Native American Motifs

The logo for the Washington Redskins NFL team is a simple portrait view of a native American with feathers in his hair. This has evolved from the original logo -a rough, textured tonal version of the image contained in a white circle with yellow stroke- to the modern logo which is a strongly vector based depiction with bold shapes and strong black lines. The yellow stroke of the circle has also become thicker in the modern logo. The facial expression of the character has also become more solemn over time. The logo has had several variations including colour, background, and orientation changes. The concept was also revised on a couple of occasions to a single spear with a feather, and to a ‘R’ circle with feathers.

All logo’s use a variation of the team colours; yellow, red, white, and brown, whether it is shades of these colours or monochromatic.

The concept of the logo relates to tribal customs of Native American culture, and presumably references this in a historical context. The use of Native American motifs in Modern U.S.A –especially sports- culture can be related to general views of native tribes to be fierce warriors or enemies. The appropriation of these symbols to mascot/logo design in many circumstances and has been viewed as offensive and insulting to Native American culture due to the disregard of the symbolic meaning for the members of the society. This may be the reason it has changed to a spear and type-based design in the past, however the choice to change back may be due to tradition and the teams past reputation for racial sensitivity.

Overall the design is successful. It has grown into a strong visual piece over time, and is generally respectful of the culture it has chosen to idealise, especially compared to other, similar designs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Redskins

http://www.dinesh.com/history_of_logos/nfl_logos/washington_redskins_logo_-_design_and_history.html