Recently I was bored and started to take a look at the logos of esports. There are a bazillion esports teams, and tons of logos flying around. Most of these have been designed by amateur designers and few if any went through some formal design process. Surprisingly, a number of logos out there are really really good, showing that amateurs can do much better work than someprofessionals.
Of course, there are a number of horrific duds out there. So for fun, I collected a ton of logos from esports teams around the world and ranked the best and the worst. (According to me)
The best logos are logos that are: 1. Instantly recognizable 2. Evocative 3. Flexible (can be altered for various purposes and work well on merchandise)
4. Look good (Keep in mind that much of this list reflects my own personal tastes)
With that said, here's my list. Which ones do you agree with? Which ones do you like more than the ones I listed? Dislikes?
So much to love about this logo. It's uncluttered and easy to read. It's bold and eye-catching. It has an interesting shape, but can fit into all different types of holes. It's extremely customizable; you can take out the "NAVI" font and put that anywhere. A great logo for one of the most iconic esports teams worldwide.
One of the only Esports teams to try to make a logo in the mold of American sports teams and actually to succeed. This doesn't try to do much more than it has to do. I like it better than similar professional designs. There's the shark, a classic text look for sports teams, the shield background, and a splash of color. It looks powerful and intimidating. Super logo.
I love both of VirtusPro's silver bear designs. This one is very very similar in design to the Isurus one, even the colors are very similar. This one suffers a bit because it's a bit hard to replicate in more simple fashions for merchandise/in game branding. VirtusPro's answer to that problem is pretty great, but it isn't as badass as this primary. This one is a great look online.
Maybe the most versatile logo in esports. The horse won't win any awards for flashiness, but it's a workhorse (ha!). It's one of the most simple logos to create or spinoff, and has probably been altered more than any other logo in any game. It can go almost anywhere and on anything. If it fits, it ships.
A clever take on the image of clouds and the number nine. Yet at the same time, it's an easily identifiable logo with a lot of potential for flexibility. Cloud 9 hasn't made any good apparel for this logo at all which is a bit of a scandal. Great to see this logo in Dota though.
Simple easy to recognize logo, but with plenty of detail up close. You don't need an art degree to draw something that everyone will recognize as the Curse logo, but the real design has some depth. Good colors. Universally known in LoL.
Same benefits of the Liquid logo. This logo can be used anywhere on anything. It's extremely flexible, you can flip it, squeeze it, color it, or crop it and it's still recognizable and good looking. The design is fairly clever in the way that you can see all the letters of Fnatic in different abstract ways throughout the design. It's ranked below Liquid because it doesn't quite evoke anything the way that the Team Liquid horse evokes a mascot and a symbol and a history. The Fnatic logo doesn't quite have such a backstory. (At least that I'm aware of). But it's a great looking logo.
Honorary So Sad You're Dead RIP: Quantic Gaming + Show Spoiler +
I loved the red steering wheel, and you should too. Bold, not too busy, easy to spot.
Is it cheating to use the logo of an actual company that presumably hired a legitimate firm to make their logo? Either way, this is a brilliant logo. It looks great, and when you take a closer look, the Bull/Bear detail is really clever. I'm a sucker for circles, and the colors are classic as well.
Clean and bold. Name is clear and powerful. I'm not sure what the blue triangle represents, but the juxtaposition of a sharp pointy shape and the rounded curves of the oGs text is appealing. And plus, it belongs to a beloved early Sc2 team, so it's got an extra nostalgia factor now.
vVv may have been a poor business and team, but somehow they came up with a logo that betrayed their awful name stylization and actually looks great. This is kind of a retro look in an industry where retro never happened, but who cares. It's simple, it works. You get the point even if you notice that two of the V's that exist on the right side aren't completed on the left.
Funniest Logo in Esports History Thank You Based Gama Bears + Show Spoiler +
This is a logo of a bear celebrating. Brilliant.The claw marks on "Bears" too. Hahahaha.
Least Favorites
There is a Special Spot in Hell for Combined Logos
Hands down my least favorite logo ever produced by an esports team. Looks like two logos that don't fit mashed together. Because that's what it is. The only saving grace is that combining two logos like this never works, so I can forgive Axiom and Acer for not trying. Also, they won the league and were a hell of fun to watch.
You had one job. You had a simple, evocative name. You had a team destined for success. It is so easy to make a great logo with the letter A. Or this, which is the same basic idea. And then you made the mishapen grey stamp. One of the worst logos simply because of the lost opportunity. Seriously. Pick a neat font. Pick a color. Put A in a circle. That looks great 95% of the time without any additional effort.
Unnecessarily long and boring. Just show the head of the dog and stack "Lemon" on top of "dogs". This logo also takes the cake for looking the worst of any logo in miniature.
HWA decided to go with an illustration of a mountain lion wearing a headset. From the weird perspective of the ears and top teeth, to the painstakingly drawn whiskers, this logo tries way way to hard in all the wrong places. At some point, someone should've said; "Biz bir kulaklık ile bir puma çekiyorlar, bir dakika bekleyin" ("Wait a minute, we're drawing a cougar with a headset on" in Google Translate Turkish)
Okay, it's faithful to the name of the team. That's about the only positive trait I can come up with. The "E" in "Alien", the avicii take in "Invasion" and the bizarre tagline all kinds of weird. And the sort of desaturated purple really doesn't help either.
This is without question my least favorite logo in esports. The colors are wholly unremarkable. The 90's want their design back. The text is leaning forward so you know it means ACTION. It doesn't fit anywhere. It doesn't look good on anything. And coL is a pretty big and longstanding organization with a great reputation behind their name. How the hell have they not fixed this yet?
EG isn't even mentioned? They're easily as good as TL at their worst, and definitely in the top 4 most of the time.
Also, something to consider with Alliance, is that there are a million organizations with some variation of an A as a logo, so if you want a legally defensible trademark, you can't really choose much.
NA'VI has a special place in my heart, since they had such a easy name, combined with "easy-to-spot" colors, which also happened to represent their country ( Ukranian CS 1.6 team, team of the year 2011 ).
Fnatic also has a nice logo, but it's a bit longer, and there is no good abbrevation for it IMO.
I also have to say that Alliance deserve a better spot on that list. IMO it doesn't look "that bad", it's just not a top contender.
Yeah, I kind of like the Alliance logo as well, not amazing but decentish okay, wouldn't put it in a bad-list. Oh and yes certainly MBC missing, that shit was awesome
But what about myInsanity? I'm not a professional but I think EG's one is clever, and the Mouz one is nice but not top level (but it looks cool due to the oldschool effect). Not having sources or everything, but as far as I know Jason Lake has always been extremely passionate about his team, and given that he had years to change the logo he won't due to sentimental issues. It's like with children, if you happen to name your child with a terrible name you still wouldn't change it since it's part of his identity. Maybe he will do it by himself one day, but as long as you are the father... But again, I could be wrong.
Good list. I like the fact that logos are clearly seeing more and more thought put into them in recent years. Thinking back to Team Carbon in the old Halo 2 and 3 days... *shudder*.
I would have thrown the MBC Game Hero logo in. That was a badass logo and a great font.
On February 23 2014 07:55 GizmoPT wrote: copenhagen wolves have my favourite logo xp + Show Spoiler +
I was going to say, the Wolves have an incredible logo. Striking, great mix of colors, and a very aggressive mascot. Everything is in just the right proportions, excellent spacing between elements. I really love how neatly the Danish flag fits in at the bottom. It somehow manages to not look cramped at all, despite it's size and location.
Definitely in my top 3. I would definitely swap the Isurus logo with this one. I feel it accomplishes the "traditional sports" vibe way better than Isurus.
You guys gonna sell that black and white snapback on the left anytime soon? :D
How can this thread not mention KT FingerBoom? Also, while the AxAcer logo sucks, they both work quite well independently I think. Also I have to agree that the Mouz logo deserved a look in
On February 23 2014 08:14 myxoma_strain wrote: How can this thread not mention KT FingerBoom? Also, while the AxAcer logo sucks, they both work quite well independently I think. Also I have to agree that the Mouz logo deserved a look in
Here's another that I thought was awful - Team Nightmares (NMx). MaSa used to play for them.
The random thin line extending from the top of the M, the way lack of alignment (to be fair, "NMx" isn't going to align), the random sword...
When they disbanded, a lot of them joined/formed Triumph eSports, which had an awesome logo. Sure, it's just a lion, and lions are hard to mess up, but I love the choices they made.
This is without question my least favorite logo in esports. The colors are wholly unremarkable. The 90's want their design back. The text is leaning forward so you know it means ACTION. It doesn't fit anywhere. It doesn't look good on anything. And coL is a pretty big and longstanding organization with a great reputation behind their name. How the hell have they not fixed this yet?
There is an updated version of this logo, maybe it changes your mind at least a bit?
I once spent 15 minutes making a logo for an amatuer League of Legends team that named itself "Nick Allen is Handsome". A new challenger for "worst logo ever" appears.
speed gaming might've been the dumbest team name in dota, but their logo was sick. Spot on with the alliance logo though, it's not eye catching and from afar it looks like a disgusting grey blob.
I opened this thread expecting StarTale's old logo
Oh and I 100% agree Na'Vi has the best looking logo in esports. Also I have been cheering for them ever since they picked up Artstyle back in Dota 1. Surprised TL didn't take 2nd tho
On February 23 2014 08:26 iHirO wrote: I agree with the Axiom-Acer one, anybody could knock a nicer one up in one minute on photoshop.
That isn't nicer at all and would have looked absolutely awful on the white team banners adorning the studio. That's probably why you're not a graphic designer
As the article pointed out though, at least we actually won a team league with our "terrible logo", unlike everyone else
There's something about Navi's logo that I don't like. Maybe it's the color yellow or the fact that the letters are split up and while that's not usually bad, it seems excessive. Isurus Gaming and Virtus Pro would be #1 and #2 with Navi maybe after team liquid and such. Other than that, I always liked FXO's logo for some reason. It just looks pleasant to my eyes. Good colors used and art is clear. They used a good font as well and it's size is decent enough. Other than that, I guess with everything else you had(from the logos you chose).
PS I think the Oz and MBCGame logos are also fantastic especially MBCGame's dragon logo. Would be awesome to have a shirt with that on it! :D
Alliance's logo is a doodle. I still can't believe that was the best they could do. It's as if they found out their name and were given 5 minutes to come up with a logo that they had to submit. Even just the A without drawing arbitrary blocks around it would be better.
Don't like the logo of Isurus Gaming and Virtus Pro. I mean, it's not bad, but it's just the Name with a crest behind it with an animal on it, what is so special about that? Everybody can come up with an idea like that in one minute. No finesse.
I have a biased hardon for the EG logo, and the Axiom logo is also excellent.
I really don't like Fnatic's logo as some weird unintelligible symbol, and Virtus Pro and Isurus are not my things, although Isurus does look good, but Virtus Pro does not, in my opinion.
My top logos are, EG, Axiom, Navi, and Cloud 9 in no particular order, though I think if I had to pick an absolute favorite, Cloud 9 (whom I've never heard of before this) wins for me.
I agree I actually think as a logo, Cloud 9 is the best its incredibly creative to make 9s into the shape of a cloud which is also pleasing to the eye with good colors and shadowing that isn't pretentious. I never understood why SKTT1 only had a T1.
I am not sure if I can be critical at more fan made logos but 3 are bothering me. Eternal Gaming seems lackluster as I am not a big fan of misshapen letters and the purple. ETL isn't super thought of as Eternal. I think you are better off going with a cool logo with your entire name. It might be cheesy but making it a infinity symbol somehow might be good or a insignia like OP was saying just making your name look like a circle insignia. I am a big fan of the snake eating itself logo too.
Just food for thought.
Ghost Pirates has so much potential man, you really went as soft as you could. First its just ugly with that G looking like an E. You should go more Raiders colors or something that captures a ghostly pirate essence maybe blue and grey or something.
Infinity Seven looks like Jnfinity its very annoying to me.
Obviously making a classic logo isn't as easy as we all think and I don't have anything for criticism so sorry for being harsh but I'm just trying to give some mean but hopefully constructive too,
I'm going to have to disagree with my fellow Saint Paulite here. Axiom-Acer had an excellent logo. The only way it could've been better would've been if the Acer part was thin green writing on white, with a green trim, much like their updated jerseys.
When they disbanded, a lot of them joined/formed Triumph eSports, which had an awesome logo. Sure, it's just a lion, and lions are hard to mess up, but I love the choices they made.
Oooo, those are both great finds. That NMx logo is ripped straight from the box of some late 1990's computer game. Meanwhile it's like night and day with Triumph. Little bit of ING there. I could do without the "esports" at the bottom. That's a great logo as well because you can split it up. Either the Lion or the "Triumph" can stand alone and it'd be just fantastic on a shirt or a cap.
Some of the mentions in this thread...
Copenhagen Wolves: The last logo I left off my list. I'm lazy and stopped at seven, but CPH was probably my #8.
EG: The EG logo is a classic because the EG team is the best in the business. As a standalone logo, it's a clever combination of the E and the G, but beyond that it's a "jack of all trades, master of none" logo for me. It doesn't particularly lend itself to re-design or experimentation. It doesn't automatically look good on merchandise. It's not tremendously striking. I think the way it kinda leans away from you is a bit silly. If you like the EG logo, ask yourself if you like it because of its own merits or because of the team it represents.
SK Gaming: I know it fits a lot of my criteria, and I definitely don't hate it. I just think it's a bit boring.
Infinity 7: I definitely like it, but it doesn't make my top list. Names like that are difficult to be honest. Things are so much easier when you pick a mascot. TL is the horse, Mousesports have the mouse, Virtus.Pro has the bear. Solves so many issues.
ROOT: Root's logo is very unique. It might be the most detailed logo out there. That might be a nice way of saying it's too busy. But I do like it. It reflects the character of the team. If I remember, it was designed by a community member. It's not a particularly sleek or pretty logo. But you do recognize it and you don't forget it.
On February 23 2014 08:08 RPR_Tempest wrote: I agree mostly. Curious as to what you think of my team's logo. Review it please?
It's not a logo that's going to offend anybody, that's for sure. You wouldn't see a logo like that in anyone's least favorite list. But it's not a logo that's going to make many people's best of list either, imo. Just being three letters tetris'd together doesn't really stand out. If in the future you're looking to re-design it or re-brand, I'd give some real though to thinking of what images represent your team and what you stand for. Text can make a surprisingly effective logo, but in general it's fairly hard to distinguish yourself with it.
On February 23 2014 13:41 GPCyanide wrote: our team's logo:
I really think it's a mistake to try to use CGI effects and try to make a logo seem 3D. I can't think of a logo I admire anywhere on the web that works that way. It's also very limiting. If you try to take that logo and put it onto a 2D space (a flag, next to a command center) it won't turn out the way you're envisioning. So make it a 2D logo is my first suggestion. Secondly, if you want blue to be a dominant color in your logo, it must be in the logo itself, it can't be the background. Logos need to be able to sit on a transparent background so that they're easily used by media. I'd also lose the team name within the logo. Find a good font and put it below, so that you can add and remove it when necessary.
I wish I had enough time to have an eSports team! Our logo/brand/everything was created by Bernat Fortet's amazing expertise with typeface. Look at this shit:
Branding isn't a very strong suit for eSports teams. Personally I love the logos of Copenhagen Wolves and the orange Virtus.pro logo, but at the end of the day the Fnatic colours are imo by far the most recognisable in eSports.
My current least favorite has to be the design for the Yard White festival. Purely because it is lifted directly from the U.S. Air Force logo without any real attempt to modify it other than making it a "Y"
EG: The EG logo is a classic because the EG team is the best in the business. As a standalone logo, it's a clever combination of the E and the G, but beyond that it's a "jack of all trades, master of none" logo for me. It doesn't particularly lend itself to re-design or experimentation. It doesn't automatically look good on merchandise. It's not tremendously striking. I think the way it kinda leans away from you is a bit silly. If you like the EG logo, ask yourself if you like it because of its own merits or because of the team it represents.
I don't think I can separate my bias from my interpretation of the EG logo, but it hits the right kind of design notes for me, the positive/negative space has the E and G read very fluidly for me.
As for the tipped to the side thing, I always thought that as well, but after seeing it in a flat 2D fashion, I think that the tilt thing may be a good thing.
I also really enjoy the EG font, and the color scheme is something I'm super fond of.
Yeah, I can agree on the Jack of all Trades thing, though I think that assuming the EG color scheme, it definitely looks good on merchandise. (Plus it handles a transition into 3D well, which is nice!)
... however it can also backfire a little like Hong Kong Attitude: + Show Spoiler +
Fun logos! That last one is wonderfully terrible. Unless you're a sunglasses company, sunglasses DO NOT belong in your logo.
On February 23 2014 19:22 Day[9] wrote: I wish I had enough time to have an eSports team! Our logo/brand/everything was created by Bernat Fortet's amazing expertise with typeface. Look at this shit:
On February 23 2014 19:39 Rustug wrote: There are so many logo's with a Shield design
Can't blame people. It's the default for soccer teams around the world and can look great
On February 23 2014 23:16 Dagobert wrote: No love for KTF? (Kudos to Fontong for taking a screenshot, KT seem to have purged all images of it off the net, it's nowhere else to be found)
I've seen you logo before when I wrote up TLO vs StrinterN and I remembered it immediately. The alligator is a unique mascot for esports. The text is written in a very "university" style. With different coloring, it could be the logo for the University of Florida.
One thing about your logo is that it feels very tall. With the gator pressing up against the top of the shield (with no gap), there's a space between the text and the mouth of the mascot that gives the impression that the logo is bigger than it needs to be. The mouth is all we're interested in, the neck isn't essential. I think the logo could be slimmed down a bit, but it's not essential.
Since it's a logo in the vein of Virtus.Pro and Isurus, you've got a logo that's fair complicated to draw and not necessarily very flexible. I think something your organization should make sure you have is a media pack with not just this logo but an image of the typeface alone, and a standalone logo of just the mouth of the gator. With this main logo, a text version, and a non-text version, I think you'd have a strong portfolio.
On February 24 2014 03:07 wei2coolman wrote: All the GPL team have great logos. Sad you didn't post more of them.
I like a lot of these but don't love them. Most have too much detail/aren't focused enough for my tastes. They're very fun though.
I have a soft spot for the simplicity in Proleague logos. Especially CJ's. Something about the tension between the simple form and the ambitious color scheme.
Cool. It should be noted that Fnatic has a ton of history, especially in Counter-Strike, but you probably had to be part of that scene for it to evoke the history to you.
I actually really dislike the DK logo, posted earlier on this page. It seems way too overdone and complicated and I have no idea what it is meant to be.
Think about a thicker stroke on the text, it should pop forward, but as is its sitting on the same plane as the alligator which creates some visual awkwardness.
This would have to be a completely alternate logo, as it would not be similar at all in layout, but I think it would be cool if it was more of a horizontal layout and the alligator was eating the name of the team.
Even though not a team, MLG logo is probably one of the best there is and is within the criteria. Then theres sigma (the same case as with alliance albeit done correctly I assume). Also mYm and myInsanity logos are nice too.
I really liked the logo of my old SC2 amateur clan.
torridOrbs was the name and that was the logo
I really liked the simpleness combined with that fire-like look. It did also represent our clantag (tO) pretty nicely. I applaud the creator of that logo, haha.
I also like your list, I think you nailed most of it. So good job, dude!^^
I really found STXSouL's logo intriguing. While the typeface for STX stands out and appeals to me for both its curvilinear and firm position in the logo it becomes a stark contrast to irregular shape that encapsulates the ascending word SouL.
I have a love and hate for this logo. I enjoy the colour scheme of the logo as well as the typeface and shape overall, but at the same time I find it puzzling how the firm neatly positioned type of STX can work so well against the irregular and almost uncontrolled SouL.
Regardless, I still find this one of my favorite logos of e-sport teams.
On February 24 2014 09:32 Firebolt145 wrote: I actually think that the Axiom logos and Acer logos are good on their own but stamped on top of each other it looks a bit odd.
Axiom's logo is most excellent.
I have major boner for it.
EDIT: As for the STX Logo, I find it weird how much I like it, I feel like I shouldn't. The shape that Soul is in is just so... weird. I don't like the shape but the logo as a whole still appeals to me, just without making so much sense. Weeeeeird.
On February 24 2014 09:32 Firebolt145 wrote: I actually think that the Axiom logos and Acer logos are good on their own but stamped on top of each other it looks a bit odd.
Axiom's logo is most excellent.
I have major boner for it.
It's a great logo, it's one of the ones that barely missed out on my list along with CPH Wolves. I dunno why I settled at 7, I think I just got bored after a few hours of trying to find every logo out there. I'd love to see Axiom try some alternate designs as well. Taking just the the X from the Axiom logo might make a cool secondary design.
The Acer logo isn't quite my favorite; I think it ranks solidly below the Axiom one, but it's in the top half of esports logos. It's simple and completely non-offensive. Just not incredible compelling either.
Just because the two logos look pretty bad when slapped on top of each other (as would any two logos, see: EG-TL) doesn't mean that individually they're not good.
I like CoL logo. Personally think it is classy. My favorite logos by far are Fnactic, EG, Navi, and Liquid. They all stand out to me and have a unique image and are so different from others.
On February 23 2014 07:24 Wormi wrote: the alien invasion logo is actually quite good imo. and the retarded hamster by hwa gaming is so bad that starts to be funny.
i think, we need a vote!
exactly my thoughts (if you mean that cat with the headset) look at the ears :3
Also I like the alliance logo. It's so in your face and down to earth like the A guys themselves. In big like you show it, it's a tad unclean, but when I watch streams their logo is really easy on the eyes and clear (when it's all tiny).
Mostly agreed but I don't know why Na'Vi is first. It looks... unexciting. Also MBCHero, SlayerS, CJ Entus and KTF MagicNs are awesome. I've never thought about how cool BW logos were. The Hite Sparkyz is bad though.
On February 24 2014 05:22 Firebolt145 wrote: I actually really dislike the DK logo, posted earlier on this page. It seems way too overdone and complicated and I have no idea what it is meant to be.
It is clearly a stylized dragon knight moving left. Why that is the case and what posses any team to make that their logo I'll never know.
Shown in full-size like in the OP it looks very amateurish, but in miniature in-game it looks excellent. I would argue the single large letter and minimal clutter coupled with the pop-out shades makes for one of the strongest in-game logos in DotA.
You need different things for a logo to look good at 128x128, and [A] has those down, at least to me.
It's a shame, because the same style could have been achieved in something other than MSpaint, and then it would have looked good out of game as well.
On February 24 2014 06:48 Tppz! wrote: I always loved the CJ Entus logo: + Show Spoiler +
I think it would be even better without the "CJ". It feels weird that the "CJ" and "Entus" fonts are not the same and there are already the colors (red, blue, yellow) of CJ Entertainment so I'm not sure it's worth it to recall it once again with the name itself. Other than that it's a very good logo I think.
I also think the A in alliance looks decent, just the sides are bad. It works well from the distance, when you dont see that they screwed up with the sides. Wouldnt put in on the worst list.
EG was somehow forgotten for the best ones. The logo is really well made, one of the little 3d/turned logos that actually work because of how simple it is. Would vote it over c9.