Logos: Marketing or Artwork?

I was recently watching a professional hockey game on television, and I noticed how intricate and laid out the players jerseys were. How their gigantic crest, showing what team they played for, took up their whole chest. How the color combinations on the uniforms flowed and made them appealing to the eye. I usually don’t pay any attention to these details, but I started to wonder: how are creating logos and jerseys for teams decided upon? And if the players were living, breathing artwork?


I started thinking in depth even more; a professional sports logo has to be meaningful and it has to be an easily recognized symbol that people can associate with, while making sure it looks good. I went to some of today’s modern sports teams for comparison. For example, the Colorado Avalanche hockey team has a picture of a big letter “A” with a swirling avalanche coming through it, which fit’s the criteria of being artistic, recognizable, and meaningful since actual avalanches take place in the state of Colorado.



Another example would be our local baseball team, the Colorado Rockies, whose logo may not be as artistic as some, but is meaningful because of the real-life Rocky Mountains, and is very recognizable.



In the end, I think logos are made for association and fan connection more than for art’s sake, but fortunately many sports logos are very artistic in their own right.