¡VAMOS! SOUNDERS CLUB

During the 2025 season, I was brought into a project that would become a meaningful moment in the club’s history. It was a bold effort to deepen our connection with the Latino community, and I was trusted to lead the development of the brand identity for a new Seattle Sounders FC community group. Working within our established brand guidelines, I guided the creative direction toward a unique expression—one that felt authentic, proud, and genuinely welcoming, while staying true to the club’s core identity.

CLIENT

Seattle Sounders

ROLE

Lead Designer

YEAR

2025

TYPE

Brand Identity

Strategic Approach

🎯 OBJECTIVE

The goal was to create a true home for the Latino community within the club—a space rooted in belonging, where culture and traditions are celebrated and where Latino fans could see themselves reflected. From a design standpoint, that meant building a brand identity that felt authentic and intentional, while also being flexible and scalable for long-term growth.

⚡CHALLENGE

This was new territory for the club. There wasn’t a clear playbook, which brought a lot of creative freedom—but also the responsibility to stay true to who the Sounders are and how the brand shows up. On top of that, the timeline was tight. The organization wanted to launch during the FIFA Club World Cup, using the biggest football moment in the city as the stage to introduce this new community group.

🚀 APPROACH

I led the creative direction by grounding the work in both culture and context. We went back to the roots—reflecting on what it means to be Latino and the elements that bring pride, identity, and connection. From there, we landed on the 1970s as the foundation for the visual direction—a golden era of football. Pelé at his peak, the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, and the early beginnings of our own club in 1974. That era felt authentic, timeless, and meaningful, and it became the backbone of how the identity came to life.

Essence

Vamos Sounders is the start of something bigger: a long-term home for Latino fans within the Sounders FC family. A place where fútbol culture thrives, traditions are honored, and everyone feels they belong. Because here, we don’t just say Vamos Sounders—we live it.

Passion, Energy, Belonging, Fun

Seattle con sazón 🔥 Rave green desde la cuna. Latino by blood. Rave Green by choice 💚

Seattle con sazón 🔥 Rave green desde la cuna. Latino by blood. Rave Green by choice 💚

Exploration

We went back to our roots—our fútbol heritage passed down through generations, the vibrant colors we grew up around, the neighborhood bodegas and grocery stores that always felt like home. We looked to Mexican art, Argentinian fútbol culture, and popular cartelismo as reference points. All of it carries the essence of our lineage and what it truly means to be Latino. These influences shaped our creative process and became the foundation for the expression we were building for this club.

A collage of various Mexican-themed posters, advertisements, and images. Some include text such as 'La Cabeza Fria y Los Pies Calientes,' 'Con Huevos,' 'Siempre Si,' and pictures of people at a festival, a bakery, a city street at night, and Mexican

Color Palette

Color became a key part of how we signaled uniqueness for this club. For the first time, the organization introduced a new color into the Sounders FC palette—one created specifically for this community. It was designed to live alongside the core brand while standing on its own, acting as a clear visual identifier for fans. Salsa Red joined the party, bringing with it that unmistakable Latino sazón.

A color palette chart with 15 squares displaying different shades of green, blue, and red, each labeled with color codes, RGB, HEX, and CMYK values.

Logo System

We built a flexible logo system designed to scale across platforms, featuring the primary crest, wordmark, and tertiary marks.

Primary Crest:
A half-rounded shield built around the wordmark as the primary point of hierarchy. The top corners reference the pitch through subtle corner-kick angles, while the lower half features the original 1974 Sounders ball—an homage to the club’s beginnings and the era that inspired this brand expression. The ball is paired with a sun ray, adding another layer of symbolism tied to our origins and the foundation of the club.

Wordmark:
Designed as an evergreen mark, the wordmark serves as the most flexible and scalable expression of the brand. It was built to work seamlessly in different applications while maintaining clarity, consistency, and strong recognition at any size.

The Bodega Mark:
Inspired by family-owned bodegas and neighborhood shops, this mark draws from the hand-painted signs often seen on walls and storefronts. It captures a sense of familiarity, craft, and community—places that feel lived-in, personal, and central to everyday life.

Heritage Seal Mark:
Featuring the 1974 ball paired with the circular “Vamos Sounders Club” typography, this mark was created for more minimal and refined applications. Its circular format makes it highly versatile, lending itself well to formal assets, subtle branding moments, and secondary placements without losing identity.

Visual representation of both color and black-and-white variations of the logo suite for 'Vamos Sounders Club'.

Imagery

Photography plays a key role in how the brand shows up. This collection highlights the visual tone we’re aiming for —capturing mood, energy, and perspective—to guide future photography while leaving room for authenticity and real moments.

A young male soccer player in a green and white jersey signing autographs for children and fans behind a barrier at a stadium.
Crowd of Seattle Sounders FC fans gathered outdoors near Lumen Field stadium, some holding a large green Seahawks-themed scarf and wearing team merchandise, during daytime.
Fans cheering at a sports event, with a man holding a young boy on his shoulders, both wearing green and blue team jerseys, celebrating excitedly.
Two smiling men dressed in green and blue Portland Timbers soccer jerseys and green wigs, standing outside on a sunny day at a sports event, with a crowd and brick building in the background.
Crowd of soccer fans celebrating, some wearing colorful jerseys and holding scarves, with one person holding a "March for Unity" banner, at a stadium.
A soccer stadium filled with fans, waving flags, with a view of the field and large digital screens in the background on a sunny day.
A man shouting with his hand near his mouth, wearing a sports uniform and a fitness tracker on his wrist.
People sitting in stadium, clapping and cheering at a sporting event, woman smiling in foreground.
A man in a green and blue striped soccer jersey yelling passionately at a sports event.
A man wearing a Seattle Sounders soccer jersey, sunglasses, hat, and a scarf around his neck showing a blue flower pattern, making a hand gesture, and carrying a blue shoulder bag, standing outdoors with other people in the background.
Group of diverse people smiling and showing gestures at a sports stadium, with some wearing colorful jerseys and holding a scarf that says "J. CAMPOS".
A male soccer player in a green and white striped jersey, smiling and looking upward, with a blurred stadium background illuminated by colorful lights at night.
A group of diverse soccer fans at a stadium, with one man in the center holding a purple and yellow scarf above his head, cheering. The spectators are engaged and look excited during the game.
A group of people sitting in a row, some wearing colorful sports or team apparel. One person is wearing a shiny green mask resembling a luchador mask, with eye cutouts, and is holding a marker and a small object. Others are focused on their phones or
Fans at a sporting event cheering and waving team scarves, including a young boy holding a Seahawks scarf, with diverse faces and attire.
A smiling woman holding a sign that says 'Let's Go Danny' in a stadium or sports arena setting.
A man with dreadlocks wearing a Seattle Sounders FC soccer jersey at night, appearing to shout or cheer with his hands near his face, in a stadium or crowd setting.
Crowd of sports fans wearing green and blue jerseys celebrating, with one young man in the foreground smiling with arms raised.

Visual Concepts

These are a series of visual concept graphics that show how the brand can come to life through social content, helping set the tone for how it communicates visually across digital platforms.

Poster for 'Vamos! Sounders Club' featuring a person wearing a green lucha libre mask and bright green jacket, with another person in a blue hoodie in the background, and white and green text below reading 'Latino by blood. Rave green by choice'.
A crowd of soccer fans, many wearing Seattle Sounders jerseys, celebrating enthusiastically at a game with some holding scarves and cheering.
A black screen with the Seattle Sounders FC logo, a shield with a coffee mug with the text '¡VAMOS! SOUNDER CLUB' and the year 1974. Below the logo, the text 'TU EQUIPO DE ESTE LADO' is displayed in bright green.
Fans watching a soccer game at Lumen Field in Seattle, WA, with flags and banners, under a bright, clear sky, promoting the Seattle Sounders FC.
Black and white photo of Pepe Fernandez, an elderly man with gray hair, celebrating with arms outstretched while wearing a Cruzeiro soccer jersey. The image includes logos and text referencing the Vamos Sounders Club and Latino by Blood, Rave Green b
A black and white photo of a smiling young man in a hoodie against a festive red and green background featuring a soccer ball and the Seattle Sounders FC logo.

In-Stadium Activations

Registration tent, hat giveaway and the inspired “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” Bad Bunny Photo Station

A black vertical banner for VAMOS! SOUNDER'S CLUB with the club's logo at the top, Spanish text underneath, a QR code below the text, and an image of a green and blue scarf at the bottom.
People gathered around a sounders club tent at an outdoor event.
Blue and white cap with 'San Jose Earthquakes Soccer Club' logo hanging on a monitor.
Two people taking a selfie in front of a sign that says "¡VAMOS! FOUNDERS CLUB" at a Seattle Sounders soccer event. The man is wearing a blue cap and glasses, and the woman has long dark hair and is wearing a green cardigan. They are both smiling.
People at a registration booth under a black canopy with 'SOUNDER'S' written on it, with red screens displaying instructions in Spanish for members of the 'VAMOS SOUNDERS' club.
Group of people posing in front of a large sign that reads '¡Vamos! Sounders Club' at an outdoor event, with some wearing Seattle Sounders soccer team apparel.
Two children sitting on white chairs in front of a backdrop with the Seahawks logo and green plants, during an event at a Seahawks game.
A sports-themed seating area with two white plastic chairs on artificial grass, plants, and a black backdrop with a logo reading '¡VAMOS! SOUNDER'S CLUB'. The backdrop features a shield emblem, a red star, and a soccer ball design. Posters of footbal

Heritage Scarf

The Heritage Scarf was created for Hispanic Heritage Month as a way to deepen our connection with the community through Vamos Sounders Club. The design is rooted in a grid and mosaic system—something you see everywhere across Latin America, from churches and public art to city streets and everyday spaces. It’s a visual language that feels familiar, warm, and lived in.

That became the foundation for the scarf: an abstract mosaic built from the primary colors of Latin American flags. Each square was carefully shaped to connect with the ones around it, forming subtle flower patterns across the entire piece—small details that come together to tell a bigger story of culture, unity, and pride.

All of the proceeds were donated to Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, through RAVE Foundation.

Two Seattle Sounders scarves with black fringe on a black background. One has a colorful geometric pattern and a Seattle Sounders logo, the other has white text reading "SEATTLE SOUNDER$" and the years "1974" and "1946".
Display of colorful scarves and Funko Pop! figures behind a sign promoting the Latine Heritage Month Scarf fundraiser.
Stack of colorful socks with geometric patterns arranged on a wooden shelf, with Jordan Morris Funko Pop figures on the right and box of Jordan Morris Funko figures on the top shelf.
Colorful fabric patch with a black and white emblem of a spaceship and the numbers 19 and 74, surrounded by a pattern of small multicolored geometric shapes.
Colorful patterned fabric with a black patch that has a white shield-shaped logo with the numbers 19 and 74 inside and a stylized design. The fabric also displays the text "Lacing by blood.".
Colorful Seattle Seahawks scarf with team logo in the center, one side reading "Latin by blood." and the other side reading "Rave Green by choice."
A woman celebrating with her arms raised, holding a colorful scarf, in a crowded outdoor setting, with a man in a black T-shirt smiling nearby and blurred audience in the background.

Impact, Insights & Contributors

📈 RESULTS

The response to Vamos Sounders Club was overwhelmingly positive. We exceeded our goals for registrations and fan acquisition, and most importantly, the sense of community we set out to build really landed. For many in the Latino community, this was the first time they felt officially seen and celebrated by the club, and that mattered. Feedback from internal stakeholders, focus groups, and fans showed that the work succeeded not just in driving growth, but in creating something people felt proud to belong to and be represented by.

💡 KEY LEARNINGS

Getting into focus groups and hearing directly from fans—their stories, their needs, their hopes—was one of the most meaningful parts of this project. It reinforced something I truly believe: especially in community-driven work, you have to listen before you create. Those voices didn’t just inform the work, they shaped it.

🤝 TEAM

Rob Stanton // Creative Director

Christian Vargas // Graphic Designer

🎨 MY CONTRIBUTIONS

I co-led the creative direction for the project and led the design execution across the full brand identity. I also designed the Heritage Scarf and collaborated closely with Christian Vargas to bring the entire identity to life.

Sammy The Sounder

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