In the summer of 2015, our hometown of Cincinnati announced that a new soccer club would be taking the field for the 2016 season. The announcement made a huge splash, and was a hint of things to come. In the following 3 seasons in the United Soccer League, FC Cincinnati made international news, got farther in the US Open Cup than any USL team in decades, and broke every single attendance record for the league they joined. All of this catapulted them to the top in the United States, Major League Soccer.
Throughout their existence, we had a vision of what FC Cincinnati's crest and overall brand narrative could feel like if it leaned on a design language that had a direct and obvious connection to the city. This is the final work that we landed on.
The crest is lead by the three waves from the Cincinnati flag. These waves symbolize Cincinnati's proximity to the mighty Ohio River; the body of water that made Cincinnati possible, flooded its shores with migrants from around the world, and was at one point, a beacon of freedom for many Americans fleeing slavery in America's south. The city's motto adorns the bottom of the crest, and is flanked by seven barley grains on both sides. These speak to our rich, historic, German brewing history, and our nickname, "the City of Seven Hills."
FC Cincinnati has used a winged lion as its mascot since its inception. As a city, Cincinnati has a historic mascot in the flying pig. Its origins go back to the days when Cincinnati was a midwest pork hub. In our efforts to be authentically Cincy, we wanted to bring Cincinnati's winged friend into the mix.
