Norwich City have been working on a new club crest but it’s understood that the new design is set to be more of a subtle modernisation than a radical redesign.
As reported in May, the Canaries had included questions relating to the traditional club crest – which was worn for the first time in 1972 - in a supporter survey.
The Press Association reported on Friday that plans to launch the new crest during the past fortnight had been pushed back due to the club’s disappointing start to the Premier League season and that the new design was set to feature on shirts from the 2022-23 season.
Having dismissed Daniel Farke following a 2-1 win at Brentford two weeks ago, the international break that followed has been dominated by the pursuit of a new head coach, with Dean Smith appointed on Monday morning.
Perhaps understandably, that could have been seen as an inappropriate time to announce a potentially contentious issue with more pressing issues taking priority. It is believed the crest is planned to feature from next season though.
However, most top English clubs have modernised their crest in recent decades. Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham and Everton are all among the clubs to have modernised their crest since the turn of the century.
It’s understood that an extensive consultation process has been carried out and that a presentation to explain a subtle modernisation of the design to fans had been planned, but is now temporarily on hold.
The process is considered to be an ‘evolution not revolution’ and would be as part of a revamp and standardisation of club colours and fonts.
The current crest was designed by architect Andrew Anderson, who won £10 after entering a competition run by the Eastern Evening News.
Norwich had a history of breeding canaries thought to date back to Flemish weavers working in the city from the 16th century, known as the Strangers.
A canary first appeared on the club’s shirts in 1907, when the yellow and green colours started to be incorporated, having worn blue and white since being established in 1902.
Between 1947 and 1972 a crest featuring a canary and a shield was worn, before being replaced by Mr Anderson’s design, which incorporated the castle and lion of the traditional Norwich coat of arms.
City's current away kit and third kits feature the traditional crest but with colours more suitable to the design, while last season's third kit featured a more simplified version of the crest with just the canary on the ball.
One area of the consultation was focused on accessibility, amid increased awareness of issues for people with colour blindness in sport.
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