I decided I had to comment on this given the circumstance. This news combines two things that I have always been passionate about: Logo/Identity design, and the Detroit Lions. The Lions were an absolute joke of a football team last year. Their won a grand total of 0 games.
Hopefully their rebranding was a bit more successful. Well, I’m happy to say that it was, but that wasn’t hard to do. Overall, I am satisfied with the logo. I let the design marinate for a while before deciding how I felt about it. With time, the logo grew on me some.
Things have to be put into perspective. On one hand, I am disappointed that they did not take this opportunity to refresh their whole image as opposed to the subtle tweaks they landed on. On the other hand, I feel like I should be happy that they did not completely screw it up. Just look at the Pistons’ monstrosity of a rebranding in the mid 90s.
(Yeah… that happened)
So, to sum up, overall I’m pretty happy with the change. Below is a before and after:
The old “leaping lion” looks very flat and inanimate. The update gives it some ferocity (lets hope the team will take on this characteristic). The old “LIONS” text looks like it came from the circus. It also has an early 90s Dallas vibe to me. The new text is a much needed improvement.
There are some small things I would change about the new logo:
• Lose the black outline! I’m sure this was a declaration of Matt Millen’s back when they started the project, but they should have dropped it when he was canned.
• Lose the “flowy” lines within the mane area. They are completely unnecessary and look like a mistake in the logo or a MS paint experiment when it is shown at small sizes.
• There’s an extra line in the “crotch region” that doesn’t make sense with the form, lose it.
• The space in between the “N” and the “S” seems to be too much. I’d move the “S” slightly back in towards the rest of the letters.
• Keep the white outline around the lion, and add a white outline around the “LIONS” text when the logo is shown on a non-white background.
I’ve done a quick, crude mock up of these changes below. I only had a low res image to work with, and didn’t want to put a lot of time into it, but you’ll get the idea.
Here are some other great write-ups regarding the logo:
Brand New: A Fiercer Detroit Lion
Uni Watch: Hasn’t This Poor City Suffered Enough?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the logo refresh! Post your comments below!
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COMMENTS / 8 COMMENTS
Nathan Sarlow added these words on Apr 22 09 at 8:49 pmI must admit I really thought the new logo was a good effort but just fell short of ‘good’. I do however agree with all of your points here matt, however I also think the link between L & I is a little strange too, maybe because of the shape of the i and inside of the L.
I think a lot of Detroiters were looking for a Jacksonville style cartoon and I’m glad they didnt go down that line, however I think they could have taken a few more liberties in the ‘poise’ of the lion instead of starting with the old logo and just adding some detail.
I think your revision would be taken well by the general Lions fanbase – great work.
PS – It has to be Curry No. 1!
Matt Fouty added these words on Apr 23 09 at 6:38 amTotally agree Nathan. Thanks for the comment! I too am glad they didn’t go the Jacksonville/Carolina route. Also, I would be ecstatic if the Lions drafted Curry!
Laurie added these words on Apr 23 09 at 8:30 amOh my gosh Matt, YOUR logo is 1000 times better! I LOVE your version! Great job nephew!
Juan added these words on Apr 23 09 at 12:47 pmVery nice. I like yours better. I wonder if I would like the letters without those white swishes in them as well. I also like the change and am glad they didn’t do something drastic.
I have a feeling Mattey Staffordington also plays the piano.
Gian added these words on Apr 24 09 at 10:08 amI disagree with your analysis.
Could they lose the black outline? Perhaps. But clearly, the Lions were trying to stay as close to home as possible. Does it ruin the whole thing? No.
Lose the lines in the mane? Uh, no. They’re needed in order to create some degree of differentiation between the head and the body. It adds a bit of separation and depth. They’re well placed and should most assuredly stay.
The additional “crotch line” is needed for the same reasons as the mane: it creates depth in an otherwise flat graphic. Specifically, it creates a differentiation between the leg and the underside of the belly. If the original logo was flat and boring, then these small details are needed in order to create some amount of visual interest without radically redrawing the whole thing.
Overall, it’s a huge improvement.
Matt Fouty added these words on Apr 24 09 at 10:43 amLaurie,
Thanks, glad you like it. Overall I still like the update, just think it could use some tweaks in my opinion.Juan,
Thanks for the comments. I agree that the type is not perfect. I do like it though. Specifically when used in the right application. I think within the logo, it works well enough.Gian,
I appreciate you taking the time to voice your opinion. It’s important to note that I did say I do like the new logo. The slight tweaks I’ve suggested are based on my own experience and opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own!Regarding the black outline, to me it causes two things that are unappealing. 1) It completely crushes the illusion of depth and movement that you are enthralled with. 2) It causes a major disconnect with the “LIONS” type. You said they were “trying to stay as close to home as possible.” The black outline was only added a few years ago upon Matt Millen’s insistence. This “home” was built a long time before then.
The lines in the mane are unnecessary. I’m all about keeping a logo to its most essential components. Also, have a look at the logo when reproduced at small sizes as it often is (i.e. NFL draft ticker). The lines only cause confusion at the smaller size. I must say though, there is a large abundance of sports logos that add huge amounts of “frill” or “flare” that is unnecessary. This logo does not come close to those, so overall I’m quite happy with it.
Re: Crotch Lines: again, see above.
Overall, I agree that it is a good improvement. Again, thanks for sharing your comments!
Juan added these words on Apr 24 09 at 3:30 pmYou know, this just confirms that the Lions are female. I don’t see [male parts].
Say what you want about the mane, but the crotch line needs to go, otherwise the above is true. I don’t know if you can have a crotch line go that far back and not see naughty bits.
No offense to women. If there was any.
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