K League (South Korea) logo

K League (South Korea) Logo PNG

The K League logo is an example of how a designer can say a lot using only one symbol. The focal point of the emblem is a light grey shape representing three symbols in one. To begin with, it’s the “K” from the name of the top league in South Korea. Also, the shape is actually a five-pointed star representing strive for victory. Additionally, it may be interpreted as a stylized figure of a football player who has just kicked a football, which is now seen not far from his “foot.”

The star is placed over the red background, while the football is placed over the dark blue background. Below the emblem, the lettering “K League” can be seen.

1983 — 1986

The very first logo for the South Korean K League, designed in 1983, was very colorful and pretty progressive for its times, due to the use of three-dimensional shapes. It was a light gray background with a voluminous white and pink Football ball as the central element, the red and yellow horizontal stripes, another white ball image on the left, and an orange inscription in Korean, followed by a blue “83”, overlapping the graphical elements.

1994 — 1996

The redesign of 1994 has shown something new: a vertically oriented rectangular badge in solid black has a cool stylized letter “K” formed by three wide ribbons in yellow, red, and blue, and a black-and-white-football, which together made up not only the “K” silhouette but also a figure of a football player. The modest white “Korean League” wordmark in the title case was written along the bottom border of the badge executed in a simple yet neat and bold Sans-serif typeface.

1997 — 1998

The idea of the stylized football player was taken from the previous badge but completely redrawn in 1997. The badge got a shape of a horizontally oriented triangle, which was pointing to the right and representing movement and progress. The main body of the crest was plain black, with the dark blue “KPFL” abbreviation set on it in a geometric sans-serif typeface, and a stylized yellow football player with angular contours placed on the left part of the badge, kicking a black and white football ball.

1999 — 2005

The redesign of 1999 came up with a completely different style. It was a green and black badge with thin white details: the white silhouette of a football player was drawn over a stretched green-and-black football ball, which was placed above a gradient two-leveled “Korea League” inscription in a custom sans-serif typeface. The massive geometric letters in black-to-gray shades featured a delicate horizontally striped pattern which added some lightness to heavy shapes.

2006 — 2009

The K League logo created in 2006 was smooth sleek and modern. Set in navy blue color it was usually placed on a plain white background, creating a smooth yet strong contrast, which evoked a sense of professionalism and confidence. The badge was composed of two parts — the graphical one, with the stylized as the letter “K” five-pointed stars, having its lines’ ends softened, and a slanted modern Sans-serif “K-League” wordmark with the uppercase letters wide yet elegant and progressive at the same time.

2010 — 2012

In 2010 the previous badge was refined and the bright green horizontally oriented rectangular with rounded corners were added to the background of the composition. The contours of the “K” emblem and inscriptions were also modified. The emblem became bolder and shorter, while the lettering changed its typeface to a simpler and stricter one. The “K” in the logotype was now thicker than other letters, and the “-“ between the league’s name turned into a solid blue dot, as the only rounded elements in the logo, resembling the football.

2013 — 2020

The style and color palette of the K-League visual identity was changed again in 2013. This time the badge was executed in the blue, red, and white palette, with some gradient cold shades, adding volume and motion to the image. The iconic “K” kept its contours and now was drawn in white-to-silver and placed on a solid red background, in the upper part of the stylized crest. The bottom part of the crest featured dark blue color, where the white and blue ball image was set on the right part. As for the lettering, it was executed in two different styles — with the bold and sharp “K” followed by a medium-thick “League” with no separations but extra space. The wordmark was placed under the crest.

2021 — Today

With the redesign of 2021, the “K” became more of a star, executed in red, white, and blue. It got its contours emboldened and refined, and was placed on the left from the three-dimensional white and blue football ball. The “K League” logotype was set under the graphical part, in the same typeface as on the previous badge, but with all letters enlarged and more space added between them. The new badge looks super professional and sleek, representing all the strong points of the leagues and teams’ competitors.