⟪⟪ The Pompous Order of Bombastic Heraldry ⟫⟫

[Caliburn]

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


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.

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

 

[Sagebee]

So does this only relate to business and country logos or is this open to general symbols?

 

[Caliburn]

So does this only relate to business and country logos or is this open to general symbols?

Read the 1st post please. It clearly explains this is for sports team logo's.

 

[Caliburn]

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:

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

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...

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

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:

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

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...

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

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?

 

[Caliburn]

Trying to see if I can breath some life into this and find people who also have a fetish admire nice crests.

Today I'm bringing up the crest of the Belgian FA. A few years ago they went from this:

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

to this:

Spoiler

You must be registered for see images

I was glad they they decided to do a make-over as even though the previous crest wasn't the worst, it's also not particularly memorable.

The good points are is that replaced all the acronyms, which stood for the name of the FA in Dutch & French, for simply the English translation, which is shorter, more universal and overall has more oomph to it.

I also like the matte golden color that forms the crest's edges and runs through the Belgians flag's colors as it neutralizes the contrast between the dark and light colors.

The laurel wrath was significantly reduced and simplified, but I think it works well.

And it was a clever find to have the flag and the black crescent form a lower case 'b', while you can also draw an invisible line through the flag so that it looks like a football.

Overall, it has a 1920's feelings. I don't know if that was intentional, but the only international football competition Belgium ever won, was the Olympic Football Tournament of 1920, which was held in Antwerp. It's also unusual to go for a vertical crest as those are rather rare.

However, they simplified and minimized the royal crown way too much. It honestly looks like someone cut up a mathematical formula and then reassembled it as a crown. But what I dislike the most, is the complete waste of space in the black crescent. They should have added the seams of a football to it, with the same matte golden color, either using an old-school football pattern for the seams or a more modern hexagonal pattern. This not only would make this black void more appealing, but it would also underline clearly the fact that this is a football crest. I honestly do not understand how they could have missed this.

 

[The Big Boss]

It reminds me of a music cleft and the Beats by Dre logo. The crucifix also stands out a little too much.

 

[Caliburn]

It reminds me of a music cleft and the Beats by Dre logo. The crucifix also stands out a little too much.

Both are centered around 'b', so that's not surprising.

In my country, if your organization exists 50 years, you can request to have the crown and 'royal' title to be added to your organization's name. So, it's a sign of seniority. I however hate that it looks like a plus sign.