Sports logos are a great source of inspiration for designers. They’re simple and clean, and they don’t require any text to get the point across. We’ve put together a list of 10 cool sports logos that we think stand out as masterpieces of design.
1. Texas Stars
The Texas Stars logo is a star with the team name and a star to the right of the name. The team name is in a bold font and it’s in red (the state color). The star symbolizes Texas and there are five points on each side of it, which pays homage to their home state.
The logo was designed by Christopher Glancy, who worked on this project from 2014 until 2015. He also did similar work for other sports teams like Arizona Diamondbacks and New Orleans Pelicans.
2. Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets logo is a basketball with the team name. The ball is in front of a mountain range, which makes sense because they play in Colorado, and they are known as the Nuggets since they had an early coach who was called “The Major.”
In many ways, this logo is a bit dull. But it gets the job done by clearly stating what you’re looking at: a basketball with the team’s name on it. It’s simple and clean—two qualities that can go a long way when it comes to sports logos.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have a logo that’s based on their team nickname and feature the letter L. The word “Lakers” is spelled out in capital letters, while the rest of the text is lowercase. The letters are arranged around a basketball, which has been turned into an icon. There’s also a star above the ball, as well as triangles and circles on either side of it (which may have something to do with superstitions).
The Lakers’ logo was designed by Jerry West in 1971; West wanted to create something similar to what his team had worn prior to this point—a simple letter “L.”
4. Nebraska Huskers
The Nebraska Huskers are a college football team, and their logo is an N. That’s it! It’s a simple block letter that stands out in any program. The Huskers are the only team in the Big Ten Conference to have a black jersey as part of its home uniform, which makes it stand out even more on game day. Although they haven’t won any national championships since 1999 (which is a bummer), they do have five titles to their name—so they’re not exactly struggling either.
5. Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers logo is a red and black circular logo with a basketball in the center. The logo features a basketball with a trail of flames behind it, which was designed by a graphic logo designer.
6. Atlanta Hawks
You can’t help but notice the Atlanta Hawks sports logo design. It’s everywhere, from their merchandise to their social media accounts. The logo is actually a silhouette of a hawk soaring through the air, which is probably what you see when you look at it. It’s one of the most recognizable logos in sports and that makes it perfect for inspiration when designing your own team’s logo!
Here are some ways you can use this awesome design:
- Use this as inspiration for your own sports logo! The silhouette of a bird flying through the air could be used as an emblem for something like basketball or football.
- Create a side view or headshot version of this same design. You could do that by adding more detail to one side or making sure it’s symmetrical across both sides if needed.
7. Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins logo is a bear, which is likely a reference to the team’s name. The colors are black, gold and white. The team was founded in 1924 and plays at TD Garden in Boston.
In keeping with their name, the Bruins’ colors reflect their Irish heritage: Black for coal miners and gold for prospectors who flooded into Massachusetts during the early 1900s from Ireland’s great potato famine. As hockey fans know well, however, it wasn’t always this way: In 1924-25 the club wore maroon sweaters with black pants at home (the opposite of what they wear today) while on the road white jerseys sported three vertical bars on each sleeve denoting three Stanley Cups won by owner Charles Adams’ grandfather at that time (1893–94).
8. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls logo design is simple, bold and timeless. It’s a classic design that has been around since 1966. There are no gimmicks here—just the great red and black colors of the Chicago Bulls logo combined with an iconic silhouette of a fierce bull’s head. This makes it very recognizable, which is why you see it everywhere from team jerseys to coffee mugs.
The Bulls logo has also become iconic because it’s one of those logos that have no text or symbols added to it at all: just two bold colors combined with one simple silhouette shape—a classic example of less being more!
9. Houston Astros
The Houston Astros logo is a star in the shape of the Texas state. This design is inspired by Houston’s history as an oil town. Orange, blue, and white are the primary colors of their sport logo. The star is surrounded by a blue circle, which symbolizes how they were born out of a merger between two teams that were former rivals. Astros’ mascot Orbit also pays tribute to this region with his famous space suit design!
The team’s current home uniform features an orange star on dark blue pants with white socks and cleats; however, there have been several different designs throughout history including one where they wore all-white uniforms with a black trim instead!
10. Miami Marlins
The Miami Marlins logo is a stylized version of the city’s skyline. The logo was designed by Domenic Lomazzo, who also designed logos for the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. This retro-looking mark was introduced in 2012 as part of a new ownership group’s rebranding effort.
Final words
Now, create your own logo. The list of sports logos we’ve shared is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the amazing designs out there. With such a wide range of styles and colors, there are plenty more creative options for you to explore! So whether it’s baseball or basketball, football or soccer—or any other sport for that matter—why not take some inspiration from these awesome examples?