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MLS Kits 2021


kylonian

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2 hours ago, WBeltz said:

It also sounds like the 96 is being added into the flag outline. Does that mean the new crest since it looks like the Ohio flag? Or a different logo with that shape?

 

2 hours ago, burgundy said:

 

Probably replacing the random triangle with 96.

 

Bingo. They're replacing the triangle inside the flag with 96. 

 

Damn, Save the Crew worked again!

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I want to be happy for Columbus Crew supporters and the MLS club they care for so passionately. I want to regard this as a "win". Yet, I just can't help but feel that it's more of a nil-nil draw... at home... with the team's best player carted off the field with an injury in stoppage time

Yes, Columbus Crew is officially part of the team's brand identity - logo included - once more. Then again, Columbus Crew was officially part of the team's brand identity - logo included - up until a week ago. If the franchise's investor/operators hadn't so misguidedly removed the Crew element from all but two of the six marks in the new logo package in the first place, there wouldn't have been any need to return it to its rightful position of prominence in the identity system.

Yes, 'SC' - an addition that most Crew supporters found to be, at best, an unnecessary element - is officially removed from the team's brand identity. Then again, its removal follows a week in which it was elevated to top tier, supposedly "globally relevant" status alongside Columbus in the brand package. If the franchise's investor/operators had truly made a focused, responsive effort to listen to the wishes of supporters, 'SC' could have been removed from the 2015-2021 primary logo without creating so much discord. 

Finally, from where I'm sitting, a poorly-rendered clunker of a primary mark has replaced a logo that was roundly (pun most definitely intended) regarded as the lone bright spot in Anthony Precourt's tenure as Columbus Crew investor/operator. Designed by in-house creative personnel Will Bennett and Eric Sinicki in a process overseen by Arica Cress, the 2015-2021 primary mark was a logo that spoke to the team's history and that of the city the club called home. The Columbus Crew name was boldly featured on the badge, arching in a nod to the arches found in the Short North neighborhood of Columbus. The logo was comprised of a circle within a ring that was meant to evoke both the "O" on the State of Ohio burgee and the roundel shape employed in the logos of such German soccer clubs (important in a city with the Germanic heritage of Columbus) as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz 05, Schalke 04, VfL Wolfsburg, etc. Within the center of the logo - on a bed comprised of a checkerboard pattern representing the flags waved in the Nordecke and nine stripes signifying the Crew's fellow teams amongst Major League Soccer's ten original franchises - was found a shield in the shape of the team's original logo and emblazoned with the number '96' signifying the inaugural season of MLS.

By comparison, the new logo has been savaged by everyone from Crew supporters to branding, graphic design, and marketing professionals... as well it should be. After all, the new logo lacks heart and history, significance and soul.

Here's hoping that this subpar new logo is jettisoned for another mark - in a best case scenario, designed as part of a true collaborative process between team leadership and supporters - just as soon as possible. Until then, Crew diehards are just going to have to make the best of a less-than-optimal situation.

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Hey, we are 2 for 2 in saving the Crew. 
 

here a mock-up of what the new logo could look like. I’d personally like the 96 to fit in better, but hey, I’ll still take this win. 

 

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One thing I can't understand is why Crew is considered un-European, they're are plenty of clubs with nicknames in the name in Europe. You have Hotspur, Wanderers, Rovers, Rangers, Argyle, ect.

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7 minutes ago, SCL said:

One thing I can't understand is why Crew is considered un-European, they're are plenty of clubs with nicknames in the name in Europe. You have Hotspur, Wanderers, Rovers, Rangers, Argyle, ect.

I assume that's for SUM and MLS to let us know how they came to that conclusion. 

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12 hours ago, officeglenn said:

Wonder where this might be heading?

 

 

 

10 hours ago, WBeltz said:

It also sounds like the 96 is being added into the flag outline. Does that mean the new crest since it looks like the Ohio flag? Or a different logo with that shape?

 

10 hours ago, burgundy said:

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They're still keeping the crappy C flag logo, but we'll take what we can get.

 

I think we'll see "96 replace the triangle at the bottom edge and probably Crew placed under Columbus with that annoying SC still at the bottom. I'd rather they scrap the whole thing and just roll with the 2014 logo. They haven't released the new uniforms other than the MLS Pride shirt so they shouldn't have any problems making adjustments before next spring. 

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2 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

 

 

I think we'll see "96 replace the triangle at the bottom edge and probably Crew placed under Columbus with that annoying SC still at the bottom. I'd rather they scrap the whole thing and just roll with the 2014 logo. They haven't released the new uniforms other than the MLS Pride shirt so they shouldn't have any problems making adjustments before next spring. 

There have been pics of the exterior of the stadium that has the new logo already on the signage. Just replacing a few pieces of a sign and what not is the most cost effective way to do it until they revise the logo in 2 years per MLS rules. 

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11 minutes ago, kmccarthy27 said:

There have been pics of the exterior of the stadium that has the new logo already on the signage. Just replacing a few pieces of a sign and what not is the most cost effective way to do it until they revise the logo in 2 years per MLS rules. 

I wonder if they already had signage with the previous/current logo that are able to go up. They can also just place tarps over them with the current jersey log and the alternate logos as well. 

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1 hour ago, sonny said:

Hey, we are 2 for 2 in saving the Crew. 
 

here a mock-up of what the new logo could look like. I’d personally like the 96 to fit in better, but hey, I’ll still take this win. 

 

 

This isn't a great logo to begin with. I see the utility in replacing that useless nugget with the 96 (although hopefully much smaller than what's in this rendering,) But shoving the four-letter CREW into a space that had been designed for the two-letter SC is a terrible idea, and clearly conveys the afterthought that it is.

 

I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but why does this logo need words at all? Why can't these teams just create marks that stand on their own as symbols? 

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5 minutes ago, gosioux76 said:

 

This isn't a great logo to begin with. I see the utility in replacing that useless nugget with the 96 (although hopefully much smaller than what's in this rendering,) But shoving the four-letter CREW into a space that had been designed for the two-letter SC is a terrible idea, and clearly conveys the afterthought that it is.

 

I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but why does this logo need words at all? Why can't these teams just create marks that stand on their own as symbols? 

You think Columbus has one recognisable symbol recognised by everyone? A hard hat, maybe, but nothing else.

 

1 hour ago, SCL said:

One thing I can't understand is why Crew is considered un-European, they're are plenty of clubs with nicknames in the name in Europe. You have Hotspur, Wanderers, Rovers, Rangers, Argyle, ect.

Rovers, Wanderers, and Rangers are at least common in the UK. Hotspur, Orient, Argyle, Harrier, and Stanley are one of a kind in my books.

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23 minutes ago, Friedrich Stuart Macbeth said:

You think Columbus has one recognisable symbol recognised by everyone? A hard hat, maybe, but nothing else.

 

No, but I guess I should make clear I'm thinking more in terms of the jersey crest than the primary logo, and the need to distinguish between the two. 

 

You know exactly what's going to happen here: That logo, with Columbus draped on top and Crew shoehorned into the crevice at the bottom, will also appear on the jerseys. It's an eyesore made moreso by forcing initially omitted elements into spaces that weren't meant for them. If a club absolutely feels their mark isn't recognizable enough to stand on its own that they need to force all the words into it, then limit it to the primary mark.


Let the C badge stand on its own on the kit. Simplify and build your marketing around it so it can stand on its own.

 

Instead, teams throw every little trinket into these badges. I'm surprised we don't see the odd "LLC or "Inc." forced in there for legal reasons. 

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I question the quality of their focus-grouping because if they'd talked to a single Crew fan any one of them would tell them the one thing they wanted was just remove SC from the name. Instead they left SC and removed Crew, which is almost comical in its defiance of the fanbase's wishes. 

 

Now that the name is saved they need to do something about the rest of the logo because I don't see anything worth saving there. And now they'll be forced to cram elements into spaces they weren't designed to fit into, which will only make things worse. Best to just start over because after goofing around with some Crew/Ohio burgee ideas I have come to the conclusion that the entire concept simply does not work. Knowing the people who worked on this and what they're capable of, I get the impression that they were given a directive from above and forced to do their best with that direction. The fonts, patterns, and general art direction excluding the logo suggests a modicum of competence in that regard.

 

First, here's my main issues I have with the logo from a design standpoint:

1. Too different from the actual state flag to read as the state flag. The colors create an instant disconnect and it's missing the 3 stripes and circle so the only connection to the actual flag is the vague shape, but with it being positioned vertically, a way we here in Ohio rarely glimpse the flag, it creates another visual leap.  

2. The flag shape and the letter C aren't natural partners. To cram it into that shape requires a lopped off random triangle be created and a C shaped in a way that isn't visually pleasing.

3. The choice to leave the top corners open is also curious as it leaves two negative space areas inside of the pennant. The C's already distorted to meet the shape on the bottom, why angle it on the top in such a way rather than having it follow the pennant edges? 

4. Their new neighbors in the Arena District already employ the Ohio flag in their primary logo, have used the logo in some capacity since 2003, and do it a lot better. 

 

Again, the logo wasn't anybody's big gripe with Anthony Precourt. What they should've done is nothing. 

 

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8 minutes ago, Sport said:

I question the quality of their focus-grouping because if they'd talked to a single Crew fan any one of them would tell them the one thing they wanted was just remove SC from the name. Instead they left SC and removed Crew, which is almost comical in its ignorance of the fanbase's wishes. 

 

Now that the name is saved they need to do something about the rest of the logo because I don't see anything worth saving there. And now they'll be forced to cram elements into spaces they weren't designed to fit into, which will only make things worse. Best to just start over because after goofing around with some Crew/Ohio burgee ideas I have come to the conclusion that the entire concept simply does not work. Knowing the people who worked on this and what they're capable of, I get the impression that they were given a directive from above and forced to do their best with that direction. The fonts, patterns, and general art direction excluding the logo suggests a modicum of competence in that regard.

 

First, here's my main issues I have with the logo from a design standpoint:

1. Too different from the actual state flag to read as the state flag. The colors create an instant disconnect and it's missing the 3 stripes and circle so the only connection to the actual flag is the vague shape, but with it being positioned vertically, a way we here in Ohio rarely glimpse the flag, it creates another visual leap.  

2. The flag shape and the letter C aren't natural partners. To cram it into that shape requires a lopped off random triangle be created and a C shaped in a way that isn't visually pleasing.

3. The choice to leave the top corners open is also curious as it leaves two negative space areas inside of the pennant. The C's already distorted to meet the shape on the bottom, why angle it on the top in such a way rather than having it follow the pennant edges? 

4. Their new neighbors in the Arena District already employ the Ohio flag in their primary logo, have used the logo in some capacity since 2003, and do it a lot better. 

 

Again, the logo wasn't anybody's big gripe with Anthony Precourt. What they should've done is nothing. 

 

 

The subtle truth in market research is that focus groups are often used to provide backup data for already predetermined decisions. More often that not, there are too many wheels in motion to drastically change course in the product/brand development cycle if negative feedback is received. Basically it's a cya for marketers to look back at when a launch is fails to meet expectations and not much more. Given the reputation of current ownership on how they make decisions and handle their businesses this outcome is not surprising. 

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4 hours ago, SCL said:

One thing I can't understand is why Crew is considered un-European, they're are plenty of clubs with nicknames in the name in Europe. You have Hotspur, Wanderers, Rovers, Rangers, Argyle, ect.

Because it's the name they've had since 1996, when team nicknames in US sports were a thing but Wanderers, Rovers and United aren't considered nicknames by Eurosnobs. DC United leadership had to fight to go with DC United because it wasn't using the conventional US naming rules. 

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