Logo upgrades that were actually UPGRADES

[BrandMooreArt]

29 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

 

I see how it reflects the pattern of the stripes. In that sense, it “matches,” but I don’t think it “coordinates” very well because the scales are so different. At any distance, you get this effect of the fuzzy logo against the big, bold stripes. They match but they don’t look the same in context. Now, take the outlines away from the logo, and you have a big, bold logo against big, bold stripes, which coordinates a lot better even though they no longer match. They have silver touching blue all over the rest of the uniform, so I don’t think it would be a contrast issue to remove the fluff, either.

 

 

It’s tough to find a good shot, but you can kinda see here: the stripes look crisp and bold, while the logo looks fuzzy by comparison.

 

i agree. having looked at it some more, i was thinking the logo should probably be more reflective of the numbers than the stripes. 

 

i keep the logo on my list as an upgrade over “Bubbles”, but my opinion of the uniform/logo in context has changed quite a bit. they should defintley remove both those outlines

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

 

Arsenal and the Blue Jays have already been mentioned.

Other truly significant upgrades of recent times:

Houston Astros

 

 

 

Chelsea

 

 

 

Manchester City

 

 

 

 

LA Galaxy

 

 

 

 

 

Columbus Crew

 

 

 

[-Akronite-]

1 hour ago, FinsUp1214 said:

 

And that GD swollen talon and squat wings...I frankly hate that thing. They could’ve done a much better job of updating the original (and the original did need updating, yes).

 

For example, I love this concept by @LogoFan . It’s my favorite attempt at updating the original I’ve seen yet:

 

 

I might have “swooped” it a little more to give it some speed, but this is still just about everything I wish Atlanta had done instead of energy drink bird.

 

I like the compromise concept there, but the current logo is a big upgrade to the old look and doesn't need to change IMO.

 

The Cards logo is one of the greatest examples available of a proper clean up/upgrade.

[shaydre1019]

20 hours ago, BrandMooreArt said:

Probably an unpopular opinion here, but tho i agree the cardinals upgraded, i feel like this one is just a touch too cartoony. I would've liked a smaller eye and maybe slightly smaller beak. 

[Gothamite]

4 hours ago, shaydre1019 said:

Probably an unpopular opinion here, but tho i agree the cardinals upgraded, i feel like this one is just a touch too cartoony. I would've liked a smaller eye and maybe slightly smaller beak. 

 

Or maybe a red beak, since that's what Cardinals have.

 

 

If they wanted a gold beak, they could have used the Desert Cardinal:

 

 

And hey, look!  Very marketable gray as a secondary color.   

[Mingjai]

The cleaned-up Predators logo is a definite upgrade:

 

[-Akronite-]

14 hours ago, Mingjai said:

The cleaned-up Predators logo is a definite upgrade:

 

 

Still one of the ugliest logos in sports.

[oldschoolvikings]

15 hours ago, Mingjai said:

The cleaned-up Predators logo is a definite upgrade:

 

I guess going from horrific to simply bad is an upgrade.

[MJWalker45]

On 1/8/2019 at 12:01 PM, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

Columbus Crew

 

 

 

Disagree.

 The original stands out from the rest of the pack while the current badge is boring and unoriginal. Had the gotten rid of Men at Work but kept the badge shape when redoing the logo it could have been an upgrade. 

[The_Admiral]

On 1/7/2019 at 10:46 PM, SFGiants58 said:

 

The late-1990s wing-note logo really improved upon the previous iterations. It could do to lose a keyline or two, but it’s internal line work is cleaner.

 

The line work is cleaner but I really don't like thin yellow touching thin white. Like you said, drop the last outline: royal-yellow-navy on white, navy-yellow-royal-white on royal if you're to insist on two versions of the primary in the same hue as the Blues seem to do.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

2 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

Disagree.

 The original stands out from the rest of the pack while the current badge is boring and unoriginal. Had the gotten rid of Men at Work but kept the badge shape when redoing the logo it could have been an upgrade. 

 

The Men at Work logo was terrific in its absurdity. Unlike a lot of the bad original MLS logos, the original crew badge was goofy even for that time. Goofy and also lovable. I miss it.

 

I also disagree with the Lions logo. I much preferred the more abstract one Barry Sanders wore during my youth.

[-Akronite-]

15 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

Disagree.

 The original stands out from the rest of the pack while the current badge is boring and unoriginal. Had the gotten rid of Men at Work but kept the badge shape when redoing the logo it could have been an upgrade. 

 

12 hours ago, DG_Now said:

  

The Men at Work logo was terrific in its absurdity. Unlike a lot of the bad original MLS logos, the original crew badge was goofy even for that time. Goofy and also lovable. I miss it.

 

I also disagree with the Lions logo. I much preferred the more abstract one Barry Sanders wore during my youth.

 

The current Crew logo may seem a little paint by numbers, but it's a solid well-balanced logo that actually says Columbus on it. Standing out isn't always better than looking good IMO.

 

As for the Lions, well there you're just wrong. 

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, -Akronite- said:

 

 

The current Crew logo may seem a little paint by numbers, but it's a solid well-balanced logo that actually says Columbus on it. Standing out isn't always better than looking good IMO.

 

As for the Lions, well there you're just wrong. 

In soccer it is. When half the league uses the same designs it's boring and lifeless. 

[Gothamite]

Similar shape =/= "the same designs".

 

I think MLS has a very good diversity of brands.  I'd stake it against any other top-level sport in this country, if not others.

 

[ScubaSteve]

On 1/8/2019 at 8:13 PM, Mingjai said:

The cleaned-up Predators logo is a definite upgrade:

 

 

Idk. New Predator looks like he's anime blushing to me

[Brian in Boston]

18 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

Disagree.

 The original stands out from the rest of the pack while the current badge is boring and unoriginal. Had the gotten rid of Men at Work but kept the badge shape when redoing the logo it could have been an upgrade. 

 

Quote

In soccer it is. When half the league uses the same designs it's boring and lifeless. 

 

I couldn't disagree more.

The original Columbus Crew logo stood out for all the wrong reasons. While the badge's shape wasn't bad, its primary design element - the depiction of three construction workers - was asinine. Talk about an image that screamed "clip-art". Further, the depiction of the trio of hard-hatted laborers, as well as the hackneyed "America's Hardest Working Team" marketing slogan that the franchise utilized at the time, had precious little to do with the city's role and reputation as a white-collar center of state government and higher education.

As for the notion that the current Columbus Crew logo is somehow "unoriginal" when compared to the other team badges in Major League Soccer, how so? Of the 25 franchises that MLS currently recognizes (I've included FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami):

* Just six sport roundels as their primary logo. If the Columbus Crew were still utilizing their original logo, the team would be one of 15 with shield-shaped badges (Inter Miami features a shield within its roundel);

* Just five feature their year of founding on their badge;

* Just five include diagonal striping in their badge design;

* Just two feature the abbreviation "SC" on their badge;

* Only one team incorporates a checkerboard pattern into its team badge design

In my opinion, the current Columbus Crew logo is a vast improvement over the badge that the team first sported. I see it as having a feel that harkens to a badge design one might find in the German Bundesliga, which is fitting given the importance of Germanic culture to the city's history. Further, I don't regard it as the least bit derivative when compared to the logos of other MLS franchises.

Frankly, I'd go so far as to say that the Columbus Crew went from having one of Major League Soccer's worst team logos to currently sporting one of the best... indeed, a "Top Five" mark in the league, in my opinion. 
 

   
 

[MJWalker45]

5 minutes ago, Brian in Boston said:

In my opinion, the current Columbus Crew logo is a vast improvement over the badge that the team first sported. I see it as having a feel that harkens to a badge design one might find in the German Bundesliga, which is fitting given the importance of Germanic culture to the city's history. Further, I don't regard it as the least bit derivative when compared to the logos of other MLS franchises.
 

MLS made it's mark by being the American league with American style logos then slowly switched over to copying the look of European clubs, that's why I despise the current team logo.

[BrandMooreArt]

45 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

Similar shape =/= "the same designs".

 

I think MLS has a very good diversity of brands.  I'd stake it against any other top-level sport in this country, if not others.

 

 

you know what one team really "screams" in this graphic and grabs your attention? the Crew

 

they're the only yellow team in the league and there's a boldness to the shapes that really works well at these small sizes. you can see how Miami, Philly, NYC, these other circle-logos start to collapse and become hard to read. Columbus holds strong

 

i totally get the uniqueness and quirk of the original logo being appealing, but not at the costs of craft and function. you have to balance both and i think the new logo does a really good job of that.

[Gothamite]

19 minutes ago, BrandMooreArt said:

there's a boldness to the shapes that really works well at these small sizes. you can see how Miami, Philly, NYC, these other circle-logos start to collapse and become hard to read. Columbus holds strong

 

I think they have a really strong balance between the black, gold, and white.  Well chosen to work at smaller sizes.

 

There's one thing that drives me crazy about the NYCFC badge; that white ring.  It muddies the design and blends into the NYC monogram.  Make that ring orange, leaving the monogram as the only white in the logo, and all of a sudden the defining shapes hold their form even at smaller sizes.

 

 

So much better.

 

 

Small details matter.  A lot.

[Brian in Boston]

11 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

MLS made it's mark by being the American league with American style logos then slowly switched over to copying the look of European clubs, that's why I despise the current team logo.

 

What I despised was the fact that the so-called "American style logos" utilized by Major League Soccer's original teams were aesthetic abominations. They weren't attractive or successful marks by the standards of 1990s "American style" sports branding. They would have been bottom-tier logos in Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, or the National Hockey League. Each looked like s**t. Hell, the New England Revolution's logo still does!