Making a club badge

Shapes, divisions, colours and lettering: how to design an original badge that still reads at small sizes.

Your badge is your team's signature. It appears on your kit and as your club logo in the game, often very small, so a good badge is bold and simple. This guide uses KitLab's logo maker.

Pick a shape

The shape is the outline of your badge. The logo maker has a shield, a roundel (circle), a diamond, a square and a rectangle, or none if you want lettering or a symbol without a background.

• Shield: the classic football look. It works for almost any team.
• Roundel: clean and modern, and good with initials in the middle.
• Diamond or square: bold, and good for geometric designs.
• Rectangle: wide, with room for a name or a short word.

Divide it into colours

Under the pattern options you can split the shape with stripes, hoops, halves, a sash or chevrons, and change how many divisions there are. Tap a band to give it its own colour, so a three-band badge can carry three different colours.

Keep it to two or three colours, ideally the same ones as your kit. A badge that matches the shirt looks like it belongs there.

Add an outline

An outline separates the badge from whatever is behind it. That matters on the kit, where the badge may sit on a stripe of a similar colour. A medium outline in white, black or gold is a safe choice.

Add letters or a symbol

Most badges carry the team's initials, a short name or a simple symbol such as a star. A few tips:

• Two or three letters stay readable. Long names become unreadable when the badge is small.
• Use thick, bold fonts. Thin letters disappear at small sizes.
• Centre your main element. Badges look most balanced when they are symmetrical.

Test it small

Zoom out or look at the badge from across the room. If you can still tell what it is, it will work in the game. If not, remove details until you can.

Keep it original

Design your own badge. Don't copy a real club's crest, and don't use real brand logos. Your own design is also the only one you can keep using without worry.

Put it on your kit

Download the badge or get its link for the game's custom logo screen. Then add it to your kit in the kit designer under Logos & text. The game shows only what is in the kit image, so the badge has to be on the kit itself to appear on the shirt.