The Fire have a new logo. Stay tuned for the reaction.
Along with their revised official name of Chicago Fire Football Club, the Fire unveiled the first new primary logo in franchise history. Designed by New York-based Doubleday & Cartwright, the badge was created after the Fire underwent a process of more than 18 months of consultation, focus groups and surveys.
The result is a blue oval logo with CHICAGO on top and FIRE FC on the bottom, written in gold. Inside the oval are six triangles that make up what the team is calling the Fire Crown. The bottom three triangles are red and represent the Great Chicago Fire, and the top three are gold and represent the modern-day city and its people.
The Fire’s logo is the only oval primary mark in MLS.
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In the announcement, the team said the logo is “built around a bold icon reflecting the powerful origin story of modern Chicago and the legend of its people.” The Fire Crown “tells the story of a dramatic rebirth and a city’s triumph.”
“As a Chicagoan, it was important to me that our new brand identity reflect the power of our city’s origin,” Fire owner Joe Mansueto said in a news release. “I’ve always loved the Chicago Fire name. I think of the people who rolled up their sleeves and committed to rebuild what would become a world-class city, one that my family and I love so much. The new badge including the Fire Crown represents that spirit.”
The franchise’s original logo was a version of the Florian Cross, which is a symbol of fire fighters. The new logo keeps blue and red, but drops gray for gold. The team has also added “flag blue” and ivory to its color palette, but those shades will be used in future elements and uniforms.
“The club’s pillars – Be Chicago. Be Football. Be a Club. – are fused into the new badge,” Fire president/general manager Nelson Rodriguez said in a news release. “We appreciate all the fans, partners and staff who contributed to helping us evolve the identity of the club.”
As for the uniforms, the team will unveil designs at a later date. There is speculation the primary uniform could change from red to blue.
Leaked online last Thursday then all-but confirmed when an application by Major League Soccer with the United States Patent and Trademark Office was spotted online Wednesday, the logo has not been greeted warmly. Tweets on the #cf97 hashtag used by Fire diehards have been overwhelmingly negative, and supportive posts have been rare.
