In the Shield Shirkers project, I’ve given myself 20+ club badges to design. I’m probably going to miss out any that I don’t absolutely have to design. Designers have their own ideas about what looks best and many will think their way is better than anyone else’s. I do have thoughts like that when critiquing design work online. However, I’m also prepared to say when I think someone else has nailed it. And where a club has an existing option to avoid heraldic issues. This brings me to Albion Rovers and Arbroath…
Shield Shirkers #01a – Albion Rovers FC
The goldmine that is the Historical Kits website shows Albion Rovers have switched between a badge inside a shield and one without. The obvious solution for them is to go back to the version without the shield. Maybe the designer in me should try to come up with an alternative but sometimes the best solution is ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’.
Shield Shirkers #01b – Arbroath FC
According to comments on Pie&Bovril.com, Elijah Wade’s redesign of the Arbroath FC badge has gone down pretty well. I would have done a similar thing of using the portculis chains to make a near shield shape. I doubt he was thinking about the Lord Lyon’s rulings but the effect is the same. I don’t think it’s worth duplicating the idea so I figured it was better to link to his site – credit where it’s due. Maybe a case of ‘great minds think alike’ on this one? There don’t seem to be many people doing redesigns of Scottish football club badges so hopefully there’s enough room for both of us!
I’m an Airdrie Supporter who tried to help our supporters’ trust when this issue flared up. It was actually my dad who came up with the alternative design which was a bit of a master stroke in terms of keeping everyone happy. I think that your work on the Ayr Badge and the work Elijah has done is really interesting and would love to see more of your designs. The other option is to change to a heraldic badge and register it as Hibs, Raith Rovers, Motherwell etc. have done.
Thanks for that. It makes sense to use things that already exist so fans are familiar with them. That’s kind of what I’m trying to do too. I’m glad you like what you’ve seen. I’d meant to do more over the holidays – I’ll try and get back to it soon. You’re right about the heraldic option. I didn’t mention it on here but did on the AUFC forum a while back.
Brilliant stuff, and thanks for the shoutout.
This year, I’ve decided to restart my SPFL redesign project, complete with full home and away kits. At this point, I only have Queen’s Park and Stirling Albion left. If you’re interested, you can see the new designs here: https://elijahwadeartefacts.com/2018/04/24/rebrand-scottish-professional-football-league/
Keep up the good work.
E