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08Sep
- NFL Defeats European Football 1 to Nothing
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In contrast to the Football logos of Europe, American football teams follow different trends in their branding choices. Unlike many of the European football clubs, NFL teams are based around their mascots. Cowboys, Eagles, Bengals, Browns, etc. The importance of these mascots changes the face of the logos which represent them.
This tends to reduce clutter in the design. Many NFL teams have found the perfect balance between their history and simplicity that the European style has not yet discovered. I believe it is better to create a logo for a team, than hundreds if not thousands of years of history. While I am a history buff, in the world of logo design, I say 1-0, USA over Europe.
It is more common in American football to shift focus from the city in which the team represents, to the team themselves. This may be a result of the tendency for organizations to move; the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis or the Houston Oilers to Tennessee. Whatever the reason, many teams have chosen to brand themselves around a single image.
This focus allows for simpler logos. While some images are complex illustrations, the concept of the image remains relatively basic. Take for example a European team and an NFL logo side by side.
Both logos include a crest, but fill the space in a very different way. Barcelona incorporates several different colors, patterns, images, and text in a small space. As discussed in my previous article, this is because of the decision to highlight the history of the football club. Oakland on the other hand, chose to depict one illustration of a raider, clean and simple. Which do you prefer?
While these NFL logos can be intricate, they still embody a simpler design as the eye processes only one concept. They stray away from confusing and busy images of European Football Logos. I believe this thought can also be applied to many other areas of design. American design in the past couple of years has been significantly more innovative, but attractive at the same time. Company, sport, and even political logos in the states seem to stand out more so than those of European designers.
Take these logos for example. Each is interesting and relatively complex, but leaves the onlooker with a sense of understanding. When looking at each logo I can, without any previous knowledge identify the logo with a jaguar, Viking, or dolphin.
Now look at the Barcelona logo. If you showed this to someone completely removed from the sports world, would they have any idea what it stood for? I don’t think so.
Here are some logos that are not necessarily as clear cut as the other NFL logos. They still however keep the simple, clean, and representative nature of most other NFL logos.
Your views on simplicity, history, symbolism, and tradition all determine how you would feel about these logos. Mine lead me to prefer the clean appeal of American mascot imagery. They are simple, fun, and most of all, memorable. This American style of design is unique and effective. While some European football clubs have gotten it right, to most I say, leave the history for the books.
Tags: Logo Design, logo news
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