Many iconic moments unfolded at the 54th annual Super Bowl last night, but what stood out to me the most was the logo for this year’s big game. With my limited knowledge of roman numerals, I realized that instead of the number 54 (LIV), the addition of the Vince Lombardi Trophy makes the logo appear to read LIIV.
When I took to the internet to see if other designers had the same qualm with the design, I discovered a couple of things. First, I was not the only person to notice the lack of readability…
and secondly, this is not the first Super Bowl logo to inject the trophy in an odd order.
The past three Super Bowl logos also create a communication problem by seemingly adding an additional ‘I’ to the design. Notice that next year’s logo has already been released and the NFL has decided to stick to their misguided branding system. Looking at these past logos made me wonder why they decided to reiterate this design over the past few years rather than sticking with one of the past designs.
My personal favorite is for Super Bowl XLIII. I love the perspective, simplicity, and pattern that the lines create. Let me know which Super Bowl logo is your favorite in the comments below!
