Opinion BY Armin

The Real Jaguars of Jacksonville

Joining the league as an expansion team in 1995, the Jacksonville Jaguars play in the South Division of the American Football Conference in the NFL. The team has done well over the last seventeen years, winning two division championships and making six playoff appearances. Yesterday, the Florida-based team announced a new identity to replace the one they’ve playing with since the beginning.

“Now, that’s a cool cat,” Jaguars Owner Shad Khan said at the press conference.

The Jaguars’ new primary logo was termed a “vibrant redesign” of the team’s long-time logo, which has adorned its helmets since the 1995 expansion season. The rebranding also features the introduction of a military-inspired secondary logo. […] The new primary logo stays true to the team’s traditional colors, while featuring a “fiercer” Jaguar, “amplifying the powerful characteristics of the cat.” The secondary logo will include a shield featuring the new logo underneath a bold graphic treatment of the nickname “Jags,” meant to pay homage to the military roots of Jacksonville and celebrate the fan-inspired “Jags” nickname.
— Press Release

The old logo had more of a liger feel than a jaguar, with a kind of stubby blunt appearance in the tiny eyes and large cranial area (or something — I’m no biologicist). Although most mascot logos are abstracted when going through a redesign, this one has gone in the opposite direction becoming more realistic and detailed. Surprisingly, it benefits from it. The Jaguar’s spots don’t resemble Cheetos Puffs anymore, the ears look more alert and aggressive, and the eyes are less dead. The tongue is still teal.

The new typography is a decent, angrier evolution of the previous one, chiseling away at harsh angles to create a pointier interpretation. It’s no masterpiece but at least it’s consistent, well spaced, and the “S” on a curve doesn’t look like vomit (which is always the downfall of sports wordmarks — see the “S” in New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets). Overall, a decent evolution that maintains all the equity of the original while giving it new life. And merchandising opportunities.

Thanks to Dustin Brenton for first tip.