Dolphins Logo Generates Draft Level Discussion
By Brian Miller
The Miami Dolphins have chosen their new logo. We just haven’t seen it yet. Officially. Sure there was the leaked logo from DolfansNYC.com and a Twitter message from CEO Mike Dee regarding it (not an outright denial). Outside of that, it’s up to everyone else to decide if their design is better.
The Miami Herald decided to run a contest with user submitted logos. They paired the entries down to 10 and have now posted those ten for voting. The Dolphins are not going to use one of those logos but the winner gets a $100.00 gift certificate to Miami’s local sports bar Duffy’s. You can go here and vote.
The Herald however isn’t the only one running a contest. 99Designs.com also entered the “design the Dolphins logo” fray when they received over 1,300 entries from designers who believed they had the right stuff to create the next Dolphins image.
According to 99Designs, they have also paired down the entries and have their top 8 designs ready for your voting. You can view those here. I give props to the fans and designers who have the knowledge to create something from nothing. It is a knowledge I do not possess.
That being said, none of the designs stand out as something that I would want to see on the side of a helmet. That is not to say that the new “leaked” logo is something that inspires but to be honest, the rumored image has a much cleaner look. It’s difficult to come up with a design that will take a Dolphin and make it look menacing.
We are of course not talking about Lions, Bears, and big cats. We are talking about a mammal that has a natural smile born on it. Add to that a sunburst and a color scheme that embodies the south Florida cultural you immediately make it more difficult.
The Dolphins need to find a logo that can be both modern and retro. It’s design should be such that a simple color tweak here and there can be interchanged to represent that storied past as well as it’s future. Most of the logo’s in the user submitted designs don’t allow for that. Not to say that the Dolphins next logo will.
Regardless, the decision to redesign the logo has become a Dolphins fan phenomenon. Talked about as much as player movement, free agency, and the draft. It’s built excitement and tension. It has fans talking about the team. Some positive and some negative.
Lost in all this “logo” talk is the fact that the uniforms themselves will be changed as well. The Dolphins have opted to undergo a uniform style as well that reportedly will make a better connection between the logo, the helmet, and the uniform. While not much has been discussed or reported about the uniform changes, they are rumored to be nothing close to the overhaul done on the Seattle Seahawk uniforms of a year ago.
The Dolphins are still two months away from showcasing their new look. It will be rolled out at the NFL Draft in late April. It will then be dissected, discussed, dissed, and eventually accepted. Stephen Ross will be hailed by some and loathed by others. Something he has grown accustomed to.
At least they are not changing the teams name.
Yet.