Crest Review

[dave.woodhall]

At the meeting I attended we were given four designs, all the wrong way round, and told that "everyone else" loved it. I still say it was done to justify their fee.

[algy]

Just a question. From what I've read, the original badge did face to the right. Is that not correct then? I like the new badge, and have no problem with it facing to the right.

For almost our entire history the lion faced the left for example the crest on the stand built in 1878 the Lion faces the left.
There are some very early kits with a Scottish lion but that is about it, so historically the Lion has faced the left.
The rest is bs.

I understood it that the original lion faced right basically because McGregor wanted to customise some black shirts he'd bought to make them stand out a bit, wanted a Scottish symbol on it, and that's what they had in the shop - big red Scottish lions facing right.  It doesn't feel to me like it was originally a conscious decision to have the lion facing one way or the other.


I mean, it doesn't both me that much.  I'd rather it faced left really, but it's not something I'd throw my toys out of the pram about, and the rest of it looks good so ...

[chrisw1]

And who's to say which way is facing forward?  It's just ridiculous.

[exigo]

Just a question. From what I've read, the original badge did face to the right. Is that not correct then? I like the new badge, and have no problem with it facing to the right.

For almost our entire history the lion faced the left for example the crest on the stand built in 1878 the Lion faces the left.
There are some very early kits with a Scottish lion but that is about it, so historically the Lion has faced the left.
The rest is bs.

So the first one wasn't facing left then?

Who knows?
OK show me one picture or print or photograph associated with the club that has the Lion facing right.
The only "evidence" is the Internet Kit History page which has no Providence.

The evidence is on the official site. This is the first kit, where the lion faces right.
Pravda linky

Good spot.

And here, with more detail on who is who.

[Bad English]

If they had left the Lion facing left, nobody in the world would have said let's have it the other way. Except the designers.

[Toronto Villa]

At the meeting I attended we were given four designs, all the wrong way round, and told that "everyone else" loved it. I still say it was done to justify their fee.

At least there was some consultation process versus pretty much all the other times the badge has changed without anyone being involved. It’s never going to be perfect. And having worked in marketing a good portion of my career you never, ever get everyone to align and agree.

I don’t think it’s fair to say agencies are all about justifying a fee because that could be said about any service that is recruited to perform a task. They were given mandate to produce a badge that brought together many of things fans have been asking for, and certainly a detachment from the badge today. They’ve achieved that. For me, I couldn’t give a fuck about the direction of the lion. It’s massively trivial and most fans beyond our lifetime won’t know the history of it. I want the team to win. Everything else, literally is secondary to that.

[teamvillage]

It's been a decent while since I did much intellectual property law, but switching the lion reeks to me of trademark protection (I think that's what happened with the Arsenal cannon 20 years or so ago?). If a mark has become too generic you can't enforce your IP rights - switch it around and hey presto...

[PeterWithesShin]

It isn't massively trivial as it's the most imprtant part of every aspect of club branding. May as well say you don't care what colours we play in as long as win.

[Chico Hamilton III]

It's been a decent while since I did much intellectual property law, but switching the lion reeks to me of trademark protection (I think that's what happened with the Arsenal cannon 20 years or so ago?). If a mark has become too generic you can't enforce your IP rights - switch it around and hey presto...

I said exactly the same on page 67 of this thread. I think that’s what’s happened here

[PeterWithesShin]

Arsenal changed it mainly because they couldn't copyright the old badge.

[Toronto Villa]

It isn't massively trivial as it's the most imprtant part of every aspect of club branding. May as well say you don't care what colours we play in as long as win.

We’ve changed our badge loads of times over the years. Are we any less of a club because of it? If we win more than we lose our brand as Aston Villa Football Club will grow irrespective of the badge. Fools like us who have been through the mincer care more about every aspect of the club because we’ve grown up with it. The fans the club need to attract won’t care. If the kit is decent and the club is on TV buying good players and competing at a high level the brand in large part looks after itself. And especially in markets where fans don’t see us as relevant right now.

[PeterWithesShin]

We've changed the basics in the past, not the way it faces. To me it's very Man City/Chelsea to not give a fuck as long as we win and new fans like it. But that's the road the club is already on.

[Toronto Villa]

We’ve changed much more than the basics. We’ve changed the shape, the background, the colours in it. The lion has changed. So the only thing that hasn’t is the direction. Believe me I’d be every bit as happy Randy had simply made it the same as the mosaic in the Holte and stuck Aston Villa under it. But the badge as an entity has changed loads of times. In fact I’d love to see that on some third kits.

[KevinGage]

Some of the shield-type mock ups kicking around in 2008 were better than Lerner's eventual MS Paint job.

Of the four design choices shortlisted this was prob the best. But the gaslight one didn't even look like a football crest.

[Nii Lamptey]

I'd compare the forward backwards thing to the way we read.... Most nations read from left to right (*Forwards), but nations such as China, who would read from right to left, we'd typically describe this as reading backwards.

Personally, I don't give two shits which way it faces... Now I've grown accustomed to it, I actually think it makes more sense from a design perspective.

It's light years better than the anything we've had since the last round badge - The only thing which irks me about it is the smalltime star stuck off centre in the middle of the badge.... We're fucked when Unai delivers that second European Cup!