The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey club from Krefeld, Germany, tracing their origins to the Krefelder Eislauf-Verein (KEV) founded in 1936. The club’s visual identity is built around the penguin mascot and the colors black and yellow, which are also the colors of the city of Krefeld.
Design and History
In July 2020, the Krefeld Pinguine presented a new club logo, developed in collaboration with the Mönchengladbach advertising agency Cichon + Trautmann. The redesign was part of a broader brand renewal effort and followed a request from the fan community. The club’s marketing director, Tom Södler, described the process as an “identity split” between honoring the club’s history and looking toward the future. The previous logo was criticized for several deficiencies, including a penguin that was not centered and appeared to be walking leftward “into the past,” a crown that seemed out of place, and a lack of prominent placement for the city of Krefeld. [1]
The new logo features a penguin head on a shield. Below the shield, “Krefeld” and “Pinguine” appear as large lettering. A classic skate blade, above which the founding year 1936 is placed, is integrated at the bottom of the emblem. [2] The shield is described as a variation of the first KEV logo from 1936, referencing the club’s long history. To illustrate the connection with the KEV 81 youth organization, the skate from the KEV 81 logo was incorporated into the new design. The “Krefeld” lettering was given a prominent place in the center of the logo. [3]
Former Pinguine player Christian Ehrhoff also provided advisory input during the logo development process. [4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The club’s colors, black and yellow, were retained in the 2020 redesign. According to Södler, a change of colors or the heraldic animal was never up for debate. [3] The penguin in the new logo is described as looking “proud and dignified,” illustrating “the focused view into the future.” [1] The shield element and the founding year 1936 both serve as references to the club’s heritage, while the skate blade symbolizes the partnership with the KEV 81 youth program. [3]
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