Arizona Cardinals Logo PNG
The Arizona Cardinals logo is a visual symbol of the American football team, reflecting its name and some important aspects of its character and values.
The cardinal red color in the logo symbolizes strength, passion, and energy, reflecting the team’s fighting spirit and its pursuit of victory. The red feathers on the cardinal’s head also add dynamism and movement, emphasizing endurance and the speed of the game.
The head of the cardinal overall symbolizes pride, fearlessness, and leadership, which are important values for the team. Additionally, the logo features the cardinal’s yellow beak, symbolizing intelligence and insight. The yellow color also adds brightness and emphasizes self-confidence, which helps the team achieve its goals.
Overall, the Arizona Cardinals’ emblem is a strong and emotional symbol that conveys the values and qualities necessary to succeed in American football. Passion, energy, strength, leadership, intelligence, and confidence – all these qualities are combined in one bright and memorable logo, which is one of the most recognizable in the world of sports.
Arizona Cardinals: Brand overview
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the NFC West Division in the National Football Conference (NFC). The Cardinals play their home matches at the State Farm Stadium, which was opened in 2006 and is located in the northwestern suburb of Glendale, Arizona. The cardinal bird, perched on a football lacing, has been the symbol of the Arizona Cardinals since 1947.
The Cardinals were founded as the Morgan Athletic Club in 1898 in Chicago, Illinois. They joined the NFL in 1920. In 1960, the club moved to St. Louis and played there until 1987, sometimes referred to as “Football Cardinals” or “Big Red” to avoid confusion with the St. Louis Cardinals from Major League Baseball.
Before the 1988 season, the team moved west to Tempe, Arizona, a college suburb east of Phoenix, and spent the next 18 seasons playing their home games at Sun Devil Stadium on the Arizona State University campus. In 2006, the club moved to its current home field in Glendale, although the team’s offices and training center are still located in Tempe.
The primary colors of the “Arizona Cardinals” are white and red. The Cardinals moved to Arizona in 1988, and the next year, the Arizona flag was added to the sleeves. The cardinal head, the team’s symbol, is featured on the Arizona Cardinals’ helmet and emblem.
Meaning and History
In 1920, the “Arizona Cardinals” became a member of the American Professional Football Association (APFA). Over the team’s lifetime, the Arizona Cardinals’ emblem changed eight times and underwent significant changes until 1970, when the team’s symbol—the red cardinal—was featured on it.
The evolution of the Arizona Cardinals’ logos happened as the team changed names, relocated to new cities, and transitioned from one league to another. What started as a monogram in the form of the combined letters “CC” eventually turned into the inscription “CARD-PITT” and then became the red cardinal.
The bird was always drawn differently. On one of the earliest emblems, the cardinal was depicted as a detailed cartoonish illustration; then, it was portrayed as an anthropomorphic, muscular character. Over time, artists began depicting only the head, perfecting the version once proposed by Verlander Design.
What is Arizona Cardinals?
The Arizona Cardinals are one of the oldest but least successful franchises in the National Football League. It has been competing in the league since 1920 and in the NFC West since 2002. The football team from the Phoenix metropolitan area, formed in 1989, was originally called the Morgan Athletic Club. Currently, the Cardinals play their home matches at State Farm Stadium.
1920 – 1934
The first logo of the Arizona Cardinals was introduced when the team was known as the Chicago Cardinals. The 1920s “Chicago Cardinals” logo had the overlapping letters “CC,” “C,” and a regular “C” in red.
1944
In 1944, the “Steelers” merged with the “Chicago Cardinals” and were called “Card-Pitt,” unofficially known as “Card-Pitt” or simply “Carpets.” The logo featured the word “CARD-PITT.” In the 1945 season, the Steelers competed alone again.
1947 – 1959
From 1947 onwards, the emblem of the “Cardinal” represents a brownish-black cardinal sitting on the stitches of a white football with black outlines.
1960 – 1961
For the first time, a character with a human-like appearance (hands and feet) but a bird’s head—a cardinal—appeared in the logo. The character is in motion as if tossing the ball into the goal.
1962 – 1969
In 1960, the team moved to St. Louis, which also influenced its logo. In 1962, the “Cardinals” emblem changed to a red muscular cardinal carrying a football in football attire and running past the St. Louis Arch.
1970 – 1987
In 1970, the logo turned into a streamlined version of the cardinal’s head with a flair. The “Cardinals” logo was designed by Verlander Design. All subsequent modifications were based on the 1970 version.
1988 – 1993
In 1988, due to the relocation to Phoenix, the shape of the cardinal’s head was slightly changed. This was the only change made to the “Cardinals” logo.
1994 – 2004
Minor changes occurred due to Phoenix’s transformation into a city in Arizona in 1994. The “Cardinals” became the “Arizona Cardinals”, so they also changed their logo.
2005 – today
Currently, the Arizona Cardinals use a simple emblem that features the bird’s head without additional elements or inscriptions. It was adopted in 2005, but was based on the version presented in 1970. It is the result of three modifications of the original drawing. Over a decade, the Arizona Cardinals’ logo remained virtually unchanged, but in January 2005, it underwent the first significant changes in a century. The logo with the red cardinal’s head became sleeker and meaner than the previous one. The beak was changed from gold to yellow, and more distinct black outlines were added. This bird looked significantly more aggressive than the previous one. Many fans referred to the previous version as a “parrot.”
It differs from previous versions in more distinct lines, wide outlines, and harmonious proportions. Thanks to quality graphics, the style looks modern. This is particularly noticeable compared to the previous logo, which was created in 1994 without access to advanced digital technologies.
Font and Colors
The professional football team’s trademark from Arizona is associated with its mascot, the red cardinal. It’s the head of this bird that designers depicted, adhering to a simple but characteristic style. The bird looks angry because of the semicircular shape of the eyes and the low-hanging imaginary eyebrow line. In addition, the artists added a sharp beak to make the cardinal look dangerous.
The only inscription on the Arizona Cardinals logo appeared in 1944 when the club was officially called Card-Pitt. In all other cases, designers did not use textual elements, so they did not work on fonts.
The color palette is also quite conservative. It predominantly features a red-pink color, which became the basis of the team’s visual identity in 1920 and is present in almost all emblems, except for the 1947-1959 version, which depicts a brown bird against a ball backdrop. The palette also includes gold and black colors. The first color is used for the beak and the second for the eye and outline.