“Are you a blue or a red?” That was the question the bus driver asked as I waited to step off the bus to watch Liverpool versus Everton. I could not have scripted it! Your football colour is important in Liverpool, where personal and collective identities are forged in an allegiance to either the “blues” or the “reds.” In Leicester there is only one answer to this question, and it’s not red. Blue is the colour of Leicester City Football Club, and for many, the colour of Leicester.

At Loughborough University we have been exploring the importance of colour in place identity in response to the question: How does colour contribute to constructing place identity in urban environments? The King Power Stadium, home of Leicester City Football Club, is one of four case studies highlighted in the research, alongside Belgrave Road, Narborough Road, and Highcross.

You will not have the slightest interest in my answer to the question, but it wasn’t blue. What would your answer be? And why? Some answers to these questions will be found in the research. Follow the links below to find out more.

Colour in urban places: A case study of Leicester City Football Club blue (journal article)

Colour in Urban Places: A Case Study of Leicester City Football Club Blue testimonials (research interviews)

Colour as Place Identity: A Case Study of Leicester (dissertation)

If you want to know more about how graphic objects facilitate the function of cities and urban places, visit here.

Robert Harland, School of Design and Creative Arts, Loughborough University

Photographs © Johnny Xu 2020

Acknowledgments: The featured research is by Dr Johnny Xu, undertaken during his PhD. With thanks to Grant Butterworth and Neil Stacey for their support.