The Toronto Football Club is a professional Canadian soccer club owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Launching in 2007, it was Canada’s first member of the Major League Soccer. Through naming, identity, omni-channel campaigns, uniform design and new stadium branding we helped introduce TFC to the league with record setting ticket sales and robust fan support.
As part of the in-house design studio, our department advised, supported or led each creative touchpoint throughout the brand launch. Working in tandem with the ownership group, the MLS brand team, and Toronto agency Jacknife Design to develop the naming, identity, visual toolkit, and launch campaign. Collectively building a position that rallied around the deep diversity and soccer fandom of Toronto’s international soccer supporters. Jacknife embraced the roots of the global fan base through a multi-lingual treatment of an ‘All For One’ tagline.
A modern, simplistic styling of traditional soccer elements lead the direction of the visual identity. A stylized shield works as the base for the custom wordmark banner, topped with a crown stylized around a the maple leaf /snowflake / soccer ball pattern. The brand colours, highlighted with a national red hue, championed all collateral for the launch material, advertising campaigns, player kits, merchandise, and stadium signage. TFC’s home, BMO Field, a $60+ million investment made by the city/federal/provincial governments, MLS and MLSE -utilized the brand system while launching in tandem with the club to just over twenty thousand fans. The passion of the supporters that drove the creative direction now embrace the club as arguably the cities best fans.
