Chelsea FC

Based just down from the Kings Road in Fulham, Chelsea FC have a reputation as one of football’s most stylish clubs. As a brand, they transcend their sport, evoking a certain cultural sophistication, cosmopolitan outlook and confident sense of fashion. A symbol of London’s style, on and off the pitch.

Harnessing this heritage and ethos, Chelsea FC felt the time was right to move away from being a mere football brand, to something bigger and more aspirational. They wanted a new look and feel that captures a wider sense of cultural engagement and broadcasts the essence of west London to the world.

We were briefed by creative studio Uncommon to design a suite of four new custom fonts suitable for a broad range of audiences and media. Something that felt different from any other football brand. More sensitive, more delicate, more stylish, and more Chelsea.

Most football typography is predictable and safe, like always playing 4-4-2. It’s shouty, direct and unsubtle. And for the most part, all looks the same. We were asked for something daring. Something different.

The club crest, featuring the rampant blue lion regardant from the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, was our first port of call. The curves and sharp edges of the familiar leonine emblem were a way of giving Chelsea teeth and claws, and a voice that comes from within. It’s audacious, sharp, elongated yet stylish, and unmistakably Chelsea. No other club could wear this.

Four fonts in multiple weights offer a range of communication options. These run from the extremely sharp and exaggerated CFC Sharp display font at one end. Right through to CFC Sans, which is a perfectly functional, yet slightly quirky, text face at the other. It’s like a family of typefaces that’s able to retract its claws as necessary.

Features taken directly from the lion include angular shapes, claw-like serifs and sweeping curves, inspired by the lion’s tail. CFC Sharp is very high contrast, with all the graphic elements dialled up to the max and is best used BIG. CFC Serif tones things down a little, conveying similar bite and emotions with more legibility. CFC Flared is the box-to-box midfielder, riding the line between a serif and a sans, suitable from everything from lock-ups to headlines, to sub-headings, to body copy.

It's a brave typographic departure, but one that Chelsea FC can pull off with trademark style.