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NWSL Expansion by mcrosby: Kansas City added 12/25


mcrosby

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FULL PROJECT HERE. Please go appreciate it on Behance.

 

The National Women's Soccer League gained some much deserved traction during the World Cup and will be adding clubs very soon. Rumors abound that we'll see teams in Louisville, Atlanta, and Sacramento within the next two years. 

 

So far, I've only done a single logo, so I'll be looking for help with team names and logo ideas. Let me know what you're thinking for: 

  • Louisville
  • Atlanta
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami
  • Minnesota
  • Indianapolis
  • any other city!

 

First up: Ursa Sacramento FC

 

Sacramento Republic FC has shown the fervor for soccer in HotSac, and now it's the ladies' turn. I've redone the SFC logo before, but I wanted to go a different direction with this concept. The She-Bears go by Ursa Sacramento FC and have a crest that reflects the flag of the California Republic. 

Q2WnFg7.png

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Dang it, I've been working on and off on a NWSL series myself, but I can't compete with mcrosby! 😝

 

The logo looks excellent, but it feels like a great Sacramento Republic concept (even cooler than your actual one, I might add!) The identity should be a bit more distinct, IMO. Maybe lean into the Quails thing or something similar? I'm not feeling the detailed map in the R, though.

 

I'm curious to see your ideas for Miami and Indiana! Good work as usual.

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2 hours ago, vtgco said:

Dang it, I've been working on and off on a NWSL series myself, but I can't compete with mcrosby! 😝

 

The logo looks excellent, but it feels like a great Sacramento Republic concept (even cooler than your actual one, I might add!) The identity should be a bit more distinct, IMO. Maybe lean into the Quails thing or something similar? I'm not feeling the detailed map in the R, though.

 

I'm curious to see your ideas for Miami and Indiana! Good work as usual.

 

I can't wait to see what you've been working on! Your CPL thread was great. Interesting point about the quails, I hadn't considered it because URSA seemed like such a great name, literally translating to She-Bear. 

I've really been struggling to come up with good club names. Here's hoping I get some good ideas from this thread. 

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I know that NC already has a team with the Courage, but I'd love to see your take on a Charlotte team. I feel like Queens would be the obvious choice for a name, really leaning into the Queen City nickname. I'll also echo the idea for Gemini for Minnesota.

the user formerly known as cdclt

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Let's assume the Minnesota club will be affiliated with MNUFC. The loons have one of the best looks in the MLS, best not to stray too far, but why not get a little weird with the NWSL side. Minnesota is as full of Nordic heritage as any place in the US, and they play Duck Duck Goose all wrong because of it. Welcome the Gray Ducks to the NWSL. (if this isn't well received I might consider Gemini)

SSD8LE7.png

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The first A is much better for Atlanta, and I like the drumsticks, it's a nice touch. You could adjust the stem & leaf to make a the logo look like an eighth note!

 

Excellent idea with Houston! Love the stars. The visor should be inside the helmet a bit more, though, and the ball is too detailed.

 

Minnesota is WAY too similar to the Loons, especially when the bird still looks the exact same. It would be great to use a duck with some markings in a different position (a  scaup duck, perhaps?) A different background (Nordic cross instead of sash?) might help too.

 

Maybe a barracuda or turtle theme could work for Miami?

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Speaking as a Twin Citian, I think MNUFC has a gorgeous brand, but I would want a women's team to have a distinct identity. I hate it when branding reflects a "sister team" status (like a few WNBA teams)--it makes it feel like the women's team is dependent on the men's team. And the fans at a Loons game are a good deal more diverse than Scandinavian, especially thanks to the large immigrant population here, and I think such a distinctly Scandinavian brand would freeze some fans out. But if you want to keep with this scheme, though, I'd definitely change up the color distribution so the "duck" is grey, which would also push it away from just being a clone of the Loons badge.

rATMcmK.png

 

 

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1 hour ago, Whittier S said:

Speaking as a Twin Citian, I think MNUTD has a gorgeous brand, but I would want a women's team to have a distinct identity. I hate it when branding reflects a "sister team" status (like a few WNBA teams)--it makes it feel like the women's team is dependent on the men's team. And the fans at a Loons game are a good deal more diverse than Scandinavian, especially thanks to the large immigrant population here, and I think such a distinctly Scandinavian brand would freeze some fans out. But if you want to keep with this scheme, though, I'd definitely change up the color distribution so the "duck" is grey, which would also push it away from just being a clone of the Loons badge.

 

I go back and forth on whether these sister clubs should have similar brands to their brother clubs. I like the cohesiveness of a shared brand direction, but I also like individual identity. Here's how they look together. 

 

2HqF97i.png

 

 

If I were to go a different route, what would you name a MN club? 

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These have all been great, but I agree about Minnesota being too close to the loons. I like the grey duck name so I'd be perfectly fine keeping it, but I would change the shape of the crest and the bird, right now it still looks like a loon instead of a duck. I think the color scheme works really well with that name and with it being all over the stadium they would probably opt to go with the grey and blue.

 

I guess what I'm getting at is I love the idea and the name, the crest just needs some tweaking to be more duck like.

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11 hours ago, mcrosby said:

If I were to go a different route, what would you name a MN club? 


When I think of Minnesota, my mind is drawn to its natural wonders - the great swaths of the state that are still given over to forests of pine and spruce... to myriad lakes, rivers, and streams. I think of the many trailblazers and settlers - from the early French noblemen, voyageurs, and missionaries to the later waves of immigrants from Scandinavia and Germany - who  blazed new trails through and carved new communities from the Minnesota wilderness. Today, generations later, Minnesotans still flock to the outdoors, drawn by a desire to explore and enjoy the North Star State.

One Minnesotan possessed of this adventurous spirit is Ann Bancroft. In fact, her wanderlust has taken her from backyard expeditions in her native St. Paul, to camping and canoe trips with her father in northern Minnesota, all the way to our planet's polar extremities. 

In 1986, Bancroft - a former physical education and special education teacher - became the first women known to reach the North Pole, doing so on foot and by sled as part of the Steger International Polar Expedition. In 1992, Ann served as leader of the first all-female expedition to east-west cross Greenland. A year later, as leader of the American Women's Expedition to the South Pole (the first all-women expedition in history to cross to the South Pole on skis), she earned the distinction of becoming the first woman to cross the ice to both poles. Since then, Ms. Bancroft has launched the Ann Bancroft Foundation in order to inspire women and girls to unleash the power of their dreams, been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, and continued to explore our planet.

I could see a Twin Cities-based NWSL expansion team partnering with the Ann Bancroft Foundation in its work, just as other organizations - including sports entities like Minnesota Roller Derby and  the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx - already have. Further, I could see said NWSL expansion team opting to honor Ann Bancroft's incredible achievements and Minnesota roots by giving her a nod in the team's branding.

What about a team crest centered upon the silhouette of a female outdoorswoman - perhaps based upon Ms. Bancroft's actual profile - gazing up, mid-exploration, at the North Star in the night sky? To go with said logo, what about a team name such as...

Minnesota Trailblazers FC
Minnesota Intrepid FC
Minnesota Explorers FC 
Twin Cities Trailblazers FC

Twin Cities Intrepid FC
Twin Cities Explorers FC

                      

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23 hours ago, mcrosby said:

Next up: Houston Dash Leap

 

I've always loved this photo of Dr. Anna Lee Fisher, and Houston is the perfect spot to take one giant leap for womankind. 

yEqKCGy.png

Crap, this was the direction I was going with a team in a project I’ve been doing. Only real difference is that yours is done brilliantly and mine is just a few shapes put together! I think that blue used by the club is perfect for a team to pair with white because it really reminds me of the moons glow for some reason. Great execution! If tweaking were made I’d say it doesn’t have to be restricted to a roundel. Maybe show some shoulder or another piece to the suite. 

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On 10/13/2019 at 2:23 PM, Brian in Boston said:


When I think of Minnesota, my mind is drawn to its natural wonders - the great swaths of the state that are still given over to forests of pine and spruce... to myriad lakes, rivers, and streams. I think of the many trailblazers and settlers - from the early French noblemen, voyageurs, and missionaries to the later waves of immigrants from Scandinavia and Germany - who  blazed new trails through and carved new communities from the Minnesota wilderness. Today, generations later, Minnesotans still flock to the outdoors, drawn by a desire to explore and enjoy the North Star State.

One Minnesotan possessed of this adventurous spirit is Ann Bancroft. In fact, her wanderlust has taken her from backyard expeditions in her native St. Paul, to camping and canoe trips with her father in northern Minnesota, all the way to our planet's polar extremities. 

In 1986, Bancroft - a former physical education and special education teacher - became the first women known to reach the North Pole, doing so on foot and by sled as part of the Steger International Polar Expedition. In 1992, Ann served as leader of the first all-female expedition to east-west cross Greenland. A year later, as leader of the American Women's Expedition to the South Pole (the first all-women expedition in history to cross to the South Pole on skis), she earned the distinction of becoming the first woman to cross the ice to both poles. Since then, Ms. Bancroft has launched the Ann Bancroft Foundation in order to inspire women and girls to unleash the power of their dreams, been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, and continued to explore our planet.

I could see a Twin Cities-based NWSL expansion team partnering with the Ann Bancroft Foundation in its work, just as other organizations - including sports entities like Minnesota Roller Derby and  the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx - already have. Further, I could see said NWSL expansion team opting to honor Ann Bancroft's incredible achievements and Minnesota roots by giving her a nod in the team's branding.

What about a team crest centered upon the silhouette of a female outdoorswoman - perhaps based upon Ms. Bancroft's actual profile - gazing up, mid-exploration, at the North Star in the night sky? To go with said logo, what about a team name such as...

Minnesota Trailblazers FC
Minnesota Intrepid FC
Minnesota Explorers FC 
Twin Cities Trailblazers FC

Twin Cities Intrepid FC
Twin Cities Explorers FC

                      

 

A fantastic suggestion. I really like the Trailblazer name. Lots of great meaning with that. Here's a really quickly put together concept for that. This is a proof of concept, and I definitely used some open source clipart. Let me know what you think and I may pursue it further. 

5aJ9thz.png

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4 hours ago, mcrosby said:

 

A fantastic suggestion. I really like the Trailblazer name. Lots of great meaning with that. Here's a really quickly put together concept for that. This is a proof of concept, and I definitely used some open source clipart. Let me know what you think and I may pursue it further. 

5aJ9thz.png

I know there is a lot of connection to the MLS team with the shield shape, but I think the general shape of a hiking backpack could be a unique look that would fit the theme of the team. 

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