The Baltimore Sun ran a poll showing three designs for a new logo. Fans participating in the poll expressed a preference for a raven's head in profile over other designs. Art Modell announced that he would honor this preference but still wanted a letter "B" to appear somewhere in the design. The raven has an aggressive look and a high aesthetic value, with bright and sharp colors making the design very memorable and visually distinctive.
1999 - Present
The current version of the Baltimore Ravens logo was unveiled in 1998 and consisted of a purple with black and yellow border raven’s head and the letter “B” which is superimposed on its left side of the raven’s head.
1996 - 1998
The team’s first helmet logo, used from 1996 through 1998, featured raven wings outspread from a shield displaying a letter “B” framed by the word Ravens overhead and a cross bottony underneath. The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a jury verdict that the logo infringed on a copyright retained by Frederick E. Bouchat, an amateur artist and security guard in Maryland, but that he was entitled to only three dollars in damages from the NFL.