Alliance of American Football - Team Names and Logos

[Wings]

San Antonio Commanders

[WideRight]

The motto of the AAF needs to be “Swing and a miss”.  They keep getting some new elements right and ruining it with others.  

 

Salt Lake Stallions is a great name but the logo is weak and the colors not very Utah.  

 

San Diego Fleet has a great logo and decent colors but the name is weak.  Destroyers would have been much better. 

 

Arizona has has good colors and a decent logo but again the name is weak.  Phoenix a Flames or Fire would work. 

 

San Antonio: Decent logo, not sure about double red, but Sabres, Garrison or Defenders would be a better name. 

 

Always some positive but with each team they miss the mark just enough to be disappointing.  

[bowld]

That stallion looks like it has a giant wing

[leopard88]

19 minutes ago, WideRight said:

The motto of the AAF needs to be “Swing and a miss”.  They keep getting some new elements right and ruining it with others.  

 

Salt Lake Stallions is a great name but the logo is weak and the colors not very Utah.  

 

San Diego Fleet has a great logo and decent colors but the name is weak.  Destroyers would have been much better. 

 

Arizona has has good colors and a decent logo but again the name is weak.  Phoenix a Flames or Fire would work. 

 

San Antonio: Decent logo, not sure about double red, but Sabres, Garrison or Defenders would be a better name. 

 

Always some positive but with each team they miss the mark just enough to be disappointing.  

 

Salt Lake -- I like this all the way around, even if the colors don't scream "Utah".  Honolulu Blue and Silver don't scream "Detroit".

 

San Diego -- Fleet is a terrible name.  I know the US Navy uses the term "Fleet", but Armada has a better ring to it if you want to describe a group of ships (and, yes, I know it is the name of Jacksonville's NASL team) . . . or maybe Sqaudron (which is the term used by the US Navy to identify a group of vessels that is part of a fleet).  That said, Destroyers is better than all three names, but it was already the name of a UFL team.

 

Arizona -- I like the colors in a vacuum, but I've never associated green and orange with firefighters.  The name is also pretty bad, but Flames and Fire almost seem too obvious.

 

San Antonio -- I really like the logo.  Commanders isn't a bad name, but Defenders was almost a no-brainer choice if they wanted to make a reference to the Alamo.

[flyersfan]

The logos look like they all came from the same designer, and that’s the problem. Modern leagues look great because new logos have come from all different time periods and designers. All new leagues have this problem. (See 2K league)

[Joe]

4 minutes ago, leopard88 said:

 

Salt Lake -- I like this all the way around, even if the colors don't scream "Utah".  Honolulu Blue and Silver don't scream "Detroit".

 

San Diego -- Fleet is a terrible name.  I know the US Navy uses the term "Fleet", but Armada has a better ring to it if you want to describe a group of ships (and, yes, I know it is the name of Jacksonville's NASL team) . . . or maybe Sqaudron (which is the term used by the US Navy to identify a group of vessels that is part of a fleet).  That said, Destroyers is better than all three names, but it was already the name of a UFL team.

 

Arizona -- I like the colors in a vacuum, but I've never associated green and orange with firefighters.  The name is also pretty bad, but Flames and Fire almost seem too obvious.

 

San Antonio -- I really like the logo.  Commanders isn't a bad name, but Defenders was almost a no-brainer choice if they wanted to make a reference to the Alamo.

 

The colors of the Arizona team are inspired by the actual uniforms worn by the Hotshots of the US Forest Service. Yellow shirts and dark green pants.

[floydnimrod]

3 minutes ago, flyersfan said:

The logos look like they all came from the same designer, and that’s the problem. Modern leagues look great because new logos have come from all different time periods and designers. All new leagues have this problem. (See 2K league)

I feel less like I'm looking at a league logo page, and more like I'm just scrolling through someone's Behance page.

[nuordr]

Click the link below to rate the team logos: 

 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMsCzhysUnu0hL9h6JMkARLks8f1F6s5YCNQAwWZP0rocjvQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

[GeauxColonels]

51 minutes ago, bowld said:

That stallion looks like it has a giant wing

That's what I see too. Looks like a pegasus.

[leopard88]

29 minutes ago, Joe said:

 

The colors of the Arizona team are inspired by the actual uniforms worn by the Hotshots of the US Forest Service. Yellow shirts and dark green pants.

 

Thank you.  That is my something learned for the day . . . the colors and the term.

 

For the similarly uninformed . . . 

 

 

[WideRight]

46 minutes ago, flyersfan said:

The logos look like they all came from the same designer, and that’s the problem. Modern leagues look great because new logos have come from all different time periods and designers. All new leagues have this problem. (See 2K league)

 

That is what new leagues, especially single entity leagues do, they hire 1 design firm to do all the league logos.  In this case that was Joe Bosack.  He does good work, and most of the logos themselves are solid, though I don't care for all of them.

 

When you don't do this, you end up with some teams having very professional logo designs and others looking like ABA 2000 clipart/cartoon/halfarsed logos.  I actually prefer when all logos in a league are done by the same firm.  It creates a consistent look across the league.

 

My biggest complaint with the AAF is not the logos, but the names.  It is like they had obvious choices in front of them and they rejected them because the names were not totally original.

 

Memphis Kings makes perfect sense, and who cares that there is an NHL club 2000 miles away called the Kings.  Destroyers would have been great for San Diego, and the fact that the UFL had a team called that in Norfolk (3,000 miles away and lasted for only 1 year) should not eliminate that name from consideration. 

 

With  minor tweaks, this league could be a solid A in branding, but now I give them a B at best.

 

1. Memphis Kings-- Using the logo & colors of the Atlanta Legends.

2. Atlanta Express-- Using the logo of the Memphis Express (or changing the E to an A as I did as a concept)

3. Birmingham Steel-- Add either orange or athletic gold as a highlight color.

4. Orlando Apollos-- No major changes needed, but a sun-based 2nd logo would be helpful. 

5. San Antonio Commanders-- Just go with Sabres, it flows much better with San Antonio and no one will confuse it with Buffalo's NHL team. 

6. San Diego Fleet-- Go with Destroyers, it is so obvious.

7. Salt Lake Stallions-- Just too Denver Broncos for me, and I would replace the navy with purple. 

8. Arizona Hotshots-- Keep the colors, keep the logo, but change the name to Flames, Fire, or Inferno.

 

 

[Gary]

I honestly think this was after the Yarnell 19 who gave their lives battling the wildfires 5 years ago. I know they were not named. But I think they’ll have a back story to the name in the near future why they were named the Arizona Hot Shots

[WideRight]

3 minutes ago, Gary. said:

I honestly think this was after the Yarnell 19 who gave their lives battling the wildfires 5 years ago. I know they were not named. But I think they’ll have a back story to the name in the near future why they were named the Arizona Hot Shots

They all but say that in the video intro to the team.

 

BTW, those video intros are the pinnacle of overkill.  They all but start with "In a world...".  Does anyone actually enjoy those?  They are so forced and contrived.  I find them intolerable. 

 

And, can I say, after having been through the XFL, the UFL, and now the AAF (along with countless other leagues that never made it), we really need to recognize that not only was the USFL amazing for the quality of what they did on the field, but they just crushed it with the team identities and design.  Even the worst USFL teams are better than nearly everything that has come since. 

[AgentColon2]

More like Hot:censored:s.

[HOOVER]

These are all really bad.  I really want to like them, but I can't.  The logos are all substandard, the wordmarks are cookie cutter, and the color combos are trying way too hard to be different, are misplaced to the city, or just not really strong together.  

Fail.

Looking forward to hopefully better results from the XFL.

[Lee Noire]

I love this batch of logos even more than the first. The names are definitely hit and miss. I do give them credit for choosing names that aren’t the obvious choices though.

 

I think Arizona has my favorite package overall so far. The unique and locally relevant name, and really great colors. Really hope they don’t mess it up with a gaudy uniform.

[Gary]

I actually like HotShots and what they can do. I would like to see what they can do with their helmet. Perhaps a green helmet with an axe on both sides.

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

1 hour ago, WideRight said:

And, can I say, after having been through the XFL, the UFL, and now the AAF (along with countless other leagues that never made it), we really need to recognize that not only was the USFL amazing for the quality of what they did on the field, but they just crushed it with the team identities and design.  Even the worst USFL teams are better than nearly everything that has come since. 

 
Spot on.  And this is why having a consistent look throughout the league is not a virtue.  Each team needs its own identity.  Every USFL team had a unique look.

That said, the original XFL had a few excellent designs; and the teams didn't look like one another.  The Hit Men, the Enforcers, and the Las Vegas team had superb letter-based logos.  (Vegas actually had two great letter-based logos, after the first one was ditched for a spurious reason.)  And the Demons' graphical logo was extremely beautiful, having lots of depth without resorting to any faux-3D effects.

Still, nothing equals the USFL for a group of diverse and beautiful designs.

[Foxxtrot44]

Woof this league.

If you can't bring your league's identity up to par with the Elite Football League of India, you need to question your entire design philosophy.

[SSmith48]

Here's my take:

Arizona Hotshots: I like the color scheme. The name is a bit cheesy, but very unique. This brand is a bit more unorthodox for a Phoenix team, but it could be worse. The uniforms for this team should be very interesting.

Atlanta Legends: I love the retro aesthetic. The name is very ambiguous, but the branding and color scheme can make that less of an impact.

Birmingham Iron: This team is probably one of my favorites. Yes, the name is a bit clunky, but the branding is sleek and the possibilities are there.

Memphis Express: A very confusing name. I really don't have much to say other than this brand does have me scratching my head a little. There are much better options out there.

Orlando Apollos: The brand is very well rounded. The name is a bit eh, but the whole brand around it has been developed very well.

Salt Lake Stallions: I am left wanting a bit more from this brand. The color scheme, name, logo, everything just feels a bit out of place. This branding could work better for a team in Texas (looking at you Dallas Mavericks) than a team in Utah.

San Antonio Commanders: I love the name, but defenders is a bit more fitting. The dark red and silver is very good, but the brighter red feels out of place and ruins the natural flow of the look. Not bad, just get rid of the bright red and you have probably the best brand in the league.

San Diego Fleet: The name is a bit awkward, and admirals, armada, or destroyers would have worked better. The color scheme, font, and logo is on point and is one of the best in the league. I immediately wanted to get some merch as soon as I saw the color scheme.

 

I will echo what others have said. This league looks very good, but falls flat in a few places branding wise. However, I do not feel disappointed. All that I am hoping for now is uniforms that don't follow a template or single design (don't mess up Starter!!!).