1975 redesign of the Seahawks logo proposed by Marvin Oliver, a Native artist and UW art professor, painted on a hard hat
July 26, 2024
1975 redesign of the Seahawks logo proposed by Marvin Oliver, a Native artist and UW art professor, painted on a hard hat
9 comments
I had known for some time about the Kwakwaka’wakw mask that inspired the original Seahawks logo (designed in-house by NFL), but recently found out that there was [a redesign proposed by Marvin Oliver, a Native artist and UW art professor](https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/mask-inspired-seahawks-logo), prior to the inaugural season:
It’s a shame it’s not better known, because I think Oliver’s redesign is stunning.
Love the one on the right. Would love to see a whole new uni with that design, color scheme.
Not indian enough make more indian.
You can’t have a red and black color scheme. Dear god
I’m very happy we ended up with the designs we did….
The logo they settled on was a nice homage that wasn’t too on the nose IMO. I think the likelihood of tribes pushing back on the alternate logo proposal in the modern era would have been much higher as it was more or less a direct copy of traditional kwakiutl ovoid patterns. What we ended up with was a solid logo that was ‘inspired by’ vs ‘copied from’ the regional tribal motifs.
It definitely hits hard. I would definitely buy a hat or clothing with that logo. I would prefer green/blue/gray over orange, but I also don’t know the cultural significance.
Nah the one on the left is waaaaay better to me.
My vinyl Seahawks sticker on my hard hat is never gonna feel the same
9 comments
I had known for some time about the Kwakwaka’wakw mask that inspired the original Seahawks logo (designed in-house by NFL), but recently found out that there was [a redesign proposed by Marvin Oliver, a Native artist and UW art professor](https://www.burkemuseum.org/news/mask-inspired-seahawks-logo), prior to the inaugural season:
>In 1975, reacting to the first Seahawks logo, artist Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta) who had studied with Bill Holm [one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field of Northwest Coast Native art history], offered a redesigned logo that [he felt adhered more closely](https://olympiatime.com/2013/11/28/the-time-when-the-king-county-arts-commission-complained-about-the-cultural-insensitivity-of-the-seahawks-logo/) to the northern Northwest Coast “formline” design principles of northern design explained in Holm’s book.
It’s a shame it’s not better known, because I think Oliver’s redesign is stunning.
Love the one on the right. Would love to see a whole new uni with that design, color scheme.
Not indian enough make more indian.
You can’t have a red and black color scheme. Dear god
I’m very happy we ended up with the designs we did….
The logo they settled on was a nice homage that wasn’t too on the nose IMO. I think the likelihood of tribes pushing back on the alternate logo proposal in the modern era would have been much higher as it was more or less a direct copy of traditional kwakiutl ovoid patterns. What we ended up with was a solid logo that was ‘inspired by’ vs ‘copied from’ the regional tribal motifs.
It definitely hits hard. I would definitely buy a hat or clothing with that logo. I would prefer green/blue/gray over orange, but I also don’t know the cultural significance.
Nah the one on the left is waaaaay better to me.
My vinyl Seahawks sticker on my hard hat is never gonna feel the same