USMNT Soccer Badge

[Krona]

I've been through countless versions of a US badge, finally coming back to a stripped down, simple design. I got to playing around with V-shaped "victory" stripes, which ended up morphing into a chevron pattern. I added eleven stars for the eleven players on the pitch, loosley based on soccer formation. C & C encouraged.

[gordie_delini]

chevron gasoline will be giving you a cal; - seriously though, this is a nice start - I like the idea of the "victory" stripes, even though the USMNT has won zip for competitions that matter lol

[YELDARBfield]

I love it! It's so American! (pronounced "Uh-mer-kuhn") Shoot, it's even shaped like home plate!

Suggestions to make it better (in my opinion):

- Put 'UNITED STATES' in the actual badge somewhere, probably the top.

- Simplify the outlining. It's entirely too complex, especially considering the simplicity that is inside it.

Do you plan on doing any kits? This badge lends itself to so many possibilities. You may even create a decent and recognizable (GASP!) identity for the US team!

[kewp80]

This is really good! I agree with k2bf on how to make it better, have United States at the top, and simplify the outlines. I'm looking forward to some kits as well! BTW, what font is that on the scarf?

[SG30]

Damn thats some good stuff. United States at the top is all it needs.

[Krona]

Kits, with tweaked logo including "united states":

[JQK]

umm.... nice design.. but 11 stars? I'd go with 13 brother.

[Krona]

umm.... nice design.. but 11 stars? I'd go with 13 brother.

did you read the first post?

[Saturn]

You win good sir.

10/10

[patsox]

I like this, but I would make the United States part above the crest connected more and lose the "1913" part.

[JQK]

umm.... nice design.. but 11 stars? I'd go with 13 brother.

did you read the first post?

Yes, but it makes no sense. Put the 13 stars, and you got a good design. 11 stars just looks unfinished....

[Krona]

umm.... nice design.. but 11 stars? I'd go with 13 brother.

did you read the first post?

Yes, but it makes no sense. Put the 13 stars, and you got a good design. 11 stars just looks unfinished....

No, 13 doesnt make any sense. 11 makes perfect sense. the number 11 is very associated with soccer. 13 isnt. 13 really isnt associated with america at this point. the stars are lined up 1(goalie)-2-5-3. it cant really make more sense.

[MrAsterisk]

I see it more as a 4-3-3 with a tight defensive midfield and wing forwards, but if you say so....

[YELDARBfield]

I like this, but I would make the United States part above the crest connected more and lose the "1913" part.

I agree with patsox. *pinches self* Yep, still agree.

Also, I'm sorry, but you really disappointed with that kit set. (Although, the socks are cool. ) Maybe a blue set (w/o RBK hockey-esque piping) and a red/white set that is striped like the crest?

[-kj]

Do you plan on doing any kits? This badge lends itself to so many possibilities. You may even create a decent and recognizable (GASP!) identity for the US team!

Bet that badge would look great on a set of blue and red stripes running down the left side of the front of the shirt.

[-kj]

13 really isnt associated with america at this point.

Now here I was all ready to back up your argument about eleven making soccer sense and fitting well into the shape that you've made... but then you pulled that out. That's pretty far from the truth, really. While the US flag now carries fifty stars, for the current number of states, the thirteen stripes on the flag remain a symbol of the country's origins. And, while you could argue that it has nothing to do with the present day, I would say that part of history has everything to do with the present day. Without those thirteen, we could not have fifty.

So, about the design... it's a good idea, but it needs some help to make it work. The outlining on the badge is way overdone, for starters. The greyish outline is much too much, and adds an unnecessary color to the set.

While your argument for eleven stars is good, after looking at the badge again, I'd argue that thirteen stars would work even better, both symbolically and spatially--simply add a add an additional star to each side of the design, and it will look more complete.

The banners you added look very out of place. One idea would be to put the "United States" text in a box above the crest, as if they were two patches sewn together on a sleeve. Not sure if that make sense, but it'd be similar to how England does it with the "England" box above the three lions crest. The 1913 is superfluous.

As for the kits... eh. Of course, we all know that I *love* the current vertical stripes on the white kit. I'm also a huge advocate of the primary kit being white shirt/navy shorts/white socks.

(Hm, one of these days I guess I should work up my own USSF design and quit harping on everyone else's, eh?)

Oh, and that scarf's awfully stubby. *heh*

[VitaminD]

13 really isnt associated with america at this point.

Jeez, good thing they left those 13 red and white stripes on Old Glory, eh?

Seriously, Kinger is just the first of millions of people who would ask where the other 2 stars are. Yes, I read the first post. Doesn't matter. Even a soccer fan who gets that there are 11 players on the pitch will look at an American design and wonder why you have 11, and not 13, stars. So if you're not going to want to deal with those questions, change your design. Getting pissy with someone for raising a fair question is not the best plan of attack.

Similarly, if you don't want to deal with nagging questions over the number of stars, ditch the 1913 banner now. Most Americans get 1776; some will even go for extra credit and trot out 1607 or 1620. Hell, 1492 works for some. But 1913 doesn't register with even the biggest soccer cognoscenti in the US, so how well will it sell in a country where many people don't care about soccer at all?

[Krona]

13 really isnt associated with america at this point.

Jeez, good thing they left those 13 red and white stripes on Old Glory, eh?

Seriously, Kinger is just the first of millions of people who would ask where the other 2 stars are. Yes, I read the first post. Doesn't matter. Even a soccer fan who gets that there are 11 players on the pitch will look at an American design and wonder why you have 11, and not 13, stars. So if you're not going to want to deal with those questions, change your design. Getting pissy with someone for raising a fair question is not the best plan of attack.

Similarly, if you don't want to deal with nagging questions over the number of stars, ditch the 1913 banner now. Most Americans get 1776; some will even go for extra credit and trot out 1607 or 1620. Hell, 1492 works for some. But 1913 doesn't register with even the biggest soccer cognoscenti in the US, so how well will it sell in a country where many people don't care about soccer at all?

i wasnt getting pissy. i explained it right at the top. my whole point with this was to make a badge that was specificly representing soccer. why do they have three stars currently? do people ask where the other ten are? i would be right there on the 13 star bandwagon if this was a regional team, say the revolution. frankly, i dont think the average sports fan (beyond these boards) would look at a crest and immediately count stars. maybe after a while, they'd count to 11 and wonder "why 11". the answer is right there. i guess the real problem is, 11 is so close to 13, why not go to 13. if it were a basketball concept with 5 stars, one wouldnt ask for 13. im rambling. i guess i'm miffed, since i thought that was the most clever thing about the crest. back to the drawing board. thanks for the comments. i'll see what i can pull out.

[Krona]

a side by side 11 vs 13, no silver border, united states cap on top:

[-kj]

To quote Jack Black, "better, closer, warmer."

The thirteen-star arrangement looks absolutely brilliant. The stars themselves could use a little cleanup, they look like they're suffering from the usual Illustrator pudgy star affliction. But the arrangement is great.

Adding the top box looks really good. What I like about it is that, again much like the English FA, you can swap that text out for different applications--"United States" for the national team crest, "USSF" for organization purposes, "US Open Cup," etc.

I think you could get away with using a thinner navy outline around it. The eye is drawn a little too much to that outline at first glance. (I presume you're using the white outline only for the dark background.)

The only thing I'm definitely not liking at this point is the font. It looks too gimmicky, a weird attempt at being "modern," which is especially highlighted by the S. It'd probably be improved by removing the serifs.

This is a terrific revision to a solid starting idea. I'm interested to see where this goes from here.