Badge / Logo Changes

Ever since its founding in 1880, Manchester City Football Club has competed under 6 different badges.

## (1880-1887) St. Mark's Badge

   The first badge the club used was back in 1880 when the club was playing under the name St. Mark's Football Club. It consisted of a white cross Pattee design on a black background. The standard cross is a traditional symbol for Christianity, representing salvation and sacrifice and has appeared in many forms over the years. The cross used in the logo was based on some of the decoration used for the St Mark’s church and was an important icon to the group when it was still operating under the church's name.

## (1887-1894) Ardwick AFC Badge

   This badge was used during the time that the club was playing under the name Ardwick Association Football Club. The badge was of a traditional crest shape and was executed in a white and light blue color palette. The badge was divided into four segments with the letters "AAFC" placed in each segment. The blue letters were set in the white fragments while the white ones were set in the light blue fragments. The badge stayed active for seven years until the name of the club changed yet again.

## (1894-1960) Manchester City FC Badge 1

   After Ardwick AFC was reformed as Manchester City Football Club, a Coat of Arms based on the official Manchester Coat of Arms was embraced as their new main logo. The coat of arms was composed of an orange shield with three yellow oblique lines on it. The upper part of the shield portrays a clipper placed against a white sky and sailing a blue sea. The shield sits on green grass and is held by a white deer on the left and a golden lion on the right, implemented by curvy orange and yellow vignettes on top with a helmet and a globe in the pale blue and pink palette with 7 bees placed on it. This badge was very similar to what Manchester United used at the beginning of their history. The club used the design for a significant amount of time up until the 2000s and last used this variation of their first logo in 2011.

## (1969-1970) Manchester City FC Badge 2

This badge which appeared in 1960 was revolutionary and shaped what the badge of Manchester City would look like for the years to come. The orange and yellow shield from the Manchester Coat of Arms was placed on a light blue background and encircled in a thick white-and-black circular frame with a black sans-serif inscription around its border. The clipper on this emblem was also executed in yellow and placed on a white and orange background. The clipper used in the Manchester Coat of Arms recalls the region’s long trading activities. The diagonal stripes belong to the Greeley dynasty.

## (1970-1972) Manchester City FC Badge 3

    In 1979 the logo was redesigned again. All elements from the previous badge were modified and the color palette was shifted to a more enthusiastic one, making the framing light blue and making the wordmark gold with a black outline. The shield was modernized, and the lines were made bolder and more balanced. The clipper was still kept on a white background but the red sea was replaced with yellow waves. The periods between the "F.C" in the previous badge was changed into squares and an extra period was added on to end ("F.C."). The dot that appeared between the words "Manchester" and "City" in the previous badge was removed and added at the bottom of the badge in this redesign.

## (1972-1976) Manchester City FC Badge 4

    The Lancashire Red Rose which was the symbol of the county of Lancashire first appeared on the shield in 1972, replacing the diagonal stripes belonging to the Greeley dynasty. Now the shield, outlined in gold, was placed on a light blue background and featured a bold sans-serif lettering in a modern and massive typeface around the white frame’s perimeter. The yellow clipper was also placed on a blue background.

**In 1976 the club reverted back to using the first badge for 5 years until 1981.**

## (1981-1997) Manchester City FC Badge 5

    The tones of the logo were enriched in 1981. The shield gained gradient blue and white shades, which added volume and style to the emblem, and the background of the internal circle became brighter than on the previous version. The wordmark and a solid black dot in the bottom of the frame remained unaffected. The club played under this badge for 16 years which is the third longest they have played under a badge. This was the final badge tweak before the club moved onto a radical new concept with the addition of an Eagle and Stars,

## (1997-2016) Manchester City FC Badge 6

    Due to allegations of copyright infringement, the club was forced to change its logo again in 1997. It was a new concept adopted by the team and stayed with them for almost twenty years and is known to be one of their most well-known logos. The blue shield with three white diagonals (Represents the Medlock, Irk, and Irwell Rivers) was placed on the body of a golden eagle (an old symbol of the city), who had its head turned to the left. Above the eagle, there were three five-pointed stars in gold, placed to celebrate the club’s winnings and trophies. Under the shield a white curved ribbon with the club’s motto was placed, where the “Superbia In Proelio” in an old-style cursive was written in black and meant “Pride in battle”. As for the crest itself, it maintained its main elements which were the stripes and the clipper, but now they were separated by a bold black line with “M. C. F. C.” Abbreviation in gold serif on it.

## (2016-Today) Manchester City FC Badge 7

    The 1997 badge received a lot of criticism and protests from the team’s fans, so it was only natural that the club changed it less than 10 years after it was introduced. A message about this was released on October 15, 2015 and later the club had consultations with their fans about what the badge should look like. Fans of the team took part in the creation of the logo. Fans themselves chose colors, shapes, and elements of the image. On 26 December 2015, Manchester City revealed their new badge to fans prior to the Boxing Day game against Sunderland AFC and returned back to the design of the badge of the 1990s, which featured the rounded badge and a red rose. The shield in a double blue and gold outline featured the clipper in gradient gold and a red rose on a blue striped background. The wordmark in royal blue is placed around the edge of the circular frame, executed in a modern and solid sans-serif typeface. The “1894” date mark is positioned horizontally on the frame, using a light blue shade. The badge somehow resembles logos of other clubs belonging to City Football Group.

1. ↑ Fabrik Brands - Manchester City logo history and Man City badge evolution
2. ↑ Fabrik Brands - Manchester City logo history and Man City badge evolution
3. ↑ 1000 Logos - MANCHESTER CITY LOGO
4. ↑ 1000 Logos - MANCHESTER CITY LOGO
5. ↑ Logolook - Manchester City Logo
6. ↑ Fabrik Brands - Manchester City logo history and Man City badge evolution
7. ↑ Logolook - Manchester City Logo
8. ↑ Logolook - Manchester City Logo
9. ↑ Logos-World.net - Manchester City Logo
10. ↑ 1000 Logos - MANCHESTER CITY LOGO
11. ↑ 1000 Logos - MANCHESTER CITY LOGO
12. ↑ 1000 Logos - MANCHESTER CITY LOGO