Well I have to say, as I get closer and closer to number one spot for Bottom Five of the MLS, it just keeps getting harder and harder. I now see why some of these teams took different/easier routes. As I got into this one I found out that FC Dallas was actually called Dallas Burn, but they re-branded in 2005 when they moved into their new stadium. Previously for the 2003 season, the Dallas Burn were playing in a high school stadium. Anyways, I keep coming across old school/retro designs! The 90's was a great and horrible time for soccer design. Remember now, Photoshop had just been developed for all users, not just professionals. Which is why we get such a wide variety of design in all of these original founding MLS clubs.
See the development below of #2 on the Bottom Five; and as always, let me know your thoughts!
One of my favorite logos that incorporate a horse is the Charlotte Independence of the USL. Knowing it would be pretty tough to achieve something similar, I decided to go with the flame.
What the hell am I talking about? Back in 1996 when the Dallas Burn began in the MLS, their logo/branding consisted of a horse breathing out flames. Sounds cheesy right? (see below)
Well it is, but I wanted to bring these elements BACK into my re-brand. Maybe not exactly, but I wanted to see how I could either modify or enhance these elements.
And so my objectives for this logo:
- Get rid of the "Texas Longhorn" bull
- Eliminate use of BLUE, modify RED
- Incorporate original branding elements
With an idea in mind, I headed to Buddy Brew Coffee again to start developing my logo. Though this time I hit a crossroad. A couple posts ago I talked about how I get ahead of myself or grow impatient with my drawing skills.
Previously, I ranked FC Dallas as #2 in the BottomFive logos in the MLS. View here
From the start my idea was taking shape.
Well this time I had a good idea, I did well on the sketch, now I was ready to take it to the screen. However, once I built it, it just wasn't working. The flame was too much, it was too organic and almost generic to make it the focus of the logo. It was one of those frustrating times where I knew it didn't work but I didn't feel like trying something else. It wasn't the greatest logo, but I was ok with how it came out.
It wasn't until I showed it to a friend of mine, that he told me to use the horse. I explained to him that I didn't think I could pull it off, but I noticed something as I was talking and looking at the logo. After scrapping my whole previous idea, I started working on a new draft. Shout out to my guy Ben for some insight, check out his Instagram here!
Can you guess what I'm going to do? I kept the FC Dallas shield, but eliminated the blue color. Darkened the red, both brands used a bright pinkish red, I wanted to go for a more rustic red. See the combination below!
The color I knew I wanted to keep no matter what was the gold. The red had to be modified, kept the black but eliminated the blue.
Taking the flame from the horse's mouth, I combined different layers of it to make a mane for the horse. I'm not the biggest fan of the legs of the horse of the body, so I sadly decapitated it, but it was for the greater good. The mane looks like its burning up in the middle of the shield and leading into the name. I almost get a Liverpool FC feel from it.
Blast from the Past, I kept the old name and added the FC from the new name, Dallas Burn FC.
Time and time again I have been saying the color blue is everywhere in the MLS. It seems like everyone is using the same shade of blue too. So I removed that right away and stuck with the gold, black and red, but wow does it look good in plain white too.
After developing a one color version, I created what I thought was a great secondary/alternate use of the horse element. Also featuring it in a more straight lined approach, it comes across very clean.
I started out guns-blazin' with a great idea, but crashed and burned. However, I was able to create what I feel like is a much stronger logo than my previous draft.
The hoops or stripes, are a tribute to their use of hooped designed jerseys. Later I might do a jersey mock-up, make sure you follow me on Instagram for extras!
Someone get me this hat, ok? Ok thanks.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to look out
for the last part of #BottomFive of the mls!
Are you a PDL, NPSL, USL, NASL, or amateur league soccer team in need of a logo? Contact me!
Want to know how I rate these logos? Here's a little breakdown:
Originality- What makes the logo its own? Does it stand out among the rest, or blend in?
Creativity- Is there that special thing that makes it stand out? What sets it apart from the others in a special way?
Color Scheme- I'm looking for 1-3 colors, maybe four, at the very most five, if they're used well.
Agree? Don't agree? Leave a reply!