One of the best football teams in the world is Barcelona, whose logo illustrates the club’s rich history of success. Adherence to it is symbolized by the practically unchanged execution of the emblem, which reflects the stability of the sports leader’s worldview, strategy, and tactics.
Barcelona: Brand overview
Founded: | 29 November 1899 |
Headquarters: |
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain |
Website: | fcbarcelona.com |
Meaning and History
Barcelona Football Club, also known as Barça, was founded by Swiss businessman Hans Gamper. On October 22, 1899, he sent a note to a local newspaper to invite everyone to participate in creating a football club. Eleven people responded and, one month later, on November 29, 1899, they formed a team named FC Ball (Foot Ball Club Barcelona).
From the first day of the team’s foundation, the club’s uniform had a blue-pomegranate coloring: one half of the shirt was blue, and the other one was a pomegranate, the panties were painted white.
The famous Barcelona emblem appeared in 1910. It has remained to this day with minor changes. In the beginning, the coat of Barcelona’s arms was taken as a logo basis to emphasize the club’s affiliation to the city. But later, the team decided to create its coat of arms.
Over the years, the team has had several versions of the same logo. The most cardinal and, at the same time, legendary is dated to the 1910th year. The options for subsequent years almost completely repeat it, reflecting the club’s unchanging worldview.
In the first 11 years of the club’s existence, the coat of arms of Barcelona was used as an emblem, but in 1910, the founder of Barca decided: it’s time to get his team symbolism. The competition for the best emblem was won by a team player and medical student Carles Kampala.
The Barcelona logo has a sign of Saint George’s Cross, the patron saint of Catalonia. In 2010, before signing an advertising contract with Qatar Foundation ($ 150 million), the club management changed it for Muslim fans. Thus, the horizontal band was removed.
The ball of the early twentieth century, depicted on the Barcelona sign, remains its original form. For the 105-year history, the logo has been slightly changed for 12 times.
In 2018, an attempt was made to update the club symbol. The new version of the logo looked more concise than the previous ones because there are no protruding elements and an abbreviation on it. Also, the Summa agency (who were tasked with updating the logo) reinforced the color of the ball’s borderlines, which made it look golden. And the general color scheme has shifted to a bright spectrum. This emblem was presented to club members who were supposed to approve the changes. October 20, at the general meeting of all members, after the vote – the logo was rejected.
What is Barcelona?
Barcelona is a soccer club that fans often call Barça. It was established in 1899 and named after the Spanish city where its home stadium, Camp Nou, is located. The team is a member of La Liga and has won over 25 league championships. It has also claimed victories in several FIFA Club World Cups, UEFA Champions League titles, Copa del Rey trophies, and other major competitions. Barcelona is known as a symbol of Catalan culture: during its matches, fans bring Catalan flags.
1899 – 1910
Debut symbolism is centered around a golden rhombus located between two branches – laurel and palm. The central element is divided into four parts, in two of which the Catalan banner (red stripes on the yellow field) is depicted, and in two – a wide scarlet cross on a white background. A crown with gems is placed above the geometric figure – the personification of monarchist power and a hint of the club’s noble roots. Above is a black bat with outstretched wings
1910 – 1920
In 1910, the final logo of the Barcelona team appeared, which is still relevant. Subsequent changes (and there were several) did not affect its essence: minor adjustments covered only small details. In particular, the modifications affected the style, contour, and arrangement of letters. But the heraldic elements were exactly preserved: a large curly shield with four zones, which depicts the cross of St. George, the flag of Catalonia, the club’s short name, the colors of the form, and the soccer ball.
1920 – 1936
Ten years later, designers have strengthened the palette of key details, making the background of letters and the ball saturated yellow. They also worked on the ornament on the borderline of the shield and replaced the elaborate elements with six strict features – three on each side.
1936 – 1941
In this version, the abbreviation is placed on a dark blue ribbon crossing the shield.
1941 – 1949
This period’s logo has something in common with the modern version, except the thickening in the lower part and the color intensity.
1949 – 1960
After the redesign, the emblem received a brown ball, a white background for the name and an abbreviation, supplemented by the preposition “de” in the Spanish manner.
1960 – 1974
The logo of the 60s was squat. It was dominated by red shades that replaced brown ones. Another change affected the return of yellow.
1974 – 1975
In this version, “FCB” the white backing appeared again. Also, the side trim elements have been redone.
1975 – 2002
A year later, the emblem acquired brightness and distinctness. The existing palette was strengthened, letters in bold, and the color of the ball changed.
2002 – today
With the advent of the millennium, the club decided to modernize the logo. The work on it was entrusted to the designer Claret Serrahima, who removed the dots from the abbreviated name of the team, reduced the second half of the shield, and left one tooth in the bottom instead of three. He also removed excess jewelry from the outer edge.
Font and Colors
The team logo has always consisted of several heraldic signs and was divided into four fragments. Each of them reflects a certain idea: the desire for development, occupation, respect for the roots, and close connection with the native land.
The upper left corner is occupied by the cross of St. George, the emblem of Catalonia’s patron saint. There, on the right, there are four red stripes on a yellow background – the Catalan flag of Senyera. Below them stretches a wide strip with the inscription “FCB” in upper case. This is the abbreviation of the full name Football Club Barcelona. Black letters on a gold substrate separate the lower part, which depicts a yellow ball with three red lines on a blue field – the color of the uniform of football players.
A curly medieval shield unites all elements with dark edging.
There are three legends about the company’s blue-garnet color. Its founder Hans Gamper couldn’t choose the color of the team clothes. He doubted between the native Swiss canton Ticino and his first club Excelsior. It is also said that at a constituent assembly in 1899, one of the participants had a popular at that time two-sided blue-garnet pencil.
Red and yellow stripes have the colors of Catalonia. At the time of the Spanish dictator Franco (1939-1975), four bands were corrected to two because the Spanish flag has the same colors, but it has fewer bands. At the end of the ’40s, political repression weakened, and in honor of the club’s 50th anniversary, the band was returned.
The used font on the logo – Sans Serif, one of its varieties, developed by Tobias Frere-Jones. It is called Interstate Bold.
Barcelona color codes
Saffron | Hex color: | #edbb00 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 237 187 0 | |
CMYK: | 0 21 100 7 | |
Pantone: | PMS 7549 C |
Blue | Hex color: | #004d98 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 17 152 | |
CMYK: | 100 49 0 40 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2945 C |
Big Dip O’Ruby | Hex color: | #a50044 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 167 30 49 | |
CMYK: | 5 100 71 22 | |
Pantone: | PMS 7636 C |
Red | Hex color: | #db0030 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 219 0 48 | |
CMYK: | 0 100 78 14 | |
Pantone: | PMS 185 C |
Sedona Red | Hex color: | #ffed02 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 255 237 2 | |
CMYK: | 0 7 99 0 | |
Pantone: | PMS 102 C |
Black | Hex color: | #000000 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 0 0 0 | |
CMYK: | 0 0 0 100 | |
Pantone: | PMS Process Black C |