Redrawing a crest members love
A crest that has been redrawn by hand, scanned, copied and embroidered for a hundred years rarely looks the same twice. Members love it anyway. Changing it is delicate, but leaving it alone usually costs more.
Why old crests drift
Over decades, a crest passes through many hands: engravers, sign makers, printers, embroiderers, web designers. Each simplifies or adds something. Eventually a dozen versions are in use, none of them definitive, some barely legible at small sizes. On a scorecard, a website or a phone screen, the mark that should signal heritage looks careless.
Redraw, do not redesign
- Research first. Collect every version, from the oldest to the newest. The original intent is often clearest in the early drawings.
- Keep what members recognise. The shape, the main symbols, the motto. Change proportions and lines, not meaning.
- Make one master drawing. In vector form, with a simplified version for small sizes and for embroidery.
- Write the rules. Colours, minimum sizes, clear space and approved materials, in a short guide suppliers can follow.
- Replace in order. Start with what members see most, such as the website and scorecards, and let older items be replaced as they wear out.
Bring the members with you
A crest belongs, emotionally, to its members. Explain the work before showing the result: the versions found, the problems they caused and what has been kept. Show the new drawing beside the old ones. When members see that the change is care rather than reinvention, most accept it gladly.
A good redraw makes members say "that is our crest", not "what happened to our crest?"
Lay out every version of your mark currently in use on one table. If they do not look like one family, it is time.
Related project: SAINT-AURE, crest redrawing, scorecards and members' site for a golf club in Biarritz.
