Darrin Crescenzi works as a designer at Nike, where he's done stuff like the Dream Team's uniform for the recent London Olympics. Another thing he's done recently that's even cooler is this redesign of the family crests from George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones) series.
A branding expert, once Crescenzi grew obsessed with Martin's books, he set about giving each of the major family's sigils a more modern facelift. He hasn't just done a rushed, job either; he's applied the same thought process to this project as he would his day job.
"The sigils really do act as branding, in that they give each character formal distinctions—Lannister's use of crimson and gold, for example, sets that family apart from the rest on a purely visual level", he tells FastCompany. "But they also serve to give a vague indication of the values and psychology of the wearer. That same crimson and gold alludes to power and wealth and vitality, and when combined with the symbol of a rearing lion, tells a holistic story about the prominence of that family and their importance within the narrative.
Conversely, the white and grey of House Stark is a straightforward representation of them—stoic, bleak, rather depressing. House Bolton's pink and red ‘flayed man' sigil pretty much screams psychopath."
Amazing stuff. You can see more images below.
Sigils of the Houses of Westeros [FPO, via FastCo]