Football Kit Design for ATFC

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved football, watching it, playing it, and since mid 2024 I was part of it with my work as Commercial Manger at Aberystwyth Town Football Club. Below is a case study on my work with the club and a pinch me moment when I was tasked with designing the entire new kit range, marketing the kit and launching it to fans. Enjoy the read.

A Design Rooted in Local Identity

In 2025, Aberystwyth Town Football Club (ATFC) embarked on a bold redesign of its kit, led by me, Damian Burgess, the club’s commercial manager and an experienced design/marketing specialist. After years without a new kit launch, the club saw an opportunity to refresh its brand and deepen its connection with the community.

The mission was clear: create a kit that tells Aberystwyth’s story. I set out to produce something far beyond a generic template, the new kit is aimed to weave the town’s heritage and pride directly into the fabric of ATFC’s jerseys. The goal was “designing the new kit from scratch, taking inspiration from Aberystwyth, creating a kit that spoke to the fans but created an identity unique to Aber”

This case study explores how that vision became reality in ATFC’s 2024/25 home and away kits, and the impact it had on the club’s brand, supporters, and commercial success.

Inspiration from Aberystwyth’s Heritage

Aberystwyth is a Welsh seaside town rich with history, notably the ruins of Aberystwyth Castle, a medieval fortress that has stood for centuries as a symbol of local heritage. I drew heavily on this iconography during the creative process. I spent time sketching the castle’s silhouette and studying its presence on the skyline, looking for ways to incorporate its essence into the club’s apparel. By grounding the design in such a meaningful landmark, the kit would serve as a wearable tribute to the town. Every element from graphics to color choices was considered for how it could reflect Aberystwyth’s identity.

It was design as storytelling: Our Fortress on Fabric.

Home Kit: A Castle on the Black & Green

The 2025/26 home kit features a hand-drawn motif of Aberystwyth’s iconic castle ruins, subtly embedded into the club’s traditional black-and-green striped jersey.

The castle sketch appears almost like a watermark across the front of the shirt, giving a ghostly outline of stone towers and battlements against the green backdrop. This creative choice transforms the kit into a conversation piece, at a glance it’s a classic ATFC shirt, but look closer and you see Aberystwyth Castle watching over the players on the pitch. By literally wearing the castle, the team carries a piece of hometown pride into every match. Players have remarked how unique it feels to represent their club and their town’s history simultaneously. Fans too immediately recognized and appreciated the reference, it’s their castle on their kit, a design chosen for them as much as for the club. This fusion of heritage and sport gives the home strip a deeper meaning: every game at Park Avenue is played in the symbolic “shadow” of Aberystwyth’s medieval fortress.

Away Kit: Introducing the Bold ‘Castle A’ Logo

If the home kit honored tradition, the away kit pushed creative boundaries. I introduced a completely new emblem dubbed the “Castle A” a custom-designed logo that merged the letter A (for Aberystwyth) with the shape of a castle. When creating the brand guidelines for the club, I deconstructed the current club logo, the "Castle A" stood out as a possible sub brand for the club.

The result is a striking icon with stylized battlements crowning the top of the “A,” instantly evoking the idea of a fortress. This “Castle A” symbol became the centrepiece of the 2025/26 away strip . The away jerseys (including a vibrant pink edition for the women’s team) prominently feature this new logo. It's a bold move to introduce a secondary logo, but it paid off: the famous Castle A symbol gave the club a fresh visual identity to use across merchandise and media . On the kit, it looks modern and eye-catching, yet still ties back to local culture through the castle imagery. The away shirt design thus complements the home kit’s sketch of the castle by presenting a contemporary graphic twist on the same theme. Together, the home and away kits form a coherent narrative, one classic and illustrative, one modern and emblematic, but both celebrating Aberystwyth’s defining landmark.

Community Connection and Cultural Touches

From the outset, my design process was not just about aesthetics but about building community pride. By choosing the castle as the hero image, the club acknowledged something every Aberystwyth supporter shares: a love for their town’s heritage. The designs invite fans to feel a personal connection, as if the team is carrying the town’s legacy on their backs (and chests) every time they play. This approach helped turn the kit launch into a civic celebration. The club leaned into the cultural connection with thoughtful touches: the campaign was bilingual (English and Welsh) to reflect the local community, and the nickname “Crys y Castell” (Castle Shirt) was used alongside “Our Fortress on Fabric” to market the kits in a way that resonated with Welsh-speaking fans.

The kit launch photoshoot even took place at the Aberystwyth Castle ruins themselves, literally bringing the concept full-circle and creating powerful visuals of players in the new strip amid the stone walls. Storytelling elements like these made the project much more than a uniform change, it became a source of collective pride. Fans felt that their identity was being honored. Long-time supporters noted how meaningful it was to see local history woven into the club’s modern image. In short, ATFC’s brand became more community-centered than ever.

Launch, Buzz and Positive Reception

After months of creative work, ATFC unveiled the new kits in mid-2025 with significant fanfare. It was the club’s first new kit launch in over three years, so anticipation was high. The launch strategy I orchestrated felt like a product release for a top-flight club: a dedicated media day, dramatic teaser videos on social media, and a reveal event where players modeled the kits at the foot of Aberystwyth Castle. The slogan “Our Fortress on Fabric” was featured in promo materials, driving home the theme. The response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Supporters applauded the design’s originality and heart:

Players too were excited, several said they couldn’t wait to wear the castle kits in a competitive match, sensing that it gave them “extra motivation” by reminding them who they represent. The buzz extended beyond the fanbase: local press covered the kit launch, and on launch day the club’s social channels saw a surge in engagement (ATFC’s reach and engagement on social media have grown over 150% under Burgess’s marketing stewardship, and the kit reveal set new highs). For a community-based club, this kind of excitement is priceless, it galvanised the Green Army (as the supporters are known) and even attracted some national attention within Welsh football circles. The positive reception proved that a design deeply linked to local identity can truly unite and energize supporters.

Commercial Success: Pre-Orders

Beyond the cultural win, the castle-themed kits delivered concrete commercial benefits to the club. ATFC made the new shirts available for pre-order immediately after the launch – and the response blew past expectations. The club had to coordinate with supplier Acerbis for additional stock as the demand kept rising. The “excited fanbase [was] waiting for the retail stock to arrive” after their orders, an enviable scenario for any club shop.

This successful launch translated into thousands of pounds in new income, providing a welcome boost to ATFC’s finances. It also validated the investment in a bespoke design: by offering something unique and meaningful, the club essentially created its own must-have collectible. Many fans bought both the home and away shirts, seeing them as special mementos of the club’s new chapter. Local businesses took notice as well, sponsors were delighted to see their logos on such well-received kits, and the club’s commercial credibility grew.

The “Castle kits” clearly contributed to that growth by opening up new merchandising opportunities and drawing in lapsed supporters to spend money on the club again. It’s a prime example of how creative design can drive commercial growth in sports.

Building Pride and a Lasting Legacy

At its heart, this project was about building a unique identity for Aberystwyth Town FC, one that players, fans, and the community could rally around. The castle kits achieved exactly that. They gave the club a visual brand that stands out in the Cymru Leagues and anchors the team firmly to its hometown. The intangible benefits are hard to miss: there’s a renewed sense of pride around the club.

In broader terms, the success of the 2025/26 kit design has become part of ATFC’s story, it’s a case study in how a club of modest size can punch above its weight in branding and engagement. The kits will be remembered as a touchstone of club history, much like famous kit designs at bigger clubs, because they represent a turning point in how ATFC presents itself. By embracing creativity and culture, Aberystwyth Town forged not just a kit but a legacy piece that future generations of fans will talk about.

Embracing Design-Led Branding – Your Club Could Be Next!

Aberystwyth Town’s castle-inspired kits demonstrate the power of design-led branding in football. By daring to be different and infusing kits with local meaning, ATFC reaped rewards on and off the pitch, from boosted fan morale and community pride to tangible commercial gains. It’s a success story that any football club or business can learn from. The takeaway is simple: your identity is your strength. Clubs and brands that celebrate what makes them unique can create deeper connections with their audience and stand out in a crowded marketplace. If you’re a club administrator or a business owner reading this, ask yourself – what story can your kit or brand tell? Perhaps it’s a local landmark, a heritage symbol, or a cultural motif unique to your hometown. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box; engage creative professionals who can translate that story into design. As we’ve seen with Aberystwyth Town FC, a bold design initiative can build not only a beautiful kit but also community unity and new revenue streams.

Ready to explore a design-led branding project for your own organization? Take inspiration from ATFC’s journey and consider embarking on a similar creative adventure. Whether it’s a football kit, a company rebrand, or a campaign grounded in local culture, investing in thoughtful design can pay off in pride, identity, and yes, profit. In the words of Aberystwyth’s campaign: make your brand a fortress on fabric, a stronghold of your unique story, worn proudly for all to see. Now is the time to build your legacy through design – your fans and customers will thank you for it.