It is always embarrassing to the management and designers to come up with a design for a logo for it to be rejected by the fans or brand followers. Such a rejection will in most cases compel the concerned parties to go back to the drawing board and come up with a design that will be accepted by the majority or simply retain the original design. Even though it is not possible to please every fan or follower with every new logo, the new design should at least not upset the majority of them. This is especially true if the venture is a sports team that relies on the support of their fans for continued sustenance. A typical scenario of such a rejection was when the 49ers changed their logo and the fan revolted due to the new design.

The logo redesign by the sports team was considered as a generational blunder and probably the biggest logo related disaster ever witnessed in Bay Area Sports history. The design of the new logo was awful and it was mocked by every newspaper and new agency in the region. It never went down well with the fans and they literally revolted, prompting he owner to revert back to the old design. It happened 25 years ago and here is the story of one of the greatest logo controversies in the sport’s history.

The logo controversy was sparked off when the supposed to be new logo was unveiled in the Chronicle and every local television station. Once the fans saw the horrible design of the helmet, it became an immediate story. The Chronicle began receiving lots of letters while the team started to get lots of phone calls from fans complaining just how horrible the new design was. The majority of the fans had the opinion that the initial logo was classier than the new design which looked plain and simply annoying.

With all the funfair created, the major media outlets picked up the story and started writing articles about it. Two days after the logo was unveiled at the press conference, a writer for The Chronicles did a cover story where he interviewed the irate fans about their feelings on the new logo. Most of the fans expressed their anger and disappointment at the new design given that the 49ers were considered among the greatest dynasties in the history of sports.

The fans, therefore, expected something that would reflect this status other than a goofy looking design which could be easily mistaken for a signage advertising onions for sale at .49 cents. The logo lacked the character as well as the tradition that was associated with the old 49ers logo. It meant that using it will make the sports team lose their visual identity which was now permanently etched in the minds of the fans.

It was not just the graphical presentation used on the logo that made the fans mad. Even the choice of fonts was a total failure. One fan compared the font to the fonts used on a New Kids on the Block album or container of sugary cereal breakfast meal. More damage was inflicted on the new logo by the decision to unveil it side by side the old logo in a televised press conference. This allowed the fans to compare instantly the two, and it emerged immediately that the older one was the outright favorite.

So horrible was the logo that it was suggested that other than the NFL officials and 49ers executives, only two people approved the new design. This was a complete flop compared to the enormous support the football team had. The new design immediately became the Gary of Cherone of logos, and this prompted the owner of the team to admit that the new logo was a mistake on the part of their organization and he had no option but to revert to the initial logo.

This was considered a good move since it illustrated the fact that the fans are very important part of the team and the team has an obligation to please them in every way possible. If you can lose the support of the fans, then being in business would not be possible in such competitive sports.

Once the old logo was adopted, all the rhetoric toned down, and fans were pleased once again to have their beloved team’s logo. The failure of this attempted rebrand left the team’s executives with crucial lessons to learn. Perhaps the major one is that wide consultation is paramount when you need to embark on such a branding that will affect thousands of the team’s supporters. If only the 49ers executives had expended some resources for thorough research before the logo was designed, maybe the reception would have been a bit different, or they would have come up with another design that the fans would have loved just as they did for the old logo.

Check out our impressions of the LA 2024 logo here. 

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Olympic games have been around for more than a century, and it has now evolved to become a tool used for promoting global peace, joy and friendship. Each logo during every Olympic games event is usually a work of art aimed at demonstrating the best that the world can offer regarding graphic design skills. It is exciting to note that the creators of every Olympics games logo have always done a magnificent job of doing just the right kind of representation to capture the spirit and the letter of the games. Here are some of the best Olympics games logos showing nothing but total mastery in design skills-:

Munich Olympics Logo – 1972

Most people don’t want to remember some of the events that took place during the 1972 Munich Olympics Games. The tragedy for Israel it was, but there are a few good things that can be remembered for this particular winter event and the logo is one of them. The 1972 Munich Olympics logo was a simple one but with a unique flair of modernity that existed in the mid 20th century. It featured a nicely designed spiral of alternate black and white geometry, which created a strong visual comparison and symbolized the shining host of the games – Munich. This logo was to be later singled out as one of the best modernism logos during its time. It therefore deserves a place as one of the best Olympics Games logos of all times.

Sydney 2000 Olympic Logo

The Sydney 2000 Olympics Games logo was a masterpiece of design as far as logos are concerned. It had only three colors, but had a strong visual impact and managed to connect effectively with the spirit of the Olympic Games. The logo featured an image of a running athlete carrying the Olympic torch. Above the athlete was a blue curve depicting the famous Sydney Opera House? The colors of the logo were red, yellow and blue with each symbolizing a particular item. For instance, the red symbolized the native of Australia; the blue represented the blue harbor while the yellow color represented the sun and the beach. With such an awesome and meaningful use of symbols and colors, it is no wonder that this is one of the best Olympic Games Logos ever designed.

Athens Olympic Games – 2004

The Athens Olympics Games logo was a milestone in the design of Olympic Games logos. It didn’t feature any strong or sophisticated design, but it was a simple representation of the fundamental cores of the game as well as the rich heritage of the Mediterranean. The logo featured an olive branch that might have been mistaken for a child’s drawing yet; it was packed with useful meanings. The olive branch represented victory and humanism while the blue color on the background represented the open mind of the Mediterranean. In a deeper sense, the logo conveyed a natural sense and pleasantry, making it one of the simple yet powerful Olympic Games logos you will ever come across.

Torino Olympic Games – 2006

The Turin Olympics Games logo in 2006 was a special one in a number of ways. It was inspired by Mole Antonelliana which happens to be the most famous landmark in Turin, Italy. Different explanations could be deduced from this logo. The first is that it represented a tall building with an icy image to represent the Olympic Games. Secondly, it could be viewed as a net aimed at gathering all the people of the world together during the winter games. From another perspective, one might take the logo to be a real dimensional mountain and not some plain graphic triangle. Whichever the case, the 2006 Olympic Games Logo illustrated a perfect application of dimension in design.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Culture is unique all around the world, and this is what was depicted by the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Logo. This was one of the greatest Olympic Games in history, and it equally had a unique logo that represented a sharp, oriental cultural environment. The inspiration of the logo was from the traditional elements that could be found only in China. These included Chinese calligraphy, Chinese seal, and the Chinese Character. These items have strong cultural signals, reminiscent of the ancient eastern civilization. We are yet to see another Olympic Games logo that will offer the creativity and dynamism seen in this particular one.

London 2012 Olympic Games

The London 2012 Olympic Games logo used the number 2012 as its basic elements but added a twist by transforming the shape of the numbers to make them look more modern and meaningful. These transformations made the numbers into abstract figures that brought about a huge visual shock to initiate the imagination of whoever saw them. This Olympic Games logo is a perfect illustration of how transformation can be used in design to achieve special effects by making people jump out of their regular thinking. The London 2012 Olympic Games logo closes our list on the best logos in the history of the Olympic Games.

Check out these other famous sports logos here!

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