In 2014, the ‘Class of 92’ – ex Manchester United academy players, now legends, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary and Phil Neville and Nicky Butt had become the new owners of non-league Salford City FC.
They had acquired the club with a clear agenda to give something back to their community, to give other local lads the chance that they once had and to give the city of Salford a chance of professional football.
The brief was to redesign the entire look and feel of the club; from manifesto to visual identity to architecture and the digital story, turning an eighth division, semi professional club, into a brand the Class of 92 and the people of Salford could be proud of.
The heritage of the club and the city itself had to be acknowledged in the new design, and be infused with the ethos of no nonsense, honest, hardworking football, married with the ambition of the ChampionsLeague-winning new owners.
The motto of the city of Salford ‘Integrity and Industry’ and the existing club crest containing the Salford lion was the starting point for the new brand. The sideways facing lion of the club and city was turned to face forward, making it look confidently into the future (and t-shirtable enough for a regular Salford lad to wear).
The shape of the logo could be reproduced easily and recognised unmistakably. The mane of the lion is a 6 sided shield that was taken from the profile of a container ship commonly found a few miles away in the Salford dock, the 6 sides was in subtle reference to the original 6 members of the Class of ’92.
The typeface, an element so core to the brand was also taken from the docks. SAA is the regulation font found on all shipping containers worldwide and would have been commonplace when the docks fully operational. In design it also perfectly embodied the club’s ‘Integrity and Industry’ values, with clear, hardworking letterforms.
Having flirted with five colours in their 40 year history, the Salford FC shirts are now the red that served the Class of ’92 so well for so long. Local Salford sponsors have adopted the new identity with the kit manufacturer.
The design also had to be flexible. The takeover saw player development became central, with local players mentored by the Class of 92 personally. With this in mind, the shape - originally the mane - forms a container in which all manner of sub brands can sit. ‘A92’ (Academy 92) becomes the young player academy branding, similarly a ‘CO92’ was also created for the Class of ’92.
The design also had to be flexible. The takeover saw player development became central, with local players mentored by the Class of 92 personally. With this in mind, the shape - originally the mane - forms a container in which all manner of sub brands can sit. ‘A92’ (Academy 92) becomes the young player academy branding, similarly a ‘CO92’ was also created for the Class of ’92.
Finally the branding is starting to transform the local community stadium itself, with stencilled identity and quotes from local Salfordians on what their city means to them.