I worry that ambiguity does not help define a visual identity.
Ambiguity worked with the earliest teams in the NFL; the ones that didn't have an animal for a team name. (Packers, Giants, Browns).
But today, if you want to market a name, you need a symbol that people can wrap their heads around; a visual identity.
Look at these recently created non-animal named teams; like the Titans. They never show an actual Titan. But they put their T in a circle reminiscent of their state flag and set it on fire. They even supplant that logo with an alternate logo that has a sword that looks like a T.
TEN mastered the visual identity without using a being.
I would even argue that we are in the same boat as the Titans when it comes to new branding. We both can't use our old identity, except that we didn't move.
Heck look at the Houston Texans! Nothing is more ambiguous than the residents of the state the team lives in.
And yet they still used a bull as their visual identity, with colors reminiscent of their state flag. The name is bland but the logo is awesome.
When they have a clear visual identity, they could add things like a unique letter H.
Heck teams like Bengals and Bears recently switched up their letter logo and visual logo deciding which one is the primary logo. They can do that because there is no question about what their team is.
We shouldn't act like we were Washington the whole time of our franchise. Because Washington was always attached to Redskins for 88 years Redskins Nowhere in that time was the branding all about Washington itself.
Yes, today we have an opportunity to have Washington itself be represented once and for all. But the team still does need a direction in a visual identity. Not just for marketing, but for people to point to something in the world that is the real life representation of the team.
Look at an eagle, think of the Eagles.
Look at a forty niner, think of the 49ers.
Look at a bull, think of the Texans (or NBA Bulls).
Look at a pirate, think of the Buccaneers or Raiders.
Look at a lightning, think of the Chargers.
Look at New York City, think of the Giants.
Look at a brown Bull Mastiff, think of the Browns.
Look at a mythial creature or maybe a torch, think of the Titans.
Only Packers have something in real life that is not in their branding: cheese.
I am certain the W itself will stay. But we need to supplant that W with either logos that show an actual theme that people don't need to think twice about to give it an identity, or add that W into a symbol that gives it enough visuals to make it become the identity itself.
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