2023 Spindles United FC Rebrand
I am excited to announce the official 2023 Spindles United Rebrand. A design that has been months in the making, with deep meaning behind it.
My name is Jarron Frangie, Director of Operations at Spindles United. Since Jad, Jordan and I founded this club, I have also been the chief designer of the Spindles identity. Social media, graphics, websites, merchandise, etc. This also includes the original logo design, created back in 2021.
The original logo featured a classic circular red crest, with the club's name wrapped around it. Inside the crest, featured a scene of a woman (our lady) operating a spinning wheel with a spindle. More to come on the meaning of this later.
Why rebrand?
My whole life I have always been quite interested in drawing and design. Yet, I only started genuinely embracing this 5 years ago through school projects.
By college, I decided to study energy and the environment leaving my passion for graphic design and marketing to become a side gig.
Project after project I taught myself to use different design software for all types of media, eventually ending up designing the identity of my own football club.
That being said, my skills and knowledge of design grow more and more every day. The more I learn, the more problems I notice with previous projects.
Now that I have gathered a better understanding of the marketing of a football club, I noticed many flaws in my original Spindles United identity. Pixelation, uneven borders, text not centered, and discoloration.
As long as I still saw a future for this club, I knew it was eventually time for a more sustainable and professional look moving forward.
The New Logo
The new official Spindles United logo was directly inspired by the original logo and its 'English football' theme.
The first change is the addition of the title 'Football Club'. I am greatly influenced by the passion and identity of English football clubs.
So this theme was important to carry over into the new branding for us. Especially as it fits with our 19th century Cohoes theme.
Next is the date. Although we first thought of creating this club in 2021, the year 2022 will forever be remembered as the year of our inaugural season. The true beginning of this club.
The badge in the center is an important piece of the values of this club. The shield shape represents our ambitions to protect our core value of community. We believe in using this club for so much more than soccer is going to be crucial for its growth.
Also, the shield shows we are a club that will strive to make decisions to protect the environment. Sport and sustainability do not usually go hand in hand.
However, we took great influence from another club that held its inaugural season this past summer as well. Vermont Green FC, based in Burlington, VT. The Green has become the leader in using football to drive environmental change.
Something that is very important to me and I will make sure our club strives to influence and educate in the same way.
Lastly, our lady is the heart of the new Spindles United logo. Making a return from the original logo, our lady honors the thousands of young women and children who were underpaid and overworked in the harsh conditions of the 19th-century Harmony Mill Cotton Factory in Cohoes, NY.
The Alternates
As a designer, one of the things I was most excited about with this rebrand was the design of several alternate logos.
These would be used for different merchandise, marketing, and branding. Whether it is singling out the badge, or just the head. There is a lot of potential with the design of this new versatile logo.
Moving Forward
I am super excited to finally share this logo with all of our supporters. After months of back-and-forth design efforts finally lead to this new look. As we gear up for the 2023 season, I am looking forward to seeing this logo in action.