Seattle Sounders Concept: Updated 2/25

[8BW14]

Disclaimer: I am not a soccer guy. My interest in soccer stops with an appreciation for the aesthetics of a good soccer crest.

 

That being said, I present to you my proposed new logo for Seattle Sounders FC:

 

The thread over in the logo news board mentioned they might be interested in getting away from the space needle, so I went that direction here. I don’t have a good story about any of the details of the logo. I just though the shape would be unique in MLS and the S fit inside nicely, plus I think it would look great on a hat. The two shades of blue are carried over from the current logo, but the green is new, brighter than the current pea soup color.

 

I know the lettering is a little off and some of the shapes in the S are still a little rough, but I wanted to get it out there for some feedback. Please feel free to rip it apart. Thanks for having a look.

[VampyrRabbit]

The shape would be unique, so that's a plus. The new green isn't really an upgrade - it still doesn't work on it's own and with the shades of blue that well, and you've relagated it to just an outline for the main part of the crest and the background for the team name.

 

The font is good, but the tracking looks very uneven and the distance between the letters and the green border isn't consistent, making it look pretty sloppy.

 

I like the shape, but the whole crest could do with getting rid of the FC (the original NASL club was just called Seattle Sounders), making everything consistent in terms of lettering and the distances between the S motif and the border, and make green the dominant colour instead of just being used for a border. Also using just the darker shade of blue and a green that works better with the blue (such as the one used during the NASL days) would be an improvement.

[vtgco]

As a Sounders supporter, I'm not too eager to see such an abstract look so disconnected from our history, and I think most of the fan base would agree...

 

But as much as I can set that aside, I think it's an interesting idea you've got going in the sorta Juventus vein, mixed with the in-game scoreboard graphics' sound wave motif the Sounders have used recently.

I think think the containing shape and text feel kinda extraneous here. Just the white monogram on blue, I think. Adding a green 74 in one of the crooks of the S or in the middle instead of the bar could help make it more interesting without that other stuff, and make the asymmetry of the top and bottom feel less obvious.

 

Also, I think I'd like this a lot better if the center bar of the S was at a diagonal (and maybe omitted as well, just being implied by the ends of the strokes?) really any steps to make it a bit more reminiscent of the S shape of the Seattle city seal:

 

 

Anyways, while I probably wouldn't be totally happy with it for my Sounders' primary logo IRL, I think there's potential here for either a new minimalist brand based in Seattle, or as a really nice secondary logo or graphic motif of some sort.

[8BW14]

@vtgco thanks for your thoughts. I totally don’t expect them to go this way either but I started doodling and this idea is what came out. I did have the recent Juventus update on my mind when I drew up the abstract S.  I originally had just the S but I didn’t know if it was soccer kosher to leave the team name out of the logo altogether.
 

I did absolutely zero research for the idea so I had no idea about the city crest. I like that idea. What about the colors? Would you go with only navy/green or do Seattle fans need the steel blue as well?

 

Thanks again for your input, I’ll work up a couple ideas based on your feedback.

[8BW14]

Got a couple updates based on the helpful feedback:

simplified the original concept and cleaned up some of the shapes and lines. I like the updates here. I’m curious to hear what everyone else thinks.

The second logo is a new concept based on the Seattle city seal. I’m not in love with the FC in the center but it’s too empty without it, any thoughts would be welcome.

 

Thanks for having a look. I’m looking forward to the C&C.

[MJWalker45]

For the circular logo, I think SS needs to be in there instead of FC. It doesn't let a newcomer know it's the Sounders. I think the first logo works, but Seattle Sounders has to be below it on the jerseys. 

[vtgco]

Definitely an improvement with this latest update. However I think having both of these logos feels a bit redundant, but they could be brought together to a happy medium... Anyways, the more I think about this, the more I feel like it could actually work as a full-on primary.  

 

6 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

For the circular logo, I think SS needs to be in there instead of FC. It doesn't let a newcomer know it's the Sounders. I think the first logo works, but Seattle Sounders has to be below it on the jerseys. 

Agree that the FC doesn't feel right but not sure "SS" is the solution; I'd rather see the wave of the NASL logo splitting a circle.

Don't think the text is totally necessary; the Timbers and Fire don't use their name on their crests anymore and they don't need to.

That said, it could work if you incorporate the text the crest in a way that's symmetrical (and thus maybe a bit more compelling than the first post?)

 

9 hours ago, 8BW14 said:

@vtgco thanks for your thoughts. I totally don’t expect them to go this way either but I started doodling and this idea is what came out. I did have the recent Juventus update on my mind when I drew up the abstract S.  I originally had just the S but I didn’t know if it was soccer kosher to leave the team name out of the logo altogether.
 

I did absolutely zero research for the idea so I had no idea about the city crest. I like that idea. What about the colors? Would you go with only navy/green or do Seattle fans need the steel blue as well?

 

Thanks again for your input, I’ll work up a couple ideas based on your feedback.

Definitely would not like to see the royal/steel blue removed unless you were going back to NASL-era colors, and I think there's pretty widespread agreement that blue is necessary.

I'm in favor of ditching the gray (what you're calling navy is almost always rendered IRL as dark gray), which I see as unnecessary, but I think many Sounders fans want to keep it as well.

Anyways, just experimenting is leading in a nice direction here IMO, even if it's more fit for the Concepts board than the IRL team. Thanks for humoring my thoughts!