Chicago Bulls Logo Redesign: Evaluate Proposed Changes

Before you start

A Chicago Bulls logo redesign is best treated as an evaluation exercise rather than a promise to improve a famous mark. Work with one reference image of the existing bull head or a clear reproduction. You do not need the official vector file: a front-facing PNG on a plain background is enough for a first comparison. Keep the process local on your device so that any drafts can be discarded or exported without uploading them.

Decide which variable you are testing. The most useful redesign checks are: removing the inner red details to create a silhouette, keeping the red horns and ears but flattening the face, or changing only the outer shape. Limit one test to one variable so that the result is easier to judge.

Step-by-step instructions

Open a local editor that accepts PNG or SVG and can work with separate layers. A simple SVG or image editor is sufficient. Do not rely on an automatic redraw feature.

Place the existing Chicago Bulls mark on a locked reference layer. Reduce it to grayscale first if you plan to evaluate shape without being distracted by the familiar red and black relationship.

Create a new layer and trace only the outer silhouette of the bull head. Hide the reference layer briefly to check whether the silhouette still reads as the same animal and the same intense expression. If the eyes, nostrils, horn tips, or ear folds disappear, the simplification has changed the identity.

Make one proposed change at a time. For example, keep the red face details but test a thicker outline, or remove the red details and compare the solid version at 32 pixels wide. Save each variant as a separate file with a clear name such as silhouette-only or simplified-face.

Compare variants side by side with the original. If you have access to a before/after slider, use it only to reveal the same crop at the same scale. A slider can exaggerate small color shifts, so also view the marks separately on white, black, and mid-gray panels.

Check the output

Verify the strongest redesign candidate at 16, 32, and 64 pixels. The current bull head is recognizable partly because the heavy black forms remain separate from the red features. If a test uses only red and loses contrast against a dark background, the mark may fail in a small footer or scoreboard context.

Check color contrast against two common backgrounds. A bright red horn or face detail will pass on white but may be harder to read on black, which matters for broadcast overlays and dark app screens. Measure the contrast of the red against the black face and against the proposed background rather than assuming the official colors are sufficient.

Export the evaluation copy as PNG or SVG for review. Confirm that the exported PNG has a transparent background if that is required. The check is about visual legibility and reversible comparison, not about matching the official mark exactly.

Common problems and next steps

If a simplified Chicago Bulls redesign looks like a generic bull, return the eyes and the small gap between the horns. Those facial features carry more recognition weight than the red color alone.

If the proposed mark turns muddy at small sizes, remove fine red slivers before thickening the outer line. Wide outlines often help visibility, but they may make the already compact bull head feel heavy.

If you plan to test the redesign across mockups, use a black and a red extraction from the evaluation file and compare both against the same mockup scene. This is still an exercise: fan concepts and recolored versions do not prove what the team would accept.