June 19, 2018 11.56 am This story is over 69 months old

Lincolnshire’s link to England’s World Cup kit

He’s backing England. Literally!
Craig Ward is the Lincolnshire mastermind behind England's new typeface.

England displayed their colours proudly on Monday’s 2-1 win against Tunisia, but it’s the work of “Woodhall Spa born and bred” Craig Ward that helped to bring those colours to life.

Growing up in Woodhall Spa, Craig dreamt of seeing his name on an England shirt. But after being picked last one too many times for PE at Queen Elizabeth’s school in Horncastle he let go of that fantasy.

After leaving school Craig studied Graphic Design at university before moving across the pond to New York, where he heads up his own studio focusing on custom typography.

“Luckily,” said Craig, “I’m a much better designer than I was a goalie.”

It’s here that he landed a number of high profile clients, including Calvin Klein, Google, Dior and more recently the FA and Nike.

The FA tasked Craig to create the font for the current England kit. They asked him to design something patriotic, that was both English and dynamic.

In the end he created a typeface that was modeled in 3D and features a St George’s cross swept around a single line path.

This was how he created the striking inline/outline variations and the twisty numerals.

Craig Ward said: “It was a huge honour to be asked and it goes without saying that I’m beyond proud to be representing Queen and country, you really don’t get to work on many projects like this in a career.

“Only two other designers have touched the kit to my knowledge – Neville Brody and Peter Saville, both of whom are iconic.

“On a professional and personal level I was extremely flattered. It’s also the first project I’ve completed in 15 years that my family have taken seriously.

“I was a little nervous taking it on as anything seen on a national level is frequently divisive – for example the London Olympics logo – but the response has been overwhelmingly positive so mission accomplished.”

“Now what would be even better would be to not see them go out in the first round”

Photo: Craig Ward