Norwich City to change club crest for first time in 50 years

Norwich City have unveiled their first crest change in 50 years, which they will wear on their shirts from the 2022-23 season.

The new crest, which includes a freshly designed canary, castle and lion and has removed the blacked leading of the previous design, is the culmination of Project 50: two years of work on rebranding the club’s imagery and fonts.

Norwich’s previous crest was first used in 1972, the winning entry designed by architect Andrew Anderson for a competition ran by the Eastern Evening News. He won £10 for the success.

“This is a huge moment in the history of Norwich City,” says commercial director Sam Jeffery. “It’s a project that has been treated with the utmost sensitivity and care by those lucky enough to have been involved within the club’s working group.

“Having garnered feedback from numerous stakeholders, both internally and externally, it was always going to be an evolution and not a revolution. We’re extremely proud of the outcome.”

The new crest and branding will be officially in use from June 17, 2022, which marks the club’s 120th birthday.

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Why have they made this change?

The crest has been around for so long, the internet is awash with slightly different versions — to the point that Manchester City actually used an unofficial version of Norwich’s badge during the 2019-20 Premier League season.

Norwich also felt the current crest was not suitable for use digitally, losing a lot of detail when shrunk. They also felt the badge was not easily seen by those with a visual impairment.

Therefore, the black lines have been removed, the detailing has been simplified and the specific colours altered to improve all those aspects.

The club resisted the urge to make wholesale changes to the design, with numerous iterations left on the cutting room floor.

Of course, the new crest and branding also ensures Norwich have a renewed grip on the intellectual property of the club in the digital age.