Cleveland Browns is a professional rugby club from the United States, which was established in 1944 in Ohio. The club, owned by Jimmy and Dee Haslam, can not be called the most successful in American football, but it is well known for changing the head coaches almost once in a year.
Cleveland Browns are often referred to as the NFL outsiders, and this is not just because their results in the league have never been outstanding, but the club also managed to stand out in their visual identity. The Browns are the only teams in the National Football League to not have any logo on their helmets.
Cleveland Browns are often called “Clowns”, and some explain it with the brightness of their color palette, while others say it’s because of their results and games in general.
The history of the Cleveland Browns is also considered by many as a “sad” one, as for three years in the 1990s the city was deprived of the team for three years, and the entire roster moved to Baltimore.
The club was founded in 1944 by the local businessman Arthur McBride, who has been dreaming of owning an NFL franchise for years. When he finally got that chance, the problem of choosing a proper head coach occurred. McBride asked advice from John Dietrich, a sports journalist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and he recommended Paul Brown, a young Ohio State Buckeyes coach. At the beginning of 1945, Brown becomes the club’s head coach.
At the time Brown was appointed head coach, the team did not yet have an official name, and McBride put that responsibility on Brown after his proposal to name the club the Cleveland Browns was rejected. The head coach decided to hold a contest for the best name, and the name “Cleveland Panthers” won, but Brown rejected that name as well, citing that it was the name of the Cleveland club that existed from 1919 to 1933. Having received no alternatives from the coach, in August 1945 McBride decided to christen the club the Cleveland Browns, without asking Brown for his opinion.
Cleveland Browns have been using an image of a plain helmet for their visual identity since 1970, in order to emphasize their uniqueness and individuality, as they are the only team in the National Football League to not have any logo on their helmets. This is how the absence of visual identity becomes a main feature of the visual identity.
But it was not always like this. For the first twenty years, the club had a logo with “Brownie Elf” in two interpretations, and in 2015 the Dawn Dog additional logo was designed. But the team stays recognizable as the one with “plain helmets”.
What is the Cleveland Browns logo?
The logo of the professional rugby club from Cleveland represents an orange rugby helmet, plain and not decorated with any elements. The club is known to be the only NFL member to use helmets with no identity, although the intense shade of orange and a delicate white stripe, coming through the helm, speak for themselves and do not need any complements.
The very first logo of Cleveland’s team was created in 1946 and depicted a funny elf in a brown and white outfit, drawn with a rugby ball in his right hand. The color palette was a graphical representation of the club’s name and the elf himself reflected a brave and playful character.
In 1959 the Brownie Elf was refined and the color palette was changed to orange and white, in order to show the energy and dynamics of the team. The contours of the image were modernized and made thicker, the ball was moved to the left hand, as well as the elf’s head was now slightly turned to the left. The symbol stayed with the team for another ten years.
The first plain helmet logo was designed in 1970. It was a simple image, depicting the red helmet in profile. With a white small grille. It was a minimalist yet pretty detailed drawing, which reflected the main specialty of the team and its signature absence of images on their helmets. The red and white color combination symbolizes the passion and energy of the club and their willingness to win.
The logo was redesigned in 1986. The helmet was now colored orange and placed in a 3/4 turn. The grille on the new logo was more massive and executed in white and gray in order to add volume and make the drawing more realistic. Orange is the signature color of the team, it symbolizes happiness, activity and a positive approach to everything, including the game.
In 1992 the helmet was refined again, the grille was now all white, with some light gray shades, but the contrast was brighter, that on the previous version. The white protection was added to the back of the helmet, and the shapes became more delicate and better executed.
In 2006 the color palette changes from orange and white to orange and gray. No other changes were made. Gray is a symbol of solidness and stability, it represents the professionalism and fundamental approach, as well as the seriousness of the team and its intentions to develop and win.
The current version of the rugby club’s visual identity was designed in 2015. It repeats the two previous logos but has a modified color palette. The orange today is brighter, almost red, while the grille became black and gained thinner and more elegant lines. The red and black color palette of the Cleveland Browns’ logo is replicated in their additional emblem — a Dawn Pound, which is a dog’s face in black contours, placed on a red background. The picture reflects the fighting spirit of the team, their decisive attitude and a will to win.
In the case of the Cleveland Browns club, logo redesign equals helmet redesign. And this is exactly what happened in 2024. The solid orange helmet with black and white stripes going through the center remained almost the same, but the grille’s color was changed from black to white, making it look brighter and more vivid. Also, if we look back, the white color of the grille was used by the club for much longer than the black one.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say, that helmet is the main attribute ofCleveland Brown’s visual identity. The club has unique for the NFL style — their helmets are painted in solid orange with brown and white stripes in the center and no logo on the sides. This plain minimalistic helmet design is also the basis for the official badge of the Browns. The choice of color for the helmet also points to the team’s character and mood — full of energy and desire to fight.
The official color palette, used for the Cleveland Browns uniforms, is based on orange, brown, and white, with orange used for the helmet and stripes on jerseys and pants. The team has three options for the uniform design: the color one, with a brown jersey and white pants; the white one — where the jersey is white, and the pants are brown; and the alternate uniform with both the pants and the jersey in brown, and all the decorative elements in orange, with almost no white accents.
After the club was reborn in 1999, Cleveland Browns started playing on FirstEnergy Stadium, which was called Cleveland Browns Stadium until 2013. The arena with a capacity of 67,431 seats had a record attendance of 73,718 in 2002 when the Browns played with the Steelers.
During the first period of the club’s history, which lasted from 1945 to 1995, the home arena of the Cleveland Browns was Cleveland Stadium, built in 1931 and demolished in 1996.
DARK BROWN
PANTONE: PMS BLACK 4 C
HEX COLOR: #311D00;
RGB: (49, 29, 0)
CMYK: (1, 33, 85, 94)
ORANGE
PANTONE: PMS 2028 C
HEX COLOR: #FF3C00
RGB: (255, 60, 0)
CMYK: (2, 93, 100, 0)
WHITE
HEX COLOR: #FFFFFF
RGB: (255,255,255)
CMYK: (0, 0, 0, 0)
What does Browns mean in Cleveland Browns?
The name of the rugby club Cleveland Browns is a celebration of the team’s heritage and roots. The Browns’ name is a tribute to the first coach of the team, and its co-founder, Paul Brown. The surname of the coach was a really good choice, as it can easily be depicted, and gave the club an iconic mascot — Brownie.
What is a brown mascot for Cleveland?
The famous mascot of the professional rugby club from Ohio is a funny brown elf, called Brownie the Elf, or simply Brownie. The creature is usually depicted in a big cap and an orange jersey with stripes on the sleeves. The most distinctive feature of the elf is, of course, its ears, enlarged and pointed.
Where did the Cleveland Browns’ name come from?
The name of the Cleveland Browns club is a tribute to its co-founder, Paul Brown, who was also the first coach of the team. The name “Browns” was suggested by the fans of the club, during the contest for the best naming option. Since the very beginning, the club has never changed its “Browns” legacy.