FC Cincinnati Logo PNG
The FC Cincinnati logo conveys the city’s mood: strong and proud. The lion, a symbol of courage and strength, is reminiscent of Cincinnati’s coat of arms. It seems to guard the spirit of the team and its fans. The club grew out of the Lindner family’s initiative, who became its heart and driving force, thanks to whom football in the city began to sound different.
FC Cincinnati is a professional soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that has competed in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference since 2019. Before that, the franchise was part of the United Soccer League. Negotiations between the club’s owners and Major League Soccer representatives about bringing the franchise to Cincinnati lasted almost a year, from early 2016 until mid-December. On May 29, 2018, MLS announced that the local FC would join the league as FC Cincinnati.
The new franchise is owned by the investment group that previously owned FC Cincinnati. The disbanded club operated for about 4 years, from August 15, 2015, to November 30, 2018. Its majority owner is Carl H. Lindner III, co-CEO of American Financial Group. The remaining shares are held by minority owners, including Chris Lindner (Carl’s son), Mike Mossel (co-founder of Dayton Dutch Lions), Jack Wyant, George Joseph, Steve Hightower, Scott Farmer, Jeff Berding, and David L. Thompson.
Initially, the club was named Futbol Club Cincinnati. It was the only MLS member to use the word “football” in Spanish. On April 16, 2018, the board of directors held a special meeting to change “Futbol” to “Fussball” (“ss” analogous to the German symbol ß) in legal and official documents. However, it is not used in sports-related mentions of the team or in public discussions. Fortunately, the rebranding did not affect the “FC” abbreviation and the shortened name “FC Cincy.” The renaming of Fussball Club Cincinnati is a tribute to the city’s German heritage.
The team’s moniker, “The Orange and Blue,” has been used since the team’s inception, but it is now fixed in the branding. Its primary color palette includes orange and blue, respectively. The FC Cincinnati of 2015-2018 also used these colors, borrowed from Dayton Dutch Lions, but the current colors seem brighter and bolder. Secondary colors white, dark blue, and grey are added to enhance this unique soccer color palette.
Meaning and History
Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati debuted in 2019 with a logo whose concept and colors resembled those of the same-named team in the United Soccer League. However, the design of Cincinnati’s new logo is splendid. It has a vintage aesthetic with a modern twist that is extremely attractive.
What is FC Cincinnati?
It is a soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded by a group that included the Lindner family. Currently, its owner is Carl H. Lindner III. The team roster was officially announced in 2015, and players started competing in 2018. Their debut league was the USL Championship, and their home arena was Nippert Stadium.
2015 – 2018
The first FC Cincinnati logo featured a rich, bold color scheme, signaling the club’s ambitions even before its first major sporting results. The blue shield with an orange outline depicts an old city’s coat of arms. The look carries echoes of medieval symbolism and knightly tournaments.
The upper part of the shield draws attention with an architectural motif. Three massive battlements are shaped like tower tops, with a separate element above each resembling a crown and hovering over the shield. The entire upper group is rendered in orange.
The FC abbreviation looks restrained and strict, in a style close to Gotham Bold or DIN Condensed. The letterforms are straight and compact. Below, the name CINCINNATI is set in white. The letters are vertically stretched, narrow, and placed close together. In style, the typography resembles Univers or Alternate Gothic.
The lower part of the shield is dedicated to the mark’s main symbol. A heraldic griffin, combining the strength of a lion and the freedom of an eagle, is depicted holding a ball and a sword in its paws, with a crown above its head. The orange color of the figure echoes other elements of the emblem, tying the entire composition into a single narrative image filled with power and dignity.
2018 – today
The current FC Cincinnati crest conveys a cohesive, well-balanced design. The basis of the mark is a shield. Its outer contour is outlined with a thin dark blue line that visually separates the emblem from the background. The shield’s inner space is divided diagonally into two zones that extend toward opposite corners.
The upper section is filled with blue and contains the letters FC in white. The typography is strict and close to DIN Condensed or Bebas Neue. Below, along the diagonal dividing line, is the city name CINCINNATI. The inscription is rendered in dark blue. The letters are vertically stretched, horizontally compressed, and placed close together.
The lower zone of the shield is orange and features a white winged lion. The lion is shown standing on its hind legs, with its front paw raised, holding a sword. The silhouette itself is simplified. A crown is placed on the head, a reference to Cincinnati’s nickname, the Queen City. Seven segments of the mane point to the city’s seven hills. The wing is divided into three sections, each linked to the years the team played in the USL before moving to MLS. The curved tail forms the outline of the letter C, the first letter of the city name.
The image of the winged lion on an orange field carries a strong historical subtext. This symbol traces its origins to the Venetian Republic and is associated with Saint Mark, who in European culture is linked to strength and nobility.
Font and Colors
The FC Cincinnati emblem takes the form of a Norman or early Gothic heraldic shield shaped like a teardrop. Its main element is a winged lion with a crown and sword, the so-called Lion of St. Mark, symbolizing the best human qualities. The crown denotes the city’s authority. The sword, in turn, indicates a constant readiness to fight for high ideals.
The logo includes the inscription “FC Cincinnati.” The acronym, formed from the phrase “Football Club,” is located in the upper-right corner within a distorted triangle. Designers developed a custom font for it, with vertical strokes cut at a sharp angle. The nickname stretches diagonally from bottom to top, visually dividing the shield into two parts. It’s written in an italic sans-serif font with a strong leftward slant.
Additionally, the emblem features all of the club’s official colors, both primary and secondary. Among them are orange (#FE5000), blue (#003087), light grey (#BBBCBC), white (#FFFFFF), and dark blue (#041E42). They combine so that the shield’s base is light while all the details are dark. Only the letters “FC” and the lion’s silhouette are colored white to contrast with the bright geometric figures.