Back to the future for popular new QPR crest

Elegant simplicity is the hallmark of QPR’s new crest – the first reworking of the football club’s logo for eight years.

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QPR's new crest

Elegant simplicity is the hallmark of QPR’s new crest – the first reworking of the football club’s logo for eight years.

Gone are the fancy silvery swirls fanning out from a blue football. Gone is the blue shield. Gone is the crown, gone is any mention of Loftus Road, and gone, too, is any reference to London.

Instead fans have voted for the simplest, clearest option, with surprisingly old-fashioned lettering which echoes a famous badge which lasted for 26 years, until 2008.

The new logo is particularly easy to read on mobile phones and tablets, reflecting the way modern fans interact with the club.

Nearly two-thirds of fans who were surveyed said they wanted to see the initials QPR back on the club crest, rather than just the name spelt out in full.

The new crest is housed within two hoops, celebrating one of the club’s nicknames.

QPR unveiled the remodelled logo ahead of its final game of the season at Loftus Road – a morale-boosting 1-0 victory over Bristol City which left the Rs comfortably in mid-table on 60 points.

Fans’ reaction to the badge change has been overwhelmingly positive. “Designed by the fans for the fans; I really like it. Great job everyone,” said the Rs’ German striker Sebastian Polter, speaking for many.

Former players lined up to praise the new design as well.

Andy Sinton, who made more than 160 appearances for the Hoops in the early 90s, said: “The new crest brings back so many memories of the one I wore at QPR. Love the design!”

Changing such an important symbol is always fraught with risk, but Rangers appear to have succeeded in keeping everyone onside with the choice.

A six-month consultation with supporters produced 17,000 responses, full of suggestions and comments. Only 12 per cent wanted to keep a traditional shield and coat of arms design, of the kind you see used by town halls and old schools.

As well as the club’s name and initials, the one other nugget of information which the vast majority (74 per cent) wanted to see included was the date of formation.

So ‘1882’ is proudly added. To be strictly accurate, the Queens Park Rangers name was only coined in 1886 after two youth club teams – one of them called Christchurch Rangers – combined forces.

But rivals Fulham claim a foundation date of 1879, when they were actually the snappy Fulham St Andrew’s Church Sunday School FC. QPR emerged as a name two years ahead of Fulham FC, and nearly 20 years before those upstarts at Stamford Bridge.

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QPR's old crest

All manner of suggestions were considered and rejected along the route to the new club crest unveiling. Some had wanted the words ‘Loftus Road’ to stay, others called for a return to the three lucky horseshoes which had been used on the crest from the early 1950s to the early 70s, and which figured on the shirts of the team which lifted the League Cup in 1967.

But simplicity and instant recognition won the day, and graphic designers Dan Bowyer and Dan Norris (both lifelong Rs fans) kept it clean, clear and bold. “By stripping away the unnecessary elements and redefining the iconic QPR monogram, the new identity is instantly familiar, yet bold and modern,” the two Dans said.

The club itself conceded that the crest was retro, while also being contemporary, and chairman Tony Fernandes said the design “ticked all the boxes”.

Rs captain Nedum Onuoha felt it “captured perfectly the history of the club, as well as defining a new era for QPR”.

If the new badge helps get the Hoops back up to the Premiership next season, it could remain on the players’ shirts for a very long time to come.

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