Browns tweak helmet color, logos

BEREA, Ohio -- With the goal to "honor tradition and provide modern edge," the Cleveland Browns revealed revamped logos Tuesday with a richer orange color and a brown face mask on the helmet.

The famed Dawg Pound face has a new design of a smirking Swagger dog.

The word marks, moving on from the traditional block lettering, are "cleaner, simpler, elegant," team president Alec Scheiner said.

In all, despite what the team calls a two-year revamping project, the changes are considered subtle.

But the team plans to "move the uniform farther ahead than the logo" during an April 14 unveiling at the Cleveland Convention Center. Asked whether the new uniforms will have a fourth color, such as a metal gray, Scheiner said everyone must wait until April 14.

The primary focus of the helmet logo, Scheiner said, was honoring the Browns' tradition and matching the helmet's structure with the team's identity. The Browns are still the only NFL team whose primary logo is their helmet. They felt preserving that was important.

"Departing from that would be too radical a departure," Scheiner said.

The Browns say the orange is "brighter and richer and matches the passion of our fans and city. The brown is unchanged."

The official name of the new orange is Pantone 2028 C. This is the first time the Browns' official logo has a brown face mask. On the field, that face mask appeared from 1952 to 1962.

The Browns sought feedback from focus groups and surveys, culminating with a rollout paralleling the 30-year anniversary of the Dawg Pound.

"Certain things you want to pay homage to," Scheiner said. "Push forward but don't lose track of our tradition."

Scheiner estimated he saw more than 100 designs of the Swagger face before deciding on the toothy mug. The Browns are trying to exemplify coach Mike Pettine's "Play like a Brown" mantra.

"As always, we spent significant time engaging with our fans during this process and took a very methodical approach the past two years to determine certain core characteristics symbolic of our great city," Scheiner said.

The team contemplated using a different logo but opted against it.

Word leaked last week that the Browns would unveil logo changes, piquing interest for Tuesday's announcement. The intent of the rollout is not to make marketing dollars, Scheiner said, but to serve the fan base.