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Every player in the Premier League will sport brand new names and numbers on their shirts from the start of the 2023-24 season after the font has undergone a redesign for only the fourth time in the division’s 31-year history.
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The Premier League has revealed the overhauled lettering, which has been created in collaboration with U.S. materials, manufacturing and branding specialists Avery Dennison, who have been on board as official suppliers to the league since 2019.
For a start, the base dimensions of the Premier League font have been tweaked, with the height of the numbers increased by almost 10% to 25 centimetres (9.8 inches) while the negative spaces are also bigger and more distinctive for each digit. This is to maximise visibility while being worn on the pitch for everyone watching in the stadium and on TV. The league’s trademark “zig-zag” graphic motif has also been subtly integrated into the numbers as a visual flourish.
The Premier League sleeve badge has also been updated from the circular roundel design used this season to a simpler standalone iteration of the trademark lion’s head. What’s more, there will be a gold version of the logo applied to the kits of the 2022-23 champions.
The visual clarity of the new numbers was tested by Premier League commentators Martin Tyler, Jim Proudfoot and Joe Speight who all feature in a 12-minute promo documentary which is great viewing for any aficionado of either classic soccer jerseys or the design process of new fonts.
The trio of commentators was stationed up in the gantry at the Community Stadium and asked to provide feedback on a number of colour contrasts, both live in the ground and via match footage being displayed on their monitors, in order to ascertain the most distinct combinations.
Will Brass, chief commercial officer at the Premier League, said: “The names and numbers have become part of the fabric of the Premier League. For fans, having the name and number of a favourite player, their own name or even a personal message helps to bring them closer to the competition and their favourite clubs.”
All the names, numbers and sleeve badges will be produced at Avery Dennison’s factory in western Norway, which is powered by renewable energy generated by a nearby glacier and utilises high-tech robotic production techniques in a bid to keep material waste to an absolute minimum.
So basically the new Premier League lettering is as green as it is bright yellow, red and blue.
