Hometown Soccer

Scott submitted this logo he did for the Hometown Soccer Club. He included the following commentary along with his submission,

“Hometown Soccer Club is a prospective entry in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, to begin play in Milwaukee, WI in 2010. The tower in the center of the crest is City Hall. The shape of the crest is based on a modification of the FC Barcelona crest and blue and green will be the team’s main colors.”

Design Principals

The logo isn’t terrible by any means, but I think there are some areas for improvement. The inclusion of the city hall tower was a great idea as I’m sure it is an iconic piece of architecture in Milwaukee. However, I think the drawing could be simplified in order to create a more straightforward design. Right now there is a lot of detail in the building that will likely not reproduce well. Have a look at Michael Schwab’s artwork for one example of simplifying architectural elements while keeping them recognizable.

Personally, I find the colors a bit jarring, but I guess that’s just the team colors. Not much you can do about that if they are indeed the exact team colors. If the current color selection doesn’t match the exact team colors I might reconsider the present choice.

Functionality / Versatility

I think the crest shape that contains the logo is good and will allow for easy reproduction on apparel. As I mentioned earlier the detail in the city hall tower will like be problematic at smaller sizes or in certain processes. For instance, reproduction in embroidery would likely be tough to achieve.

Does the Logo Work for the Audience?

The is nothing that says ‘soccer’ (other than the word of course) in the logo. I won’t say it is 100% necessary, but I will say that logo is pretty static for a sports logo. Even if there is no reference visually to soccer, it may be worth adding some elements that introduce movement to the logo. Angled lines and shapes can often create a sense of movement.

I would also say, there is nothing about this logo that says this is a women’s team. I’m not sure how important that is to the team, but right now the logo is actually pretty masculine feeling.

Uniqueness

The logo is pretty similar to many other soccer logos. The crest element seems to be a pretty common element in soccer logos.

Typography

The typography in this logo seems like an afterthought. It is placed on top of the background/crest without much consideration. I think altering the banner to a more organic shape would nicely compliment the shape of the crest. A nice upward arch would probably work well. Same goes for the word ‘Hometown’, right now it is uncomfortably floating above the background. Perhaps adding a horizontal break toward the top of the crest to create a solid area for the type would help it feel more integrated with the rest of the design.

Take a look at the following logos Houston Dynamo, Dragon Soccer and LA Galaxy the two on the right show an arched ribbon type banner.

See how the type feels more integrated with the design?

Possible Improvements

So what is the best way to improve the logo? Well I think have made some comments above that can certainly offer some direction. Here’s a list of actionable items.

Overall, I think you have a good start on the logo design. And with some refinement you can improve it. Please know that my intention in critiquing your work is not to hurt feelings, but to offer constructive feedback. I hope it was helpful. Best of luck, to you!

I appreciate and welcome your comments, and look forward to hearing from you soon. I purposely don’t cover every possible improvement that can be made to this logo, so go for it if you think I missed anything. All I ask is that you keep your comments clean and appropriate.

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