The UK’s football club Tottenham Hotspur has unveiled its new identity, several years after its emblem, based on a heraldic, image was visibly simplified. Now, the team is making a further step toward a modern branding.
Established in 1882, the club from North London derives its name from Sir Henry Percy, an English nobleman who gained a reputation as a “hothead” or a “hotspur” for being short-tempered and brave and vigorous in fighting against the Scots and the French during the 14th century. So illustrating this pugnacious spirit, Tottenham adopted a cockerel as its symbol, which has appeared in all the iterations of the club’s emblem since 1921.
Elevating the Brand
In 2006, the club made a considerable logo change, introducing a simplified two-color depiction of the cockerel standing on a football. This time, as part of a brand evolution, the emblem has become even simpler, as other branding elements were revised as well. The new design, according to Tottenham’s press release, is a result of a 9-month journey the club has carried out together with the London-based studio Nomad, as well as more than 300 people, including its current and former players, coaches, employees, and fun groups.
The overhauled look, as the club says, embraces “its rich history and unmistakable heritage.” Also anticipating the glorious future, the new branding continues the traditions of Tottenham Hotspur for the new generation. At same time, it offers a bolder approach with a more cheerful vibe, making the visual elements suitable for different applications, including digital environment, which gets more attention today.
Actually, the logo dropped the Tottenham Hotspur wordmark, so the cockerel on the football, which has been slightly corrected, is the only figure of the emblem now.
More Modern Features
While Tottenham has been using only one representation of the cockerel for a long time, the club was considering an additional version of the bird’s silhouette, which should increase the brand’s flexibility and give the mark a “more playful expression.”
As part of the rebranding, so-called “hallmarks”, additional symbols and graphic signs, were defined to be used as secondary logos across the brand’s applications. These include, for example, the Hotspur monogram which previously had a considerable significance as an identity element. It’s been remastered to be the club’s signature again.
Additionally, Tottenham’s colors were also redefined, as well as the graphic language of patterns, illustrations, and icons. While the club’s traditional colors stay dark blue and white, the brand has received some new contrast hues. With Spurs Display and Spurs Text, Tottenham has also got new typography. Just like other brand assets, these fonts are intended to give the Spurs recognizable face.
As the club’s managing director Donna Maria Cullen said, the management considered and developed many essential aspects of Tottenham’s history. “We listened to everyone in the club, and we now have a unified, consistent identity for everyone to get united behind it.”
Conclusions
In visual communications, brands need a reference to their history and at the same time, an image of the future in order not to be seen old-fashioned or even backward. In this regard, saving traditions doesn’t nessesserily mean staying unchanged. This rather means storytelling in a way that makes values and symbols understandable for modern people. So saving requires changing. Changes, on the other hand, doesn’t mean throwing overboard everything you had before.
In their rebranding, the Spurs demonstrate how a historical reference can be combined with a contemporary, visually attractive appearance. The new design tells about the team’s history in a quite modern, comprehensive, and appealing way. Unlike other football clubs, Tottenham doesn’t remain in the past, emphasizing its ambition in the sport and beyond.
