The history of the development of the ESPN and Rangers Glasgow brands and the evolution of their logos.
A logo is a corporate trademark of a company, its individual symbol, an emblem. It plays a key role in the identification and recognition of the brand in society and is an essential element of the company’s image. The presence of a company logo speaks first of all about its status and is a guarantor of quality. In fact, almost every well-known company has redrawn its logo at least once, whether it is due to rebranding, a change in the type of activity, or simply keeping up with fashion trends. Any enterprise has an interesting history of the evolution of the trademark. Let’s take a look at the development of brand symbols that are now known around the world using the example of two sports giants, such as the ESPN TV channel and the Rangers football team.
Rangers Football Club
The Rangers are the oldest football club in Scotland, which was founded in March 1872 in the city of Glasgow. From the first day of the team’s creation to the present day, the Glasgow Rangers or Teddy Bears are the most titled football club in Scotland and still hold the “palm”. To date, the footballers have won 55 league titles and 27 in the League Cup. Do not forget that on the world football arena the team has a large number of top-level trophies.
The first official meeting of the Rangers club was on July 15, 1873, when the initial lineup of the team was formed, and the name of the club was chosen, which, according to legend, was taken from a rugby book and at that time belonged to the most popular team. Since 1959, when the “teddy bears” entered the international level and began to hold matches outside the country, then there was a need for a distinctive sign, in a corporate style.
Initially, the corporate logo of the club was presented in the shape of a lion on a blue stand with a golden outline and a soccer ball. The motto ‘Ready’ was inscribed under the lion and everything was placed in a red circle with the name of the team. The lion figure was chosen for a reason, the football team wanted to be associated primarily with their country, and for Scotland it is a heraldic symbol of the royal family and some military structures. In 1968, the logo underwent its first changes: the lion was depicted in red over a blue ball. As before, everything was placed in a circle, but on a white background. The main image of the logo was not changed in 1991, except for the richer color of the figure and its detail. The main change was made to the outline of the circle. This time the lines turned dark blue, just like the color of the soccer ball. If we consider the logo of 2020, which is still relevant to this day, then first of all it can be replaced that the color of the ball does not differ in color from the logo itself, the palette has become more saturated, and the name of the club has changed its location.
If we talk about the Rangers Glasgow football club, it is worth noting the uniform of the players and the changes that have occurred to it since its inception. Initially, the outfit consisted of a blue shirt, white trousers and socks with blue and white stripes. Over time, the football uniform was improved, and since 1968 the monogram R F C has been sewn on the uniform.
ESPN
ESPN is a cable sports television channel headquartered in Bristol, USA. It broadcasts from studios located in Connecticut, New York, Los Angeles and other cities. The channel was founded by Bill and Scott Rasmussen. Father and son founded the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network in 1979, but in 1985 the channel was renamed and named ESPN, the name of which is relevant to this day. The satellite TV channel mainly specializes in broadcasting news sports programs, as well as broadcasting games on record or online, showing documentary sports films and talk shows.
The current logo of the TV channel has been used since 1985 and is an abbreviation of the channel’s name written in a modern font. The laconicism and simplicity that the designers used in the development of the logo of the sports channel only speaks in favor of the effectiveness and brand awareness. The red color of the emblem symbolizes strength and passion, white – perfection and purity, and the letters complement each other and fill all the space around them. The very first ESPN emblem was designed back in 1979 and had little in common with the icon we are used to. Initially, the inscription, consisting of burgundy letters, was placed on a white background and enclosed in a terracotta oval. The redesign of the emblem took place in 1985, when a new concept for the ESPN logo was introduced and this time the badge was the perfect reflection of the character and energy of the world famous sports network. The inscription, made in a futuristic style, with a slight slope to the right, has a white horizontal line, which symbolizes movement, dynamics, life. It is worth noting that the 1985 logo was written in Stop, which was specially developed by type designer Aldo Novarese for the sports TV channel.
As of September 2018, 86 million viewers in the United States had access to the ESPN satellite sports channel. In addition to the United States, today the channel broadcasts in 200 countries, and also operates through regional channels in Latin America and Brazil, Australia and the United Kingdom.
