⟪⟪ The Pompous Order of Bombastic Heraldry ⟫⟫

Caliburn

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Now you might wonder what the hell this title means and why's it's in this section
:facts:

Well I've always had a thing for logo's, emblems, icons and the like. Originally heraldry was born on the battlefield as a practical means to identify certain noblemen literally by means of what image was on their shield. However, throughout the ages these images became more and more complicated, extravagant and covered pretty much everything their bearer possessed.

Now in our modern society heraldry doesn't really serve any meaningful purpose anymore other than being a part of 'tradition'. But the reason why heraldic designs were born in the first place is still very well actual: to distinguish and identify oneself. Many companies, persons, groups, events etc. have created their own logo as a means to visually present themselves and unlike classical heraldry, which is tied by a set of strict rules, they have a lot of freedom to express themselves.

This type of modern heraldry intrigues me and I think there's one specific type that embodies the heraldic spirit more than any other: sports team logo's. Many existing logo's actually have their roots in official heraldic shields, but underwent their own distinct development following the years and thus created their own history. It's even possible to identify certain characteristics per competition/country. Currently there's also an existing trend to update/change them because they're too old-fashioned and incompatible with contemporary needs. Sports is business and teams want to portray themselves as a 'brand'. For that stylized logo's are an absolute necessity (easier to put it on merchandise and digital media etc.).

So I'm planning to occasionally make a post in this thread about some new info I find relating to a sports logo and everyone is free to make additions. I'm mostly familiar with football ones, but you're allowed to discuss logo's from any sport.

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Caliburn

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Let's kick off with A Tale of Four Cities

Toulouse FC, a traditional French Ligue 1 team, celebrated its '80th' anniversary recently and to honor the occasion they decided to adopt a new logo.

Their previous one, which they used from 2010 to 2018, looked like this:

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I really don't like this type of logo's. They were quite exemplary for the 90' and the first decade of the 20th century where many teams went for a highly simplified, borderline abstract-styled heraldry to create a 'modern' feeling. Personally I always felt a disdain towards them as most of the time they're not esthetically appealing and they seem void of personality. The connection between the team and the shield has become rather superficial and in the case of Toulouse it looked like a cheap, plastic badge you receive for free on marketing or social events.

The rebranded version on the other hand...

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Now this is what I call an upgrade. The overall specs are rather basic, but the combination of a modern, straight font with a moderately styled version of the city's heraldic weapon automatically makes it feel more authentic. Because the colors are also rather unusual, it immediately catches your attention and they contrast with each other in a good way. Additionally, the central shield slightly crosses over the inner edge of the circular border, which somewhat creates a three-dimensional illusion.

All in all I would give it a 7.5/10. The reason being that in the end the central weapon might still be a bit too complicated, especially when you are not looking at it point-blank range and, you might have noticed, doesn't it seem a bit familiar?

Right, that's because the overall concept resembles that of Manchester City:

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And this does not seem to be a coincidence. I don't know if it's confirmed yet, but it is known Toulouse was establishing a partnership with another European team with quite the skill. What's more it's not the first time City did this as they established this kind of partnerships before, in particular with New York City FC and Melbourne City FC. And their logo's? Well...

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Individually all these logo's are very decent, but when they're so many related to one another it feels like something that comes out of a factory. Then again never change a winning team, right?
 
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