Why NFL needs 24 months to change something like a logo

[EJ_Barlik]

Decent article on why it takes 24 months to change anything in the NFL (like a logo).

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&post_id=14911

Maybe this will settle some of the questions as to the "WHY"....

[JayMac]

That was a good read. I'm not a Browns fan but that change scares me the most. I hope they don't touch the color scheme at all. That is a great and unique scheme. Although I do love the traditional uniforms and plain helmet, I could tolerate changes to them.

[guest23]

It makes sense. An OK design could be pushed out in a year but given the back and forth for ownership and the league to settle on just a logo package could take a year. Unfortunately the biggest obstacle is the wait time for designers to make changes then they have to sit and wait for ownership to give feedback which I can only imagine takes forever as the uniform redesign is probably the 200th priority of theirs but they insist on having final say.

Then obviously you'd need at least 9 months of lead time for next season's merch.

[Fresno St. Alum]

How can they really touch the color scheme if they said they're not going to touch the helmet which is orange w/ brown and white stripes? Plus what can they do to the pants either stay white, brown, bring orange back. Either keep the 3 stripe pattern on the pants or go solid. Not much you can do if you keep the helmet the same. jersey change to Jets type stripes or go from 5 to 3 on the sleeve or none or 2 tone it like the Titans. Add orange border around the #s.

[phutmasterflex]

Quite simple: If you want to make a change, you do your research about what to change it to. That takes time.

Then you have to get it approved and give Nike time to rid of inventory.

It can take less than 24 months if they want to rush it. But 24 months isn't the exact time frame all the time. It's just a suggested guideline really.

[Lee Noire]

Its a good read but the only thing in that article that I found interesting is they still aren't considering getting an actual logo. They might develop a new secondary but where is the primary? A picture of a helmet is no logo. Seriously. I know the helmet is the brand but you can't tell me there isn't a better way of incorporating that into something less uninspiring.

[BlueSky]

Great find. I enjoyed learning about the process. Thanks.

[hawk36]

That was a good read. I'm not a Browns fan but that change scares me the most. I hope they don't touch the color scheme at all. That is a great and unique scheme. Although I do love the traditional uniforms and plain helmet, I could tolerate changes to them.

It may be sacrilege but if the Browns HAD to update, I could see them incorporating grey/dark silver into the mix. Maybe even replace the orange with the grey. Not a flashy silver but more of an industrial metal vibe. I've always thought a Brown/Metal combo would be nice.

[wonderbread]

That was a good read. I'm not a Browns fan but that change scares me the most. I hope they don't touch the color scheme at all. That is a great and unique scheme. Although I do love the traditional uniforms and plain helmet, I could tolerate changes to them.

It may be sacrilege but if the Browns HAD to update, I could see them incorporating grey/dark silver into the mix. Maybe even replace the orange with the grey. Not a flashy silver but more of an industrial metal vibe. I've always thought a Brown/Metal combo would be nice.

[mad43dog]

That was a good read. I'm not a Browns fan but that change scares me the most. I hope they don't touch the color scheme at all. That is a great and unique scheme. Although I do love the traditional uniforms and plain helmet, I could tolerate changes to them.

It may be sacrilege but if the Browns HAD to update, I could see them incorporating grey/dark silver into the mix. Maybe even replace the orange with the grey. Not a flashy silver but more of an industrial metal vibe. I've always thought a Brown/Metal combo would be nice.

[Buster]

That was a good read. I'm not a Browns fan but that change scares me the most. I hope they don't touch the color scheme at all. That is a great and unique scheme. Although I do love the traditional uniforms and plain helmet, I could tolerate changes to them.

It may be sacrilege but if the Browns HAD to update, I could see them incorporating grey/dark silver into the mix. Maybe even replace the orange with the grey. Not a flashy silver but more of an industrial metal vibe. I've always thought a Brown/Metal combo would be nice.

Not a chance of them dropping the orange.

Brown and gray sounds hideous anyway.

[nuordr]

That was a good read. I'm not a Browns fan but that change scares me the most. I hope they don't touch the color scheme at all. That is a great and unique scheme. Although I do love the traditional uniforms and plain helmet, I could tolerate changes to them.

It may be sacrilege but if the Browns HAD to update, I could see them incorporating grey/dark silver into the mix. Maybe even replace the orange with the grey. Not a flashy silver but more of an industrial metal vibe. I've always thought a Brown/Metal combo would be nice.

Not a chance of them dropping the orange.

Brown and gray sounds hideous anyway.

It is:

[rmackman]

What's odd is that teams go through so much just to put out a new look, and yet sometimes it's horrible. So the question is, how does a horrible design make it through? Aren't there people that try to put a stop to it? How do you have surveys that say 90% of people like a new look, then you release it and everyone freaks out because they hate it? Even though it's a process, clearly there are flaws.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Hopefully they're not thinking "Oh we've been complete garbage for the past 15 years +, maybe we should just change everything and start fresh".

The Browns, as plain and earth-tone as their whole scheme is, it's classy and one of the oldest continuous looks in football. Changing it would be a massive mistake.

[guest23]

What's odd is that teams go through so much just to put out a new look, and yet sometimes it's horrible. So the question is, how does a horrible design make it through? Aren't there people that try to put a stop to it? How do you have surveys that say 90% of people like a new look, then you release it and everyone freaks out because they hate it? Even though it's a process, clearly there are flaws.

Design by Committee is usually the main culprit and typically the final approvers, typically owners or other high level execs have zero understanding of good design or they are simply convinced their vision is what will ultimately look good despite a designer's suggestion otherwise. As it's often said and frequently exemplified money and success often do not translate to class or good taste.

The market research/focus group thing is basically a flawed process and product by design. While in theory interviewing a target demographic on product preferences or to critique designs makes sense, the amount of bias and false positive data provided in those exercises essentially negates the value. Short answer is that participants are too often afraid/intimidated by the whole process so they are afraid to be critical. Also they are typically paid for participating and many do this frequently to get cash on the side, they are often scared that if they say they don't like stuff they won't get called back. The other big gap are some of the hypothetical questions that don't translate to real life behavior. "Would you buy XYZ if it was available for purchase". In theory many people will say yes but when it comes time to actually open one's wallet the purchase decision completely changes and often results in an "I'll pass".

[goforbroke]

How can they really touch the color scheme if they said they're not going to touch the helmet which is orange w/ brown and white stripes? Plus what can they do to the pants either stay white, brown, bring orange back. Either keep the 3 stripe pattern on the pants or go solid. Not much you can do if you keep the helmet the same. jersey change to Jets type stripes or go from 5 to 3 on the sleeve or none or 2 tone it like the Titans. Add orange border around the #s.

What I inferred from that is that they won't be adding a logo to the helmet. The helmet will remain without a logo. They could tweak the colors of the helmet, and maybe change the stripes a little.

[Krona]

I think the browns would be smart to go the Buckeye's rivalry route. Thick stripes everywhere. Maybe darken the brown a bit. Matte orange helmets. Hell, even put merit decals on. A tougher, blue collar vibe would work well and looking like the most popular team in the state couldn't hurt.

[Fresno St. Alum]

How can they really touch the color scheme if they said they're not going to touch the helmet which is orange w/ brown and white stripes? Plus what can they do to the pants either stay white, brown, bring orange back. Either keep the 3 stripe pattern on the pants or go solid. Not much you can do if you keep the helmet the same. jersey change to Jets type stripes or go from 5 to 3 on the sleeve or none or 2 tone it like the Titans. Add orange border around the #s.

What I inferred from that is that they won't be adding a logo to the helmet. The helmet will remain without a logo. They could tweak the colors of the helmet, and maybe change the stripes a little.

Then the owner is lying. “I will say there will be no change to the helmet,” owner Jimmy Haslam said exclusively to ESPN Cleveland. “But we will look at everything else.

[nuordr]

How can they really touch the color scheme if they said they're not going to touch the helmet which is orange w/ brown and white stripes? Plus what can they do to the pants either stay white, brown, bring orange back. Either keep the 3 stripe pattern on the pants or go solid. Not much you can do if you keep the helmet the same. jersey change to Jets type stripes or go from 5 to 3 on the sleeve or none or 2 tone it like the Titans. Add orange border around the #s.

What I inferred from that is that they won't be adding a logo to the helmet. The helmet will remain without a logo. They could tweak the colors of the helmet, and maybe change the stripes a little.

Then the owner is lying. “I will say there will be no change to the helmet,” owner Jimmy Haslam said exclusively to ESPN Cleveland. “But we will look at everything else.

Since some believe the facemask is not apart of the helmet, I wonder if they will be changing the facemask color?

[guest23]

How can they really touch the color scheme if they said they're not going to touch the helmet which is orange w/ brown and white stripes? Plus what can they do to the pants either stay white, brown, bring orange back. Either keep the 3 stripe pattern on the pants or go solid. Not much you can do if you keep the helmet the same. jersey change to Jets type stripes or go from 5 to 3 on the sleeve or none or 2 tone it like the Titans. Add orange border around the #s.

What I inferred from that is that they won't be adding a logo to the helmet. The helmet will remain without a logo. They could tweak the colors of the helmet, and maybe change the stripes a little.

Then the owner is lying. “I will say there will be no change to the helmet,” owner Jimmy Haslam said exclusively to ESPN Cleveland. “But we will look at everything else.

Since some believe the facemask is not apart of the helmet, I wonder if they will be changing the facemask color?

Yes to orange chrome like oregon state. It'll be sick.