Following on from the launch of AFC Fylde’s new club crest earlier this week we delved further into the details of the new design and what it all means for the club and the region.

The new crest was designed by JGM Agency, an advertising agency based in Rawtenstall, near Blackburn, who specialise in designing creative, digital and media campaigns for companies and brands.

Michael Ellis, Art Director at JGM Agency was pleased when this project was put to them as it was something that he likes to really get his teeth in to: “David Haythornthwaite originally approached us to do some work for the Tangerine Group but asked us to have a play around with AFC Fylde’s logo to see what we could do and therefore win the business.

“We wanted the new crest to signify the heritage of the Fylde borough and one thing that was evident for me was that a lot of the logos used around the Fylde are dominated by the windmill, which was the case for Fylde Borough Council’s own crest.

“David had advised us that the four main elements to AFC Fylde’s original crest didn’t really explain what they symbolised, so we decided the best way to combat that was to put the logos into a scene.

“This would hopefully explain what the symbols represent and also instil a sense of pride in the Fylde people when they see the crest.”

The four symbols represent major landmarks around the Fylde area – the recognisable windmill seen on the promenade at Lytham, the mill representing the many historical mills of Kirkham, the boat for Skippool Creek near Poulton-Le-Fylde, and the aeroplane to represent BAE Systems based in Warton.

Two other aspects have been added to the new crest.  Many AFC Fylde fans will recognise ‘Est. 1988’ which gives reference to the year Kirkham Town FC and Wesham FC amalgamated to form Kirkham & Wesham FC, but the Latin phrase ‘Gaudeat Ager’ has been added as well.

Michael said of this addition: “We adopted this saying from the old Fylde Borough Council logo as they seemed to have dropped this from their new crest.

“The saying translates as ‘Let the field be joyful’ or ‘Let Fylde Prosper’ which we felt could be translated to footballing terms as well.

“We discovered that the Latin word ‘Ager’ means earth, land or field and the word ‘fylde’ is Scandinavian for field so it was felt it would be fitting that we used this phrase within the new design.”

With The Coasters starting life in the Conference North next season, the highest league they have ever played in the pyramid, hopefully ‘Gaudeat Ager’ will ring true throughout the coming campaign.