Leeds United became a global laughing stock once again this week as the club released a new crest. The badge designed was meant to epitomise the relationship between the club and the stalwart Leeds fan base, unfortunately it alienated them.

The concept behind the change was good and the intentions of the club were correct, the fans are the heart of Leeds and the players should feel that weight carried on their shirt every time the put it on. The badge crest below is of the ‘Leeds Salute’ it’s a gesture fans do to salute the badge, it’s a secret handshake of sorts, by putting the salute on the badge they are saluting the salute, saluteception?

The fans are the blood of Leeds United, but the club is the body, they are not one and the same.

The owners want to rebrand the club and they’ve done a spectacular job at the stadium, the badge goes with this modernisation, a change of ethos and an end to the barren times since their relegation. The badge needs to incorporate key things about the club, the city and the county.

What are the key features that needs to be considered for the Leeds Badge:

Name of the club

Identity

History

Colours

Name of the club is easy, Leeds United or LUFC. The new owners seemingly want the full name to feature on the badge so we can incorporate this.

Identity is harder, it could include:

A peacock for the teams ‘nickname’

The Yorkshire rose for its location

A monument from the City

An homage to a previous badge



History can be checked off with the date of formation, simple, elegant and easy.

The colours for Leeds have changed since its inception, with the all-white kit a real turning point in their history. The change to the White coincided with the most successful spell in their history, and yellow and blue has become synonymous with the club. It would seem strange to depart from this established colour scheme.

With these concepts we can modernise the badge, giving the fans something to be proud of. The shape, design, colours & concept of the badge need to work well as a brand & on the shirt.

It needs to be a badge the fans are proud to salute.