Decoding The Super Bowl LVII Logo: The Backstory & Inspiration - Designhill (2024)

Last updated on January 25th, 2023

Super Bowl is a popular American football league organized annually for many decades. The game and championship is an American national event with millions of fans watching it on television and talking about it for many days to come. The 57th edition of the championship games will start on 12th February 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Super Bowl LVII logo and its previous design visions have become a cultural icon everyone in the country is familiar with.

Super Bowl is a popular and massive event in American-style football. Consumer spending around the Super Bowl was estimated to be about 14.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.

The event is fast approaching, and with it, the excitement in the air grows each day. Officials are preparing for the event with minute details.

But what interests people more about the event is its unique logo. A chief talking point about the Super Bowl logo is that its design appeared almost identical for events over the years. This year is no exception. The Super Bowl LVII logo design has been the same for years. Still, people are fond of it. They take the logo as some cultural icon.

The designers make subtle changes in the logo to represent the host province’s culture.

A Logo with Roman Numerals

When we think about why a logo is important, we find out that it is due to its ability to project a brand differently. The Super Bowl logo helps this event stand out due to its unique design using Roman numerals. But there is a specific cause behind opting for the numeral style from a bygone era.

Initially, the first four Super Bowl events had their logos in modern numerals. It was after the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) merged that the numerals changed. Due to the merger, the NFL organized the 5th event using Roman numerals.

This is What The NFL Guide Says About The Change:

“The Roman numerals were adopted to clarify any confusion because the NFL Championship Game— the Super Bowl — is played in the year following a chronologically recorded season. Therefore, numerals ‘I’ through ‘IV’ were added later for the first four Super Bowls.’’

This year the event is taking place in Arizona. So naturally, the logo showcases the beautiful landscape of Arizona. But the logo has its history as it evolved for decades before taking up the modern-day shape.

Here Is How The Super Bowl Logo Evolved Over The Decades

First 10 Years – A Banner-Style Logo

Initially, in its first ten years, the Super Bowl logo had just two words, the championship name, printed in a newspaper headline style. As a result, the logo looked more or less like a banner. The design had a Roman numeral included.

But after a few years, the Roman numerals started staking up in the logo design. So the company shifted the design focus from name to numeral.

1979 – The Logo Identity Focused On Numerals

In 1979, when Super Bowl XIII was organized, the company changed the logo design by bringing attention largely to the numbers. Since then, the numbers have continued to be the focus of the design. In addition, there were other design changes, including a garish color palette. This visual strategy continues to be part of the Super Bowl logo design.

So, when Super Bowl XIII was held, the numerals were the centerpiece of the design. Since then, the design strategy has created a new set of numerals each year. However, these numerals are still the chief visuals for the designers to focus on driving attention.

The Modern-Era Logo

The modern era of the Super Bowl logo started around 2011 when it appeared in a 3D stainless steel image. It highlighted the Vince Lombardi trophy, which was the focal point of the design. This design sat nicely on the championship number.

When the game entered its 50th year, the ‘L’ numeral became prominent in the logo design. In Roman letters, ‘L’ stands for the number 50. So, the ‘L’ numeral continues to dominate the design as the most visible element.

A reason for emphasizing the Roman numbers is that the company must convey that the logo is more about a tradition than just an event. So the number was golden, with the Lombardi trophy and stadium behind in the design.

So, the logo design for Super Bowl LI to LIII looked the same in the numerals and colors.

Super Bowl LVII Logo Design For 2023

The Super Bowl LVII logo design looks similar to previous years’ logos of the event. But this time, the designers gave it a landscape look. The logo is mainly in green on the numerals. A touch of red is to catch the attention instantly. So, the logo’s chief attraction is the use of multiple turquoise/teal, purple, and red colors.

A beam of light in the background stands for the big celebration of an event. This also replicates the Arizona State Flag.

Some Local Elements Added

While the logo largely appeared the same all these years, the company has recently started incorporating some local elements.

The Super Bowl LVI logo was the first to add local flavor to the design. It had palm trees and colors representing the Southern California sunset, which made the design look more colorful. The company may continue to include more local colors and other elements.

So, one of the critical logo design tips emerging from this logo is to create a design for your target audience. You should not hesitate to give some local touch to the design if your audience comes from a certain region prominently.

Why Does The Super Bowl Use The Same Logo Every Year?

Super Bowl is one event that has been using the same logo design for years. But once, the NFL used to create unique logos for their football leagues. That changed when the NFL merged with the AFL to form the Super Bowl.

After the merger, the Super Bowl logo remained the same for each event since 2011, when Super Bowl XLV took place. Since then, a prominent change in the logo design has been using Roman numbers. The use of the host stadium’s facade is another change in the design.

But why has the logo design remained the same for many years?

One reason could be that the event organizers wanted to ensure consistency. They wanted people to visualize that it was the same event they liked to watch. Secondly, the logo had become an iconic identity, which the authorities wanted to retain. So, they wished to turn the logo into an identity just as the five rings stand for the Olympics.

The company’s statement about the unchanged logo design was notable. According to the company, “A sports event of this stature needs a consistent, iconic identity – a symbol that fans can immediately recognize, much like the Olympic rings,” the company said at the time. “The Vince Lombardi Trophy, bestowed on league champions each year, was the ideal inspiration for a lasting symbol.”

Former NFL chief marketing officer Mark Waller also opined, “trying to reflect the stature and preeminence of the Super Bowl. Given its global size and scale, we wanted a permanent design that really could emphasize the prestige and stature of the game, so we decided to focus very much on the Lombardi trophy and the structures that host these incredible games.”

The Super Bowl LVII logo design is unique, and after being almost the same for many years in a row, it still drives viewers’ attention and excitement. A carefully designed logo is of immense importance for the success of a business. Therefore, if you’re an entrepreneur or planning to get your foot wet in a business, you must create a logo with utmost care.

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Wrapping Up

The Super Bowl LVII logo design is consistent with its previous designs with minor changes. This year’s logo has multiple colors and elements representing the host province Arizona and its culture. The logo keeps its traditional design elements of Roman numerals and the Lombardi trophy.

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