Introduction
Welcome back to my blog. In this blog and a
few of the following blogs I am looking at logos and motifs that can be viewed
as controversial. All of this research is going toward my logo design and aid
in making it culturally aware.
The logo that I will be looking at in this
blog is the Cleveland Indians. This team Features in the Major League Baseball
Series in USA.
So lets get started.
Cleveland Indians
Team Name:
Cleveland Indians. (Were originally known
as Cleveland Blues and Cleveland Naps)
Logo
Since being known as the Cleveland Indians
in 1915 this baseball team has undergone a series of logo changes to get to the
one that they use today. The link below shows the logos the team has used in
their ninety-seven year history.
Concept/ Theme:
The concept behind this logo is to move
away from a text-based logo, which can be viewed as boring, and use a Picture
based logo to promote the team.
The use of a picture based logo for the
team is not uncommon as a majority of the teams within the Major League
Baseball Series (MLB) use a picture-based logo for their team. This is also a
very common theme for sporting teams regardless of the sporting code.
The Cleveland Indians logo is one that is
unique and interesting, as it doesn’t have any text in its official logo for
the team. A lot of the logos used in the MLB either use Text and image or just
text or letters to form their logos
The Cleveland Indians are one of three
teams within the MLB that have a logo with no text at all. This is a major
feature as it stands out from the rest of all the other logos when they are all
placed together as seen in the link below
Motifs
There are quiet a lot of things that make
up the Indian motif in this logo. Unfortunately some of the features can be
perceived as racist depending on how you look at the design.
One such feature of this is the red skin
that has been used depict the Indian as this was somewhat of a racial slur in
American and is a saying that is used a lot in the old fashioned western movies
where the Indians were depicted as savages or people with little intelligence.
This is another this that can be viewed as
somewhat racist. The Indian in the logo has a big grin that does look a little
unnatural. Where other logos featuring Indians show bold, serious and heroic
Chiefs with a great deal of intelligence, this logo depicts a slightly immature
view to the Indian and could be viewed as savage like.
Personal View
It is my personal belief that this nothing
wrong with this logo even though it could be deemed offensive and racist. I
acknowledge these facts and would suggest some possible changes. However I do
feel that the racial elements to this logo are something that is noticed and
the image is looked as a whole and is seen to be something that is now iconic.
Compared to some of the other logo choices
this team has used in the past I feel that this is a more refined logo and is
appropriate for the promotion of this team. It is now a logo that has been used
for thirty two years and prior to that a very similar logo was used for a
further twenty one years with basically the same image. It is with that in mind
I believe the design has achieved its intention.
I may have a slightly biased view when it
comes to this logo as this logo/ image has been around for my entire life and
is something that I instantly recognise as a sporting logo. I know that this is
not a true representation of what the Native Americans look like nor have I
ever seen it as that.
If I were to research and get an accurate
depiction of the Native American I would not be consulting a Baseball team
logo.
20/35 I like your attempt at connecting with your audience through your casual tone and writing style. Sometimes you seem to dance around the point you are trying to make. Make sure you reach your conclusions succinctly.
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