently displayed.  We are in an age of simplification, and a lot of football badge redesigns are very minimalistic.  It's a trend that some people hate, but in general, I am a minimalist at heart.  The truth is, a club's identification has to work in a variety of mediums and sizes.  It has to work well in a small size like on club stationary or a huge scale, such as on the side of stadium.  And that is why simplicity is usually the way to go.