THEME WEEK - Chicago Metropolitan

[jackkmart]

Introduction

First off I will say that there are many better locations for an expansion team for the SSL at this time. A few that spring to mind are Germany, China, Brazil, etc. There are even better locations in the US; New York for example. However, I was raised in Chicago and I felt we should be represented in the SSL.

This article will be a combo article and graphics post (lucky you) because I feel like some graphics are necessary to properly pitch a team, especially with regards to branding.

Identity

So first the name, I chose Chicago Metropolitan Athletic Club (or Football Club) abbreviated as either CMAC or CHM. Primarily, I wanted to harken back to the early 1900s and late 1800s to create a brand vaguely based on gilded-age aesthetics. This is because Chicago at this time was going through so many rapid changes from the World's Fair to the Stockyard explosion and the Mob era. I think this time was just generally very rich in history and the team's identity attempts to portray that a little.

Also, I think I wanted to stay away from red as a color in this team's branding as it's already used by every professional Chicago team bar the White Sox.

The colors I chose were 'Metro Blue' (#0A1E30), a very dark blue, which represents Lake Michigan and the general grit of the people of Chicago. The secondary color I chose was 'Gilded Gold' (#FFC52F), obviously meant to represent the gilded age and offer a stark contrast to the deep blue primary color. Finally, the third color s 'Chicago Blue' (#B2DFF4), the classic sky blue color is seen on Chicago's flag and generally all over the city.

Branding

The primary logo is a simplified version of the 'full' logo you can see further down the post. Basically, it features a stylized, interlocking CM and the Chicago six-pointed star, within a Metro Blue circle, with Chicago Blue accents. The interlocking CM obviously is meant to represent Chicago Metropolitan but they are styled to look somewhat art-deco if that makes sense. Generally, I wanted to go for a pretty simple look that is supposed to be somewhat

First the 'badge' logo. I don't foresee this being the logo used most prominently by the club, but instead, the official 'full' logo to be used when necessary. It's just a roundel logo version of the simpler primary logo with some text added above and below.

Here's just the interlocking CM:

Finally the jerseys.

I didn't go too crazy with these, I think it's better to have a simpler design that translates well in FM so the team is more easily identifiable.

HOME

AWAY

THIRD

That's it. I hope you lot like it, let me know what you think and if you have any comments or critiques I'm happy to go over certain aspects to chop and change in order to improve.

[Canadice]

Really great color palette, albeit another blue team in the SSL.