ReBrand: Tranent Juniors FC

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Tranent Juniors Football Club was established in 1911 in the town of Tranent, East Lothian. The Belters, as they are known, competed in the Scottish Junior Football Assocation for the vast majority of their existence. During their pre-Lowland League days, the greatest honour they enjoyed was winning the 1934/35 Scottish Junior Cup with a landslide 6–1 victory over Petershill at Ibrox Park (home of Rangers FC).

For the 2018/19 season, Tranent joined the East of Scotland League. Their time in this league was short, with the club winning the league in the 2021/22 season (finishing with 80 points, the same as Penicuik Athletic, but overwhelming the second-placed side with a +59 to +38 goal difference). This achievment reserved the Belters a spot in the three-match round robin Lowland League play-off. They faced the winners of the South of Scotland and West of Scotland Football Leagues (St Cuthbert Wanderers and Darvel, respectively).

During the mini-tournament, they trounced their opponents, finishing without conceding a goal and accumulating nine goals and two victories in the process. For the 2022/23 season, Tranent replaced Vale of Leithen (who were relegated from the Lowland League after finishing the 2021/22 season with a dismal record of one win, two draws and 31 losses). Upon entering the Lowland League, Tranent Juniors retained their name, despite having reached the heights of senior football, in order to call back to their long junior league heritage.

The current Tranent badge consists of a centerpiece of the Tranent coat of arms, topped with a banner containing the club’s name and another banner containing the club’s motto on the bottom. In redesigning this badge, I kept wanting to move away from the busy detail of the current badge. The Tranent coat of arms references the town’s assocaition with agriculture and coal-mining, with the left half portraying a farm worker harvesting by day and the right half portraying a coal-miner working by night. A crossed hammer and sickle would have served as an excellent minimalistic image, but its other associations would detract from the meaning of the badge. And while I appreciate the Scots ‘LIE FORRIT’ (‘lie forward’) motto, I decided to do away with all but the club’s initials (TJFC) and year of founding in the redesigned badge.

The kit redesigns are based on Tranent’s historical colour scheme (maroon and white) and current away colour scheme:

ReBrand: Bo’ness United FC

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Football in the Central Lowland town of Bo’ness (officially, Borrowstounness, though no one calls it that) dates back to at least 1882, when Bo’ness Football Club was established. This original club competed in various amateur leagues until 1909, when they joined the old Central League (not to be confused with the current Central Scottish Amateur Football League, established in 1927).

With the outbreak of First World War in 1914, both this original Bo’ness club and the Central League closed their doors until the resumption of competition in 1919. By 1921, the Central League was subsumed into the Scottish Division Two and Bo’ness enjoyed relative success, even winning the league in the 1926/27 season and gaining promotion to the Scottish First Division with second-place Raith Rovers. The following season, the Rovers were able to retain their place in the top tier, though, unfortunately, Bo’ness came second-bottom and were relegated back to the second tier alongside the last-place Dunfermline Athletic.

By the 1932/33 season, Bo’ness were facing serious financial difficulties and were expelled from the Scottish Football League (alongside the struggling Armadale [1910-1935]) after only 14 matches. For the next decade, Bo’ness return to their hopping from amateur league to amateur league and even sat-out the 1937/38 season. By 1945, Bo’ness could no longer stand alone and merged with another junior side, Bo’ness Cadora, to form the current Bo’ness United. As United, Bo’ness enjoyed modest success in the amateur game, winning the Edinburgh & District League for three consecutive seasons (1946/47, 1947/48 and 1948/49). During these years, they also reached the final of the Scottish Junior Cup on two ocassions, winning in the 1947/48 season. They would repeat this Junior Cup victory twice more, in 1975/76 and 1983/84.

In April 2018, United—along with a number of other Junior East Region Super League clubs—became part of the East of Scotland Football League. The club made an immediate impact, winning the East of Scotland Football League Cup in their first season and topping the table in their second. This 2019/20 performance gained United admittance into both the Scottish Football Association and the Lowland League.

Bo’ness United’s current badge is a somewhat new rendering of their longtime ‘blue’ badge, featuring the club’s name, year of founding and a new motto. (From what I can gather, the ‘current’ badge is used for digital media while the ‘blue’ badge remains the one worn on the kit.) The centrepiece of the badge is a version of the Bo’ness coat of arms. Bo’ness itself was made a Royal Burgh in 1668, ‘in favour of Anne, Duchess of Hamilton’. The red and black fields represent the Hamiltons and the town’s historical coal mining industry, respectively. The ship in full sail calls back to Bo’ness’ historical place as the third-largest seaport in Scotland in the 1700s. The exact meaning of the lion passant is less clear, though this could either be connected to the Scottish lion rampant or even a reference to ‘the former Castle Lyon which stood near the sea and was probably the jointure house of Lady Margaret Lyon, daughter of the 7th Lord Glamis, and widow of John, 1st Marquess of Hamilton, whom she had married about 1577.’

For my redesign, I opted for the more traditional blue dominance and a re-rendered version of the coat of arms. I also included the club motto on a scroll beneath the badge.

The kit redesigns are based on United’s historical colour schemes, with the home kit calling back to the original Bo’ness FC kit worn from 1927 until at least 1933.

ReBrand: Caledonian Braves

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Edusport Academy was established as a residential football academy in 2011 with the aim of developing young French players and giving them the opportunity to improve their English language skills. The purpose behind refining these skills was to give the young footballers an edge in entering into the professional game in Britain.

The academy continues to operate as such, but in 2014, applied successfully to become members of the South of Scotland Football League, becoming the first private academy to participate in a senior league recognised by FIFA. The following season, Edusport applied to the Lowland Football League, but was rejected. This did not deter the club for long, as they were crowned champions of the South of Scotland League in 2017, gaining promotion to the Lowland League.

In 2018, club founder Chris Ewing launched ‘Our Football Club‘, an online membership scheme, giving supporters the opportunity to have a more democratic voice in the affairs of the club. With this, Ewing expressed the goal of establishing the senior Edusport team as a separate club in its own right with the ambitious aim of reaching the top tier of Scottish football by 2025.

In 2019, the club was rebranded as Caledonian Braves FC, complete with a new badge. The original badge employed the colours of the French tricolore and featured a small Saltire within its central football, representing the link between France and Scotland. While I appreciated the aim of this badge, I found it somewhat difficult to see as more than a relatively weak corporate brand. For a start, I found the colour scheme of ‘Edusport’ reminiscent of the uninspiring SportsDirect.com logo. Additionally, the original badge featured text within a shield – a ‘no-no’ under ancient Scottish heraldic law. For my first redesign, I went for a roundel which featured the club’s name with the French definite article le (l’). I also included the French name for Scotland, Écosse, which is recognised quite readily in Scotland. The centre of this first redesigned badge featured a stylised ‘EA’ monogram and a red circle representing a football.

I assume the current badge is the result a great deal of consultation with the club’s stakeholders. It futures the club’s name as part of a shield. The centrepiece of the current badge is an eagle in dark blue, behind which is what seems to be a fleur-de-lis in a lighter blue (perhaps a reference to the club’s French connection). The football and saltire from the original badge is found on the breast of the eagle. Being that this new badge continues to violate ancient Scottish heraldic law, I decided to have another shot at this redesign. The new design is very similar to my redesign of the original badge. Instead of the ‘EA’ monogram, the centre of the badge features a similar design to that of the current badge. The fleur-de-lis is depicted in red, with its side petals crossing over the eagle’s wings and the triple stalk acting as the eagle’s tailfeathers. I decided to omit the saltire as ‘Caledonian’ seems a sufficient reference to Scotland.

The kits are based upon previous incarnations of Edusport kits, with thick blue and black hoops on the home kit and red and dark red hoops on the away kit. To me, these seem simple, clean and dramatic.

ReBrand: Vale of Leithen FC

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Vale of Leithen Football Club began its life as Leithen Vale Football Club in 1891, making it one of the oldest clubs in the Scottish Borders (a region traditionally dominated by rugby). The ‘Leithen Vale’ name was used only for the club’s first two matches (a victory against Gala Harp and a loss to Peebles Hibernian) before the change to Vale of Leithen. It has been suggested that the name change was made in order to bring to mind the successful Dunbartonshire club Vale of Leven FC (the original Vale of Leven was established in 1872 and folded in 1929, winning the Scottish Cup on three consecutive occasions between 1877 and 1879).

The Vale became full members of the Scottish Football Association in 1897 and competed in the Borders Football League at that time. By the 1910s, the Vale was playing in the Eastern Football League and for the 1923/24 season, joined the new East of Scotland Football League. The club would be crowned EoSFL champions the following season, but would not win the league again until 1977/78 (and then again the following season). The club’s final EoSFL championship came in 1986/87.

In 2013, the Vale became founding members of the Lowland Football League alongside Dalbeattie Star, East Kilbride, Edinburgh City, Gala Fairydean Rovers, Gretna 2008, Preston Athletic, Selkirk, Spartans, University of Stirling, Threave Rovers and Whitehill Welfare. The club’s best performance in the Lowland League came in 2013/14, when they finished in the sixth position.

Vale of Leithen’s current badge is one of my favourites in the Lowland League. According to legend, the town of Innerleithen was established in 737 CE by the Irish monk St Ronan (often referred to as St Ronan the Silent or St Ronan of Locronan), who travelled up the River Tweed (of which the Leithen Water is a tributary) in a coracle. St Ronan is the figure depicted in the current badge, with a crosier in his right hand and a lantern in his left, bringing the ‘light’ of the Christian faith to Innerleithen. This resembles the official blazon of Innerleithen.

While I appreciate each of the design features of the current badge, for my redesign, I decided to make several changes. For a start, I determined that the club’s name feels a bit cramped within the circular portion of the badge – St Ronan’s crosier is nearly touching the ‘E’ of ‘VALE’. Inspired by the handsome ‘KEEP FAITH’ banner, I incorporated the same banner above the circular badge. I was resistant this depiction of St Ronan, especially since it does not resemble many other depictions of the saint and that the boat in which he travels is not suggestive of an Irish coracle (the aesthetic of which does not lend itself to minimalistic illustration).

Instead of a depiction of St Ronan in a boat, I decided to go with the sole image of a lantern to represent the saint. The lantern in my redesign is inspired by one found in a JaJa postcard illustration of the Innerleithen coat of arms from the early 1900s. Being that the Vale is one of the oldest clubs in the Borders, I also decided to include the date of the club’s founding.

The colours for the kit redesigns are taken from the Vale’s traditional kit colour schemes.

ReBrand: University of Stirling FC

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The University of Stirling was established in 1967. Two years later, the eponymous football club was founded. Among the six teams operated by USFC, the most senior of which has been competing in the Lowland Football League since its inaugural season in 2013/14.

Prior to competing in the Lowland League, in 2008, USFC was admitted to the East of Scotland Football League. In only their second season in the league, USFC won the First Division (at the time, the sole second tier in the EoSFL) title. This saw USFC compete in the Premier Division, the top tier of the EoSFL, in the 2010/11 season. That season, the club secure a second-place finish to Spartans. By the following season, 2011/12, USFC clinched the top spot in the Premier Division.

The 2012/13 season finished with Whitehill Welfare as champions and USFC finishing as runners-up, ahead of Spartans. The following season saw the transfer of these three, alongside Edinburgh City, Gretna 2008, Preston Athletic and Vale of Leithen admitted into the new Lowland League. In that inaugural season, USFC finished in second place, only four points behind the league champion Spartans.

As far as the club’s aesthetics go, the current badge is excellent. The features of the badge come directly from the coat of arms of the university. The university website states:

The coat of arms may be described as an arched bridge topped by a tower and surrounded by open books. The bridge may represent a governor or magistrate, the tower safety and guardianship, while the open books have clear associations with learning and knowledge. The imagery portrays the University as an official guardian entrusted with the safekeeping of the process of imparting knowledge, whilst willingly serving the public.

On a more visual level, the three elements of the coat of arms may be interpreted as a reflection of the University’s striking location in a historic Scotland, suggesting as they do Stirling Bridge, the National Wallace Monument and the University itself.

With the simplicity and cleanliness of the current badge, certain elements might not come across as clearly. For instance, without colour, the wavy lines, which represent water running under the bridge (perhaps the River Forth running under the Old Stirling Bridge) are not as obvious. I decided to stick with the simple design features of the current badge, adjusting various bits and pieces for aesthetic purposes (the normalisation of the ascending and descending arches of the bridge, the increased simplification—even a suggested digitisation—of the open books) and including colours which are akin to those in the official university coat of arms.

The home and away kits derive their colour schemes from the badge redesign. The predominantly green kit is the colour scheme of the traditional USFC home kit.

ReBrand: Spartans FC

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In 1951, the Spartans Football Club was established by Elliot Wardlaw and Jimmy Beaumont, two former Edinburgh University players. It was their intention that the club would field graduates of the university, though the constitution soon allowed for the admission of ‘other interested parties’.

Upon their founding, the Spartans were admitted into the East of Scotland Football League, where they would compete for more than six decades and amass nine league championships (including a spell of three consecutive championships between 2009 and 2011). It was also during this time that the Spartans pulled off some impressive Scottish Cup runs – advancing to the fourth round in the 2003/04 season after defeating Buckie Thistle and league sides Alloa Athletic and Arbroath. Eventually, this run would end at the hands of top-tier side Livingston. The club would reach the fourth round on two more occasions — in 2005/06 and in 2008/09 — defeating many league sides in the process.

In 2013, the Spartan’s long stay in the EoSFL ended when they became founding members of the Lowland Football League. During that first season, the club topped the table for the first time. Their greatest Scottish Cup performance came in the 2014/15 competition. By the fifth round (the round of 16), the Spartans were the only non-league side remaining. On 7 February 2015, the Spartans drew 1-1 with Berwick Rangers, forcing a replay. Ten days later, the Spartan’s run would end in England, with a 1-0 loss away at Berwick.

After winning the Lowland League in the 2017/18 season, the Spartans qualified for the League Two play-off semi-finals. As Lowland League champions, they faced the Highland Football League champions, Cove Rangers. Cove proved too strong over two legs and the Spartans went away losing 2-5 on aggregate.

For the badge redesign, I sought to capture and build upon the boldness and strength of the current badge. I decided upon a minimalist badge, incorporating a depiction of the Spartan helmet alone. Within the crest of the helmet is found the club’s initials and the year of the club’s founding.

The home kit incorporates the traditional Spartans strip of a white shirt with red shorts and white socks. The top features red details in a scheme resembling the handsome Admiral strips from the early 1980s. The away kit also incorporates a bold 1980s athletic feel, making use of the badge’s blue and red colour scheme while presenting the redesigned badge in white.

ReBrand: Gretna FC 2008

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The original Gretna Football Club was established in 1946, competing in the Dumfries and District Junior League. Due to the town’s proximity to England, in 1947, the club began to compete in the Carlisle and District League. Gretna continued to play in English leagues until gaining admittance into the Scottish Football League in 2002 (replacing the original Airdrieonians, who had ceased operations).

Between 2005 and 2007, Gretna achieved phenomenal success in Scottish football. Over these three consecutive seasons, the club gained promotion from the bottom to the top tier.

In the 2005/06 season, Gretna’s 3-0 victory over Dundee in the semi-final sealed their place in history as the first team from the third tier to have reached the final of the Scottish Cup. Gretna would draw 1-1 with Hearts in the final, only to lose on penalties.

As a result of their admirable Scottish Cup performance, and by virtue of Hearts having already qualified for the Champions League for having finished second in the Scottish Premier League, Gretna became the first club from the Scottish third tier to have qualified for the UEFA Cup (the predecessor of the Europa League competition).

Eventually, Gretna became the victims of their own rapid ascension. Due to the unsuitability of the club’s home ground for top tier matches, Gretna was forced to play their home games at Motherwell‘s Fir Park, some 76 miles from Gretna itself. Additionally, the financial strain of the club’s rise began to show. This only exacerbated Gretna’s lacklustre debut season in the Scottish Premier League. By March 2008, the club had gone into administration and was deducted ten points under SPL regulations. Gretna was relegated on 29 March after a loss to St Mirren and ended the season with only 13 points.

The original Gretna Football Club resigned from the Scottish Football League on 3 June 2008 and was liquidated formally on 8 August. But before this liquidation had been made final, the Gretna Supporters’ Society formed ‘a new Gretna Football Club’, Gretna FC 2008, and were accepted into the East of Scotland Football League. By 2013, the new Gretna club was elected as a founding member of the Lowland Football League.

The current Gretna 2008 badge is derived from the original Gretna badge. Though the colour scheme and the shape of the shield itself has been altered, the essential elements remain – a representation of Sark Bridge above a horseshoe above an anvil that is flanked by thistles. As with the old Gretna badge, this badge also features the club’s name within the shield, which, as I have observed elsewhere, is a problem when it comes to a certain ancient Scottish heraldic law (see my redesigns for Airdrieonians and Ayr United for more information). I also find this collection of items to be a wee bit too busy. Ultimately, I found the Sark Bridge to represent too much of the ‘naff’ characterisation of Gretna being a place where English lovers could flee for a quick and easy wedding under Scots Law. Truth be told, the same can probably be said for both the horseshoe and anvil, but I consider those two images to represent a bit more of the resilience and durability of the footballing spirit in Gretna.

For my redesign, I employed a shield more akin to the shape of the original Gretna badge. Inside, it only includes an anvil and a horseshoe. Black and white horizontal lines, resembling the traditional Gretna black and white hoops, have been placed behind the shield. The badge is encircled by a ring bearing the club’s name.

Both kit redesigns employ traditional Gretna colour schemes, with the home kit utilising the original club’s black and white hoops.

ReBrand: Gala Fairydean Rovers FC

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Gala Fairydean Rovers Football Club was established in the Borders town of Galashiels in 1894. Thirteen years later, in 1907, the club split into Gala Fairydean and Gala Rovers, with the Rovers acting as the reserve side for Fairydean. With the outbreak of the First World War, both sides ceased. In 1919, Fairydean alone resumed competition, becoming a founding member of the East of Scotland Football League four years later. It would not be until 1947 that the Gala Rovers name resurfaced, this time, as an amateur side.

Fairydean experienced relative success in the EoSFL, with their most fruitful period taking place in the 1960s. During this time, the club claimed six league championships (1960/61, 1961/62, 1963/64, 1964/65, 1965/66 and 1968/69). Fairydean went on to win the EoSFL championship twice more, in 1988/89 and 1990/91.

Over the coming years, Fairydean applied unsuccessfully to the Scottish Football League on four ocassions. Eventually, in 2013, Fairydean and Rovers merged, forming the modern incarnation of Gala Fairydean Rovers. That same year, the new club was granted membership in the new Lowland League.

At some point during their time as Gala Fairydean, the club began to use a badge which featured the coat of arms of the Burgh of Galashiels. This coat of arms includes two foxes seated at the base of a plum tree, looking upward and a version of this image can be found in the current badge. The current badge also includes a hovering football, the Latin motto, UNITAS EST FORTITUDE (‘unity is strength’) and two red stripes over a black field, representing, in my best estimate, the traditional home kit of Gala Fairydean.

For my redesign, I decided that I wanted to retain the elements from the coat of arms and the Latin motto (which I find especially apt given Gala Fairydean Rovers’ history), but I was not convinced with the way that they are presented in the current badge. I opted to tie the foxes, the plum tree and the football together, with the former resting atop a redesigned, Victorian-styled football in gold. As I don’t feel as if the current badge’s foxes much resemble foxes, I went with a more ‘maximalist’ colour scheme. I also chose to include both the current club’s date of formation as well as the original Gala Fairydean Rovers’ date of formation. The Latin motto has been moved to the outer circle in gold.

For the kit redesigns, I opted to go with some version of the current kits, bringing back the home kit’s red and black vertical stripes (which are absent from the club’s kit at present).

ReBrand: Edusport Academy

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The current badge employs the colours of the French tricolore and features a small Saltire within its central football, representing the link between France and Scotland. While I appreciate the aim of this badge, I find it somewhat difficult to see as more than a relatively weak corporate brand. For a start, the colour scheme of ‘Edusport’ is reminiscent of the uninspiring SportsDirect.com logo. Additionally, the current badge features text within a shield – a ‘no-no’ under ancient Scottish heraldic law. For my redesign, I went for a roundel which features the club’s name with the French definite article le (l’). I have also included the French name for Scotland, Écosse, which is recognised quite readily in Scotland. Also within the outer circlet are found laurel branches, which are found in the current badge. The centre of the redesigned badge features a stylised ‘EA’ monogram and a red circle representing a football.

ReBrand: Edinburgh University AFC

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Edinburgh University Association Football Club was constituted formally in 1878 and has been a member of the Scottish Football Association since the same year.

The club’s honours include the 1883 Edinburgh Shield (which is now known as the East of Scotland Shield) awarded by the East of Scotland Football Association. The club has also won the Queen’s Park Shield (a tournament for Scottish universities and colleges, with the shield itself donated by Queen’s Park to the Scottish Amateur Football Association in 1921) a record 26 times, including a run of eight consecutive wins from 1974 to 1982.

Having been eligible to compete for the Scottish Cup since their admittance into the SFA, Edinburgh University’s best performance came in 2006, when they beat Vale of Leithen to qualify for the first round of the competition. The club then defeated Highland League outfit Keith, proceeding to the second round where they met Cowdenbeath. The Uni lost to the league side 5-1, thus ending their run.

The club was the most successful university side in history until passing into senior football with their admittance into the Lowland League in 2014. Since that time, the Uni has yet to make a significant impact, with their best finish being 6th in the 2015/16 season.

The club’s current badge is a version of the university crest. This might well be used in order to comply with the university’s branding policies, but I thought that I would change it up ever so slightly, as that is my task here. I have designed a slight variation on the crest, doing away with the black outlines, and incorporating a unified design style for each of the heraldic symbols of the university. I have also included two Victorian-styled footballs as well as the year of the club’s founding. The shield is enclosed within a ring which features the club’s name.

For the kits, I have gone with the club’s traditional colours with some additional features. The outer ring and all text is omitted from the shorts.

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design & illustration

LFL

ReBrand: Tranent Juniors FC

ReBrand: Bo’ness United FC

ReBrand: Caledonian Braves

ReBrand: Vale of Leithen FC

ReBrand: University of Stirling FC

ReBrand: Spartans FC

ReBrand: Gretna FC 2008

ReBrand: Gala Fairydean Rovers FC

ReBrand: Edusport Academy

ReBrand: Edinburgh University AFC