Granada Club de Fútbol, founded in 1931 as Club Recreativo Granada, carries one of Spanish football’s most distinctive crests: a shield-like form that, despite decades of subtle modifications, has never lost its original meaning as an inverted bullet. The current badge, updated in January 2023 as part of a new corporate identity, retains the club’s red and white colors, the initials GCF, a football at the top, and a pomegranate at the bottom. The club’s official website confirms the 2023 update was the tenth adaptation of the crest since its creation in 1931. [1]
Design and History
The original crest was designed in late 1932 by Plácido Mendoza de la Fuente, an artist from Almuñécar who was among the founders of the club and played as a midfielder. [2] Mendoza’s identity as the designer remained unknown until 2012, when his children revealed the story to the club’s official media and historian Ramón Ramos. [3]
The first version of the crest was blue and white, matching the original colors of the Recreativo Granada. [4] In December 1939, after the Spanish Civil War, the club acquired red and white striped shirts from Atlético de Madrid stock, and from 3 December 1939 the Granada Club de Fútbol wore its current colors. Following the name change, the crest also changed its colors and initials. [5]
Over the decades, the badge has been adjusted repeatedly. The pomegranate lost prominence in a 1940s redesign, took on a more ear-of-wheat shape in the 1950s, and became more realistic in the 1960s. In 1970, two versions existed: one for the shirt and one for official use. [1] After nearly three decades with a uniform color scheme, the club renewed its logo in 2009, adapting the pomegranate and losing the flattened profile of the shield. In 2012, the crest became slimmer and regained color uniformity. [1]
In 2017, the badge was redesigned again, becoming less elongated and recovering some thickness in its shape, similar to the early 1980s version. The pomegranate lost its stem and leaves, leaving only the fruit. [6] The most recent update, presented in January 2023, involved profiling the letters G and C, slightly retouching the shape of the pomegranate, and adjusting the size of the football at the top. The club stated the changes were made to offer a more current image and improve brand presence without losing its identity, values, or essence. [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
For years, rumors suggested a Masonic origin for the crest’s shape, pointing to a plumb line and the letter G. The reality, revealed by Mendoza’s children, is that the crest symbolizes a bullet. Mendoza fixed his gaze on a bullet he kept in his bedroom and decided to invert it to draw the shield, telling his children that the players had to run like a bullet. [8] The club’s official website confirms this interpretation: the shield illustrates an inverted projectile, conveying the idea that players should run fast, like bullets. [4]
The pomegranate at the bottom of the crest references the city’s name, as “granada” means pomegranate in Spanish. The fruit has been a recurring element throughout the badge’s history and is the symbol with which locals most identify. [9] The initials inside the crest have changed over time: the original Recreativo Granada used G and R, while the current badge reads G, C, and F for Granada Club de Fútbol. [10]
Typography and Design
The 2023 corporate identity update included a change to the club’s main anagram and typography, along with a unification of corporate colors, introducing a new shade of red. [7] The club’s official announcement noted that the new manual of corporate identity eliminated some shadows from the crest and unified the Pantone code of corporate colors. [11] These changes were implemented immediately across all platforms and channels related to the club. [11]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
