I am always full of pride when I see a fan proudly wearing a logo that I created. It makes it all worth it. All the late nights, sketches, and the ‘not quite right’ versions of the design, all the revisions, tweaks, and immense effort into creating an iconic design for a football club, are instantly worth it when fans proudly wear the design across their hearts.

Thinking of the fans during the design process.

I always think about the fans and the players during the design process, as I am constantly asking myself, will the fans love this? Will the players wear this with pride? Will this help progress the club?

Delighting fans and helping football clubs progress with their brand is why I do what I do.

A football club’s logo means so much to so many; it’s a big responsibility to redesign it and a commitment I take seriously. It’s a great feeling to know that I’ve made a difference in the sport I love. 

Making the fans happy and proud of their club is the ultimate award; however, I must admit, I did get a sense of tempered satisfaction when an award and trophy arrived at my home studio on Tuesday morning.

The Football Business Awards

Launched in 2012, the Football Business Awards celebrates the very best in the football business. The judging panel for the awards comprises Chief Executives of Football Clubs, Professional Football Associations & Grassroots Football Organisations – all individuals whose knowledge, expertise, and experience give them unique insight into the challenges and demands of the football business success.

Eastleigh Football Club – Best Brand  Activation – Silver award

In 2020 I worked with Eastleigh football club on their rebrand.

The project was a massive success as we incorporated the football club’s famous nickname – the spitfires into all areas of the club’s identity. 

This football club rebrand caught the judging panel’s attention and ultimately won Silver at the Football Business Awards. 

Eastleigh Football Club new identity

For Eastleigh Football Club, we updated the club’s identity design – giving the club a clean, simple, and instantly recognizable brand that incorporated the spitfire within the design, giving the club a truly unique identity.

Learn more about Eastleigh F.C. iconic new identity

Eastleigh Football Club custom typeface design

As part of the rebrand, we also designed a custom typeface for the club that was again inspired by the spitfire’s theme, specifically the typographic markings found on the side of spitfires. 

Learn more about Eastleigh F.C. custom typeface

Eastleigh Football Club Brand guidelines

To keep the club’s brand consistent and correct, we created detailed brand guidelines to ensure that all parts of the brand were explained and documented. These guidelines would enable the club to work seamlessly with club sponsors and third-party vendors and ensure that the brand remains strong and stylish.

Read Eastleigh F.C.’s brand guidelines

Launch film

And finally, to launch with style and impact, we created a short film – entitled ‘Chapters.’ This shirt film told the story of Eastleigh Football Club via the club’s various identities that represented the club through different eras. 

Watch Chapters

Impact

This brand rollout was exceptionally well received by the football community and, importantly, the loyal Eastleigh F.C. fans. The brand was deserving of its status as an ‘award-winning,’ modern brand.

The club fully deserved the award and is still thriving with its new identity brand. The club continues to get great recognition for its brand. 

None of this great recognition would have been possible without the direction, foresight, and trust from Eastleigh F.C. Chairman – Kenny Amore, Director of Operations Tom Coffe, and social media manager Tom Mulholland. Together they form a formidable team, and they do a truly amazing job for their club; and I am hopeful that more awards come their way.

Winning an award and gaining outside recognition for a job well done is a nice feeling. However, I must admit, winning Silver did annoy me, and the next club that I work with, we will go for gold. 

Further reading

Eastleigh Football Club case study

Eastleigh F.C. launch film – Chapters

Eastleigh F.C. brand guidelines

Eastleigh F.C.’s custom typeface

Behind the scenes – Designing Eastleigh F.C.’s logo

Announcement on Eastleigh F.C.’s website

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