Deportivo Rose City is a grassroots, working-class soccer team based in Portland, Oregon that plays in the fourth-tier United Premier Soccer League (UPSL).
In January 2023, I was approached by the team to explore a crest redesign that represented Portland's Mexican-American community to an audience that struggled to associate the word deportivo with sports. The team also wanted a more sponsor-friendly crest that was in-line with traditional soccer branding.
To represent both Portland and the Mexican-American community, I combined elements of Portland's famous roses with Mexican folk art associated with celebrations such as Dia de los Muertos. During the second round of concepts, I was asked to include a reference to Portland's famous (but heavily copyrighted) White Stag sign. After the rebrand was put on hiatus for a few months, the team decided to drop the reference to the White Stag sign and to go forward with a crest inspired by papel picado decorations.
During the creation of the crests, I collaborated with Aaron Flynn of TimberFlynn Concepts to create kits that aligned with the Mexican folk art references of my crests.
|| CLIENT
Deportivo Rose City
Deportivo Rose City
|| SCOPE OF WORK
Soccer crest concepts
Kit design consultation
Soccer crest concepts
Kit design consultation
|| PROGRAMS USED
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator