The Northampton Saints have unveiled their new crest after months of study, fan interaction, and thorough creative work with Jard Studio. The club incorporated the first emblem ever seen on a Saints kit into the new design, drawing inspiration from its illustrious history, which dates back to its founding in 1880.
Over the past year, the club conducted extensive research, including analysis of game engagement levels, matchday involvement, and supporter surveys. The objective was to determine whether the existing visual identity was appropriate for a cutting-edge, highly aspirational professional sports organization. The results highlighted several significant issues with the current crest:
- Difficult to Recall: The intricate and chaotic design made it difficult for even the most ardent supporters to remember key details.
- Absence of Core Colors: Although the club’s followers considered black, green, and gold the most essential aspects of its identity, these colors were not included in the club’s current emblem.
- Heritage: The current crest, created in the 1950s and used on playing uniforms since 1984, was derived from the Northampton coat of arms and did not reflect the club’s distinctive past.
- Awareness: Studies showed that Saints’ level of awareness was lower than that of other rugby clubs, a situation not helped by the team’s current visual identity.
- Scalability: In the modern era, the club’s crest is viewed more on TV, digital platforms, and the internet than anywhere else. 98% of social media users and over 80% of website visitors access content via mobile devices. Reduced size, the current crest lost detail, making it harder to identify in confined spaces.
The club sought to modernize its crest to ensure longevity in light of these challenges. The new design, set to debut in the 2024–2025 season, addresses all these issues. The result is an instantly recognizable and memorable logo that honors the club’s 1880 founding as the Northampton St. James Improvement Class while showcasing its black, green, and gold colors.
The new crest looks to the past while planning for the future of the Northampton Saints. The design process aimed to stay true to the club’s rich history and distinctive identity, emphasizing the significance of the club’s history, colors, name, and shield, as highlighted by supporters.
These elements are combined in the new crest’s simple, sophisticated design, heavily influenced by the club’s past. The end product is a distinctive, powerful, and easily identifiable logo. The club will use a new, unique typography, “Saintly,” inspired by the design, on all its physical and digital assets.
The new crest’s key features are:
- Color Integration: The club’s black, green, and gold colors are displayed on the crest, reflecting fan preferences and strengthening the club’s identity.
- Historical Elements: The design includes elements of the original emblem on team uniforms, honoring the Saints’ illustrious past.
- Modern Aesthetics: The new crest is designed with legibility and clarity in mind for all media, including TV and digital, where scalability is essential.
- Typography: The “Saintly” typeface was introduced to ensure a recognizable and uniform appearance for all club communications.
Supporters were actively involved in rebranding and receptive to improvements that honored the club’s history while meeting contemporary demands. This collaborative effort resulted in a crest that pays tribute to the past and sets the Northampton Saints up for future success.
The new crest is designed to work well on various platforms and applications. This includes products, online resources, matchday schedules, and more, ensuring the team presents a unified and professional image.
Overall, the Saints have made significant progress with their new look. It captures the club’s illustrious past while setting it up for continued growth and appreciation within the rugby community. Addressing previous issues and considering fan feedback, the new crest is poised to become a source of pride and unity for the Northampton Saints and its supporters.
