MLB Logo Redesign: Cleveland Indians/Guardians

I was inspired by the ESPN column by Bradford Doolittle in 2020 and was inspired to take my own pass at the Cleveland Indians rebrand. His take on using a unique moniker in professional sports (Spiders) as well as rewriting some of the baseballs historically bad teams drove me to explore this avenue and see something unique built on an old chassis.

Cleveland Baseball History

The history of the names of the baseball teams in Cleveland reflects the city's rich sports heritage. The city's Major League Baseball team has gone through several name changes over the years. Originally established as the Cleveland Forest Citys in 1865, they were one of the founding members of the National League in 1871 and became known as the Cleveland Blues. In 1901, they joined the newly formed American League and adopted the name Cleveland Bluebirds, which was soon changed to the Cleveland Broncos and then the Naps in honor of their star player Napoleon Lajoie. In 1915, after Lajoie's departure, the team became the Cleveland Indians, a name that stuck for more than a century. However, amidst growing concerns about cultural sensitivity and respect, the team announced in 2021 that they would be changing their name, marking a significant moment in the evolution of Cleveland's baseball identity.

My Approach

Although I appreciate the Guardians rebrand and long awaited update, I really think much of Clevelands past could have been used to revive such a historical and rich sport (not to mention it as “America’s past-time”). Cleveland in and of itself is full of historical figures, events, teams etc that I think would have made for a special scenario to not pave over choices that were made in the past around the Indians, but kind of a compromise with the Cleveland fan-base. Give them something to hold onto - something that’s new, but harkens a bit of Cleveland’s heritage.

Before starting out on redesigning the Cleveland Indians brand, I wanted to get a better understand of Cleveland. Understand what connects with fans. I felt these adjectives should also be reflected in the identity system and it’s touch-points.