NEW YORK CITY FOOTBALL CLUB (NYCFC) IS A MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER CLUB.
The club was born of the two global sporting giants, Manchester City FC and the New York Yankees, and began play in Major League Soccer in 2015. New York City FC made an instant impact in MLS, signing global superstars David Villa, Frank Lampard, and Andrea Pirlo in the inaugural season. The club plays at Yankee Stadium while searching the five boroughs for a permanent home.
In my two years as the only full-time designer at NYCFC, I was responsible for building the visual identity of this brand. Starting with the badge, I had a hand in just about everything the club produced.
THE BADGE
Starting with NYC monogram (designed by Alfalfa Studio’s Rafael Esquer), I aimed to develop a crest in which each element ties to the City of New York.
My task was to design a shield upon which the NYC monogram rests. Inspired by old subway tokens, I elected to make the shape of the crest a circle. The typeface – Gotham – designed by Hoefler & Co, and based on vernacular signage of New York City (Gotham is also a nickname for New York City). The pentagons represent New York City’s five boroughs, and the orange is the exact shade found in the New York City flag.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, the crest I created for NYCFC would massively influence the crest design for sister clubs Melbourne City FC and Manchester City FC.
INAUGURAL SEASON LOGO
The 2015 Inaugural Season logo is inspired by mosaics found throughout New York City’s subway stations. The logo’s primary use was as the jocktag of NYCFC home and away kits during the club’s first season. It also appeared on dozens of pieces of merchandise sold online and at Yankee Stadium.
2017-2018 HOME KIT
CAPTAIN’S ARMBAND
SEASON TICKET PACKAGING
I had the pleasure of designing the season ticket holder box and all of its contents ahead of the club’s inaugural 2015 season.
The season ticket box opened to reveal a blueprint, suggesting that the founding member season ticket holders provided the plan and foundation for the club’s future. Also included in the box was a scarf with the names of 3,000 season ticket holders, a bracelet, sticker, lanyard, and – of course – the suiteticket books or seasoncards.
Photo Credit: Nathan Congleton, Elizabeth Shrier, NYCFC, Adidas