In these days when football is all business, and sometimes very big business indeed, and big businesses spend a fortune on graphic design and "image", it occurs to me that club badges have been generally left behind. Typical is Fulham's which looks like a heap of scrap metal and no doubt there are many worse. (No offence, Fulham, you are my second favourite club, the Charlton of West London). One of my many failed career paths was as graphic designer and I remember our lecturer saying that what he and other top guys in the profession most dreaded when being briefed for a commission was the chairman (or whoever) fishing in his desk for a serviette or piece of toilet roll and saying "This is an idea my twelve-year old daughter came up with. I think it is pretty cute and we should go with this. Of course, it will need a little bit of tidying up by your guys". I think 95% of club badges would fall into that category and sometimes less the "tidying up". Can anyone think of a club badge that is really well designed? Now I am not knocking those few clubs who have stuck with their original badge since their foundation, however naive or amateurish. They invoke some tradition and the money men are fast eliminating that from our national game.
please log in to view this image I like this badge, having the Shankly Gates and Hillsborough flames on it give it some meaning that most badges, like Fulham's, lack.
please log in to view this image I really love ours, despite it being only about 10 years old I think it's really nice. It's got pretty much everything to do with Sunderland; the Penshaw monument, the Wearmouth bridge, Black Cats, and a colliery wheel at the top.
