Baseball logos feature some of the best and most imaginative designs out there. After all, they have to work on fabric as well as in print, they have to be identifiable, and they’re always very limited in terms of the space they can take up. If you’re looking for an example of one of the best baseball logos, you may want to look at that of the Seattle Mariners. While it has certainly undergone some changes over the years, the Seattle Mariners logo is a great example of what makes baseball logos work.
Seattle Mariners Logo Design Elements
Insofar as baseball logos are concerned, the logo of the Mariners is fairly involved. The primary shape is a simple circle, which is common, but there’s a lot going on inside. The first inner ring has the team’s name, while the second inner ring is dominated by a large compass. It’s an image that clearly evokes the ideas of travel and navigation, both of which are very important to the team’s name. Behind the compass is a realistically-rendered baseball, which helps fans to remember exactly what sport the team plays.
The colors are fairly complex as well. The the Seattle Mariners logo features grey, green, blue, and white in various elements. They’re all colors that come from the sea, and they’re all colors that one can associate with Seattle. The font of the logo is fairly simple, perhaps the only thing on the logo that can make that claim. It’s clear and easy to read, which makes it incredibly valuable for branding purposes.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
Of the four logos that the Mariners have had over the course of the team’s history, three have been circles. If you think about it, it makes sense – not only is a baseball a circle, but a circle is a very easy shape to put on a uniform or hat. The first and second logos featured stylized ‘M’s shaped like tridents, which reflected the team’s nautical name. From 1987-1992, the shape was literally a baseball with a very simple M as the sole image. Only the 1980s image was different, featuring a star behind the trident.
2. Color
The Mariners have had four different color schemes. The original scheme from the late 1970s was yellow and blue, which certainly stand out. In the 1980s, the yellow and blue remained by the yellow was relegated to becoming an outline. This would be the case in the late 1980s and 1990s as well, though the yellow and blue would both take a backseat to the white of the baseball. It wouldn’t be until the current day – when being easy to view on a computer screen became more important – that the colors would really become more involved.
3. Font
There have been more than a few font changes as well. The first font was a very business-like 1970s font. The second Seattle Mariners logo to feature an actual font was the third Mariners logo, which featured a very basic, heavily-outlined M. The Mariners have never been particularly heavy on font usage, which makes the changes between each seem both abrupt and somehow very natural.
Influences/ Inspiration
Who influenced the Mariners? The quick answer would be the rest of Major League Baseball, such as the Atlanta Braves logo. If the Mariners changed their logo, there’s a good chance that other teams were changing their logos as well. The current logo is definitely very much defined by logos of modern sports teams, with the more involved elements being easier to view on HD televisions.
Few teams have followed in the Mariners’ footsteps, though. The involved logo is definitely unique, though some other teams do have logos with a few elements as well. Some of those logos might have been inspired by the Mariners, but it’s hard to guess who might have had the idea first.
Trivia
- The Mariners haven’t won a pennant since 2001.
- The original Seattle baseball team was the Pilots, who later became the Milwaukee Brewers.
- The Mariners are so named because of Seattle’s large seaport.
- The Mariners play at Safeco Field.
Conclusion
The Mariners have a great logo, even if it is a little busy. Every element, however, represents something that is important to the team’s identity. If you take long enough to study the Seattle Mariners logo, you can understand exactly what image the team is trying to project. In the end, that might be one of the most important jobs had by a logo.
Leave a Reply