Thousands of future fans helped San Francisco’s new women’s volleyball team find its name. After months of discussion and voting, the club was introduced as San Francisco Signal. The club unveiled its name and identity on July 8, 2026. Previously known as LOVB San Francisco, the team is scheduled to make its League One Volleyball debut in January 2027.
Bay Area residents submitted 242 name suggestions, with three finalists advancing to a public vote. Participants sought a connection among volleyball, regional culture, and communication. Signal brought together athletic and community meanings. On the court, signals help six players coordinate their actions, communicate intentions, and respond to the game. Beyond the court, the name suggests ideas spreading with community support. The club connects this interpretation to the Bay Area’s history of local initiatives reaching far beyond the region.
Natasha Cirisano, Group Design Director at 72andSunny, led the identity development. The team sought to create a look that would bring residents together around the club. The agency became a founding partner, and its global CEO, Evin Shutt, joined the ownership group. The partnership spans several years of brand development and audience engagement.
The SIGNAL wordmark was custom-drawn for the team. A “shift line” runs through the letters, dividing them with diagonal cuts and offsetting their sections. According to the designers, the treatment expresses the path of a signal and the moment an idea begins to spread. The designers drew inspiration from Bay Area Art Deco architecture, modernist design, street intersections, bridges, and shorelines.
The wordmark consists of heavy uppercase sans-serif letters, combining rounded contours with sharp cuts. An angled cut appears in the upper section of the “S,” a diagonal rises between the “G” and “N,” and the lower-right terminal of the “L” extends and is beveled. The word retains a horizontal foundation, even as parts of individual letters extend beyond the line’s usual boundaries. Its geometry continues the project’s architectural theme.
A small SAN FRANCISCO sits above SIGNAL, with VOLLEYBALL beneath it. Both descriptors use centered sans-serif capitals. They identify the city and sport, while the team name takes priority. An SF monogram provides a compact alternative, using the same proportions and shift line. In animation, its sections move to transform the monogram into the full name.
The three primary colors connect to the club’s surroundings. Siren Red references the Golden Gate Bridge, First Light Cream evokes fog over the bay, and Horizon Blue draws on the water and sky. Red, cream, and blue appear alongside black-and-white versions of the logo. The identity guidelines include the color names and preserve their local associations.
For the unveiling, plans called for illuminating Coit Tower, San Francisco City Hall, the Oakland Tribune Building, and other landmarks in red. Bay Area restaurants joined the launch with special offers celebrating the arrival of San Francisco Signal.