Discussion: Redskins Colors and Logos

[DeFrank]

I was thinking recently about my favorite NFL team, the Washington Redskins, colors, logo choice and overall uniform style. Part of what had me thinking is that I spend a lot of time on my NFL concepts, and the Redskins are a team I've revised quite a bit.

First off, what do you guys think about the current colors compared to older ones? Is the mustard yellow better than the metallic gold? Should they go a new direction in gold? And the burgundy, right now they wear what is really maroon. Is a lighter color more appealing?

Concerning the logo choice, some say the redundancy of the feathers is a problem in the primary, but is it a classic that shouldn't be tweaked? Should the curly R have an expanded role? What about the spear?

Concerning uniforms, I consider their current look (minus the gold pants, which I still love) to be a classic almost "untouchable" set. Three super bowl wins, five super bowl appearances, all in the classic white on red with asymmetrical striping. I think an easy fix is simply to correct the gold pants to match the rest of the uniforms, just makes sense. Also, the shortening of sleeves in football has made their shoulder stripes useless. How can they fix that design? Should they keep that design?

I'll say this in bold. Please, try to avoid talking about the politics of the name or logo. I just want to talk design here.

[ONUV]

the yellow pants they wore last year need to be in a different material. they have too many stripes on the helmet. they should use the 59-64 helmet with the feather but with different colors. the darker red and yellow look better.

[DeFrank]

the yellow pants they wore last year need to be in a different material. they have too many stripes on the helmet. they should use the 59-64 helmet with the feather but with different colors. the darker red and yellow look better.

Agreed on the helmet. I love that design and incorporate it into all the Redskins concepts I think about or post.

[ARTnSocal]

Sorry REDSKINS fan ... I don't see how anything can top the 70th anniversary look based off the '65 - '69 REDSKIN uniforms

The GIANTS and 49ers have already shown that you can win Super Bowls in different uniforms.

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, those anniversary uniforms were killer. Exactly what they should wear now. The maroon and gold are so much nicer than the burgundy and yellow.

Never cared for the Joe Gibbs home white deal. Just seemed like they were glomming on the Cowboys' thing and not doing it as well or as notably.

The current primary is not untouchable; on the contrary, it should be touched firmly and removed from the identity. The Indian head just looks like a floating turd from any considerable distance. Of the big three Indian head logos, it's far and away the weakest. No use for it. Scrap it.

[BrandMooreArt]

i really like their color palette. the Yellow/gold pants they added to the set last year was the best thing they've done in a long time. it really separates their uniforms from the Chiefs (and not many teams at all wear yellow pants). the yellow and red make for a youthful and professional palette thats fairly uncommon, especially in pro sports. it just really pops on the field, and you're instantly reminded of the 70s teams. i think they look great in monochrome as well, would like to see that more often. their yellow and white throwbacks too. i do like those 70th anniversary uniforms, but im so reminded of Florida State with those. i usually have no problem with college and pro identities that look similar (Steelers and Iowa) but they really bother me. probably because of the Native American nicknames. its too close

the stripes across the uniforms are alright, not an eyesore by any means. what ive always liked about the 3 stripes on the helmet (not including the red) is that many Native Americans would paint 3 lines on their faces for war paint and ive felt whether it was intentional or not, that was a great concept to pull from.

the only thing i dont like about their identity is their logo. like the Vikings, the illustration style is way out of date. if they went to an R full time it could definitely be a timeless mark. they could keep the logo basics and modernize it but would probably be doing that again in the future. thats not a bad thing really, you just have to stay on top of it. though, with their uniform design being so traditional, an R mark would be the best solution. even something like this

[ColeJ]

my few notes about the skins uniforms:

the color scheme can not be improved upon. the burgundy and yellow is striking, unique, aesthetically pleasing, and classic. the yellow facemask and yellow pants really make the set to me.

[BrandMooreArt]

my few notes about the skins uniforms:

the color scheme can not be improved upon. the burgundy and yellow is striking, unique, aesthetically pleasing, and classic. the yellow facemask and yellow pants really make the set to me.

agreed. i dont really want to turn this into another Bills thread, but i think they could learn a lesson here. if the Redskins were to add a grey face mask to the helmet it would look like a throwback at best, but more likely a uniform thats stuck in purgatory between the past and present. the colored face mask sets it in the present

[ColeJ]

i think more teams should get colorful facemasks.

i think the main thing about the titans uniforms that feels like a downgrade from the oilers is the dark unsaturated navy facemask on the white helmet, as opposed to the old red in houston.

i love the pats red facemasks, and i'd love to see the next titans uniforms with a red one (if they're white helmet, still).

that said, i don't dislike grey facemasks on some teams, either. i think they look great on the browns. different strokes for different folks, pretty much. depends on the team/uniform.

[ARTnSocal]

Their '65-'69 helmet is a different kinda of burgundy, it's like a claret which has a bit of plum color in it.

Given that, it looks much better IMO with the classic gray face-mask.

The only time I've seen this color helmet & jersey in use was when Arsenal of the English Premier Football League wore that color shirts for their kit as throwbacks in the final season playing at Highbury stadium a few years ago.

The REDSKINS current logo look too much like the Chicago Black Hawks.

Their present yellow mask and new yellow pants are just way too bright, whereas the anniversary pants are at least toned down like shown above, and i just think it looks better.

[portugal]

Sorry REDSKINS fan ... I don't see how anything can top the 70th anniversary look based off the '65 - '69 REDSKIN uniforms

The GIANTS and 49ers have already shown that you can win Super Bowls in different uniforms.

Isn't the whole uniform a bit Florida State Seminoles-esque? I guess it doesn't matter considering Georgia and Green Bay, but...

[Gothamite]

Sorry REDSKINS fan ... I don't see how anything can top the 70th anniversary look based off the '65 - '69 REDSKIN uniforms

The GIANTS and 49ers have already shown that you can win Super Bowls in different uniforms.

That's exactly what they should wear. Keep the primary for all other uses, but wear this on the field.

[TreFiftiSS]

^^^ I love these uniforms. All they would need is some solid socks and a different color facemask. That would look great to me.

[DeFrank]

Ok so replying to the various topics...

Yellow or gold facemask... never grey.

I had a moment of weakness this week and thought of going back to old gold in an update... not again.

The current primary could be simplified and improved. I HATE almost all of the R circle logos I see (case and point the one Brandon put up). They almost always look childish and unprofessional. What would be an amazing project to work on is simplifying the primary (adding team name, etc.)

On the spear throwbacks... Love the arrow helmet as much as the next guy, but not feeling the older colors at this point. One thing about their current set that's better (besides all the stuff I've mentioned above) is the jersey/pants striping. It matches, it looks great, but it doesn't match the current helmet (how could it?).

And on the current uniforms... I don't think they should continue to wear white at home. Not a fan. That being said, I love the away uniform and feel that white with red pants has got to be the primary away. I love the white over gold, sort of a fan of the white over white, and hate the burgundy over burgundy. so no matter the color shades, the burgundy over gold and white over burgundy should be the primary uniforms.

Helmet: The spear is very popular, we know that. I tried to avoid linking to my concepts, but I feel like I gotta to get my point across. What would you rather see? An updated spear, with the current colors OR an updated feather rendered better than my attempt with maybe player numbers or a logo (that could be the indian head, R, or whatever)

[oldschoolvikings]

i think more teams should get colorful facemasks.

i think the main thing about the titans uniforms that feels like a downgrade from the oilers is the dark unsaturated navy facemask on the white helmet, as opposed to the old red in houston.

i love the pats red facemasks, and i'd love to see the next titans uniforms with a red one (if they're white helmet, still).

that said, i don't dislike grey facemasks on some teams, either. i think they look great on the browns. different strokes for different folks, pretty much. depends on the team/uniform.

Their has been a real problem on the board lately with people not understanding what the tern "unsaturated" means in relation to color.

[buckeyenut]

Sorry REDSKINS fan ... I don't see how anything can top the 70th anniversary look based off the '65 - '69 REDSKIN uniforms

The GIANTS and 49ers have already shown that you can win Super Bowls in different uniforms.

Isn't the whole uniform a bit Florida State Seminoles-esque? I guess it doesn't matter considering Georgia and Green Bay, but...

The skins wore the spear long before Florida State did.

[Gothamite]

And if they're not making it a merchandising focus (think Philly's wing logo), then I don't see any real issue.

[TFoA]

Sorry REDSKINS fan ... I don't see how anything can top the 70th anniversary look based off the '65 - '69 REDSKIN uniforms

The GIANTS and 49ers have already shown that you can win Super Bowls in different uniforms.

Agreed that this is what they need to be wearing, and if they changed the facemask to a proper gold & not that terrible shade of yellow that stains their current helmets, it would be perfect.

[ARTnSocal]

I think you're wasting your time. I just looked at your concepts and they're very bad, sorry.

Clubs that have been in the NFL since the pre WWII days aren't going to be inclined to major logo or uniform changes, other than a throwback look.

Even Cleveland, who didn't join the NFL 'til '50 has resisted major changes. Older teams like that just don't want to undergo major uniform changes other than what they once had.

If they decide they wanna go back to the late 60s look, the facemask either should be gray or the same color as the helmet. If gold it should be no brighter than the light gold in the feather. That particular plum colored burgundy happens to look very ritzy with the gray mask. If you were buying a car in that color would you rather have that goldish yellow interior or gray?

You're way too worried about wearing white at home when you needn't be. That was a Joe Gibbs-thing that was eventually halted after he left the 1st time and halted again after he left the 2nd time. The only reason they wore those '70/'71 throwbacks with a white jersey is because it was being chosen while Gibbs was still coaching.

Lombardi was the one who helped concoct 'em in 1969. He wanted something similar to the GB look. As nice as they were, they were notches below their prior which only needed a slight tweaking. He had died and was no longer coach once the change was made for the 1970 season.

I don't think there's any chance that REDSKINS-nation is going to accept a whole new concept of a new uniform/helmet, and your idea of substituting helmet stripes for feathers, sorry ... it just doesn't work. Only SD gets away with a concept like that, but they only do it on the pants with the lightning bolt in favor of striping.

Perhaps they should just go with what they have now and wear either the '65-'69 or the '70-'71 throwback (home jersey this time) as alternates. The 70th anniversary ('65-'69) was receiving rave-reviews nationwide back in '02, I so remember that. It seemed comical for many to see Spurrier go from the Florida Gator look to a near Florida St Seminoles style on his team and his sideline apparel ... If Washington changes full-time, those the ones to go with IMO. The gold isn't overly bright and blinding one away from the primary color. It's top-notch!

Look at the difference in the pants between the '70-'71 at the top, and the '65-'69 at the bottom. 60's version pants make the plum-burgundy standout.

[DeFrank]

One thing I think your forgetting is that my feather concept, which goes with THIS uniform concept, which combines the shoulder logo of the 2002 throwbacks and the striping patterns of the 72-present uniforms. is based off of the 59-64 look. The reason I love the feather so much is that it can rival the Bengals, Eagles, Vikings, and Rams in creativity.

Part of me thinks that the best way to go would be the spear (with a gold facemask). Another part loves the uniqueness of the feather (what do you guys think about that? The spear certainly needs a little updating. I'm also partial to the asymmetrical striping of the jersey and pants, but as I did in the link, it could use the spear logo on the shoulders.

The Skins, if ever to go the spear look, could go minimalist, with no helmet stripe, a logo on the sleeves, and a logo on the pants.

While this thread was made partially to give me a direction on my Redskins concepts, and partially to discuss the various styles of my die-hard team, I really like how we've generated some discussion here. At this point, I could go many ways, although I would liek the feather to work in some way. If not, that's alright , but please, if you have any ideas on how to make the feather work better than just either with the current primary or blank, don't hold it back!