Willing Foe is a side hustle of sorts but really an experiment to explore what is possible if I were to redesign all of the logos, crests, and badges of the English Football League. And, who knows, maybe convince a club or two to give Willing Foe a try to do it for real!

Football club brands are the perfect blend of story, tradition, history, and quirky origin stories. Regardless of whether or not a brand is due for an update, doing so carries great risk to all who try.

To underscore the importance of this the FA adopted rules preventing clubs from updating crests into over simplified corporate brands void of character. WF couldn’t agree more….

However, this doesn’t mean brands can’t be improved, updated or possibly fully evolved! As we move further into a digital design era where identity matters in being recognized we feel doing nothing can be equally risky. With that said, WF took on the entire EFL to explore some full redesigns, a few “return to your roots”, some minor tweaks, and from time to time a “let’s blow it up!”

Each design was considered carefully but not agonized over. WF did surface research into club history, developed a point of view or an interesting angle and jumped on it. It’s understood that there’s loads of history and personal attachment to each club’s crest. WF may have trotted over that a bit but the fun is seeing what’s possible with no restrictions.

New club designs will be added frequently so please follow along. Hate them. Love them. Debate them. Tell WF why the mark was missed or maybe tapped into something interesting. Either way WF hopes many come for the ride until we’ve hit every team!

Thanks,
A Willing Foe