Emily Morgan has gone viral on just about every social media platform for her impressive sports logo redesigns, garnering almost half a million followers across TikTok, Instagram and X. Viewed by millions, her designs have been heavily praised, and often critiqued, in her attempts to upgrade some of the world's most legendary logos.
As a Mundelein native, Morgan most recently took a stab at her hometown team's logo with a nostalgic spin on the Chicago Bears' famous mascot head and classic wishbone "C."
"I'm from Illinois, suburbs of Chicago, so I've been dying to do the Bears for almost over a year now," she told NBC Sports Chicago's Kenneth Davis on the "Under Center Podcast." "But I didn't want to force it. Since they're my team, I didn't want to rush the design, so it's been in the works for probably a while."
Morgan incorporated several iconic references to legendary Bears' head coach Mike Ditka, like his aviator sunglasses and famous sweater vest.
"I definitely wanted to fit that in there since the 1985 Bears is really close to heart," she said.
The mascot's ears included another Easter egg, featuring the historic wishbone "C" hidden on each side of the bear's head.
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The new design doesn't stray entirely far from the original. Morgan made sure to bring certain elements, like the asymmetricity of the bear head, to her redesign.
Morgan made similar design choices when she went viral in July for her reimagining of the Chicago Bulls logo. That design featured the iconic Michael Jordan shrug hidden in the bull head.
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"I think a lot of my followers like to see what I can pick from a franchise that's significant to them and how I can fit that into a logo," she said. "Not every logo needs that, but it makes it just so much more fun and challenging as a designer. Because it's one thing just to design a bear's face and make it clean, but then to at least try to connect with the fans just makes it that much more fun for not only me, but for the viewers.
"I try to at least get, like, two things in there to really connect with the fans because it's really fun and I love learning about these franchises."
As for the historic wishbone "C," Morgan added a claw-like element to the pointed end.
Feedback on the two updated Bears logos were relatively mixed. Many fans praised Morgan for incorporating such an important piece of Bears' history in the project, while others maintained that the original logos are too good to be touched. The latter is probably true, but that certainly doesn't take away from her highly impressive effort.
"There will always be people that don't like change, and I totally get that as a logo designer," Morgan said. "I'm fully aware of how significant a logo is to a team, so there's definitely some pushback.
"But overall, people, I think, just like the vision and where it goes. And I've definitely gotten a lot of Bears fans' comments saying they approve. It really does make it all worth it when people are like, 'I'm a Bears fan' or 'I'm a Bulls fans and I approve of this.'"
The criticism though is just as valuable. With so many opinions, Morgan gets a clear-cut view of what her followers, and potential clients, might want.
"I love all feedback, good or bad," she said. "It just helps create conversation around each team and each logo."
Morgan has taken a stab a plenty of historic logos, but there are a select few she refuses to touch. This includes the Chicago Blackhawks, which remains one of the most acclaimed original logos in all of sports.
The Yankees might be off-limits, too.
"I don't know if I'll ever do the Yankees," Morgan said. "It's just very iconic to sports. And baseball is hard. It's mainly letters. I've done a couple baseball ones, but it's hard to really rework a monogram logo."
While she clearly has a bright future in this business, Morgan hasn't been reached out to by any major professional sports teams looking to rebrand just yet. She's currently working on an MLB affiliated minor league team's logo and has some projects with the PGA in the works. She's also had professional athletes, including NFL star Jalen Ramsey, reach out to her for help with their personal brands.
As for her next viral video, Morgan is in the brainstorming process for a few different teams. The Detroit Pistons, Pittsburgh Penguins and Utah Hockey Club might be up next.
Catch up on Morgan's past designs and follow along with her new ones here:
- Instagram: @emilymorgancreates
- TikTok: @emilymorgancreates
- X: @EM_Creates
